March might feel more like
Spring if it didn’t cram four
Seasons into one.
I miss the April
Showers of my youth, but not
The more recent floods.
Will these new April
Showers bring Mayflowers? Or
Will they bring more mud?
I long to witness
Springtime fieldwork once again.
Impossible now.
(c) 2022. All rights reserved.
Well, it sure has been a while, hasn’t it? I can’t believe I’ve taken this long a break from blogging, but it feels like I’ve had so much on my plate lately, whether or not I actually have. Pero, así es la vida, cariño.
So in order to help me get my blogging habit back on track, I’m going to start NaPoWriMo off right with a free verse poem on one of my favorite topics: Iowa’s crazy weather. I hope you like it!
Dying evergreens stand
Tall in the gale outside
My windows, but
Their remaining needles
Pay the price
For decades of fortitude.
Will I have the strength
To withstand the coming storms?
Or will I,
Like my home’s failing windbreak,
One day bow to the Zephyr,
Exhausted and broken-backed
From my struggle?
(c) 2022. All rights reserved.
This is something I’ve been fiddling with a bit this weekend:
The steady ratta-tat ratta-tat ratta-ratta-ratta-tat of autumn rain on my roof, on my windows, in my downspout, is almost hypnotic. If it weren’t just above freezing, I could almost mistake it for a summer storm. Lightning flashes nearby; thunder ripples, then cracks, in the distance. The wind begins to howl as it whips through the trees, littering my yard with cornstalks from the neighboring fields.
The drive-in scene from Twister flits through the movie screen in my mind. I pull the blanket a little closer.
It’s not finished, but it has promise, like the sky after a storm.
(c) 2020. All rights reserved.
It’s been rainy today.
Not the kind of steady rain that makes me long to curl up with a book and a blanket and a nice cup of tea, but the kind of deluge that makes me begin a mental inventory of everything in the basement that might possibly be damaged if the sump pump breaks down and the water begins to rise. It’s not been the kind of thunderstorm that me long to sit and watch roll by from the comfort of a swing on my front porch, but the kind of thunderstorm that makes me turn on the TV so I can catch the latest weather updates, even as I compulsively check my phone for the same thing.
The power flashed here, but didn’t completely go out. The wind howled as if a blizzard were on the way. The rain hit my windows with such force that I wondered if it wasn’t hail instead. And in under an hour…
That’s right – sun! June is nearly half over, but it doesn’t feel like it. We’ve had so much rain the past couple of weeks that I was beginning to think bright, bright sunshiny days were a thing of the past.
Look! Look! Something new and different for Iowa!
It’s snowing this afternoon. It’s the first snowfall of the year, and maybe the third one of this winter. I’m kind of happy to see it because I’m tired of looking at dead grass, but I’m really not looking forward to driving home in it. The roads’ll be a nightmare.
It’s wet, heavy snow, and it’s warmish outside, so I don’t think it will last long. It’s supposed to be in the mid to upper 30s for most of the next week. But we’re in a winter weather advisory, so who knows?
All I know is that after last winter, I’m ready for some milder weather. I’m not holding my breath on getting it, though.
(c) 2020. All rights reserved.
I got today’s video knocked out a bit earlier than yesterday’s. There was a beautiful sunrise this morning, and I couldn’t help shooting it:
Mornings are so pretty in Iowa. But it would be even more peaceful if the boys didn’t argue about every little thing.
Of course, since I’m me, I decided to add to the challenge by writing a poem to go with each day’s video. Yesterday I wrote a haiku about two of my kitties; today I wrote another one about how nice it would be if my kids did’t spend each morning’s wait for the bus in an argument over something. They argue about everything lately.
I’m excited about the poem aspect of this challenge. I’ve gotten back to work on The Lokana Chronicles, but I don’t want my poetry to fall to the wayside, and this will be a great opportunity to keep those poetic muscles in shape.
Well, that and the two poetry groups I’ve joined in the last six months. 😄
What about you – have you set any new year’s resolutions?
(c) 2020. All rights reserved.
Today’s Throwback Thursday post is going waaaay back. Like, back to the ’90s.
My very first autograph.
Tonight I had the pleasure of attending Final Thursday. It’s a reading series hosted at the Hearst Center for the Arts; there’s an open mic period followed by a featured reader, and it’s a whole lot of fun. I attended a couple of times in college (either because it was mandatory or there was extra credit), and I even managed to read something once (so I wouldn’t have to do a write-up on the event later). For someone who hates public speaking as much as I do, that was a big deal, particularly when it came to the essay I’d decided to read.
Anyway. Even if you’re not reading, Final Thursday is a ton of fun because…
Last night, I encountered a Midwestern traffic jam. I suppose the phenomenon is not particularly unique to the Midwest – I’m sure if you’re from a rural community, you’ll know what I mean. I try to be patient when I encounter farm equipment on the road because it’s not the farmer’s fault the tractor (or combine, in this case) only goes 20 miles an hour. They’re just doing their jobs, after all, and it’s a very important job. We need farmers.
Besides, it doesn’t do any good to get all worked up about it – it won’t make them go any faster.
Goals – I has ’em! One of my goals is to get back to a regular blogging habit. To do that, I’m thinking a post per week is gonna be doable.
The only trouble is that I’m already behind schedule. *sigh*
To make up for that, please enjoy this pretty, pretty picture:
We spent last Sunday out on a lake with the kids and the in-laws. We had a picnic at the scenic fish-cleaning station before setting out for an afternoon of tubing. The sun was bright, the temperature was perfect – we couldn’t have asked for better weather. Thank goodness for that, because we ended up rowing back to shore after some engine trouble left us stranded a good half-mile from the dock. Luckily, a passing boater towed us the last fifty yards in. It was a day full of adventures, and a great way to say goodbye to summer.
I can’t believe the kids are heading back to school tomorrow. Where has the time gone?
What about all of you – what have you been up to? What adventures did summer have in store for you?
(c) 2019. All rights reserved.
Suddenly they all died. The end. 