Category: seasonal

Trees Are Leafing

~~ a calendar quindecim ~~

by tkbrown
The trees are leafing, spring is in the air,
but its mood is sour and has not been fair
in weather put forth for all to enjoy
active involvement of an outside toy.
Instead, weekly thunderstorms are brewing,
along tornadic funnel path strewing
debris consisting of homes and huge trees
ripped up by the roots, carried by the breeze
on a not so fun ride to where 'twill abide--
forty or fifty feet laid on its side.
The storms set down. They travel on the ground
for miles while local warning sirens sound.
Otherwise, the days present as a mix--
some sunny and mild, providing a fix
for wintertime blahs we may need to nix.

Limbs are bursting with new life at each bud,
flowers peek through in their beds filled with mud.
Yellow-green clouds billow upper reaches,
against superior backdrop fetches
passersby attention, birds on the fly
seek rest from journeys soaring through blue sky.
The sun shines brightly, gardens are planted,
lakes and rivers call to souls needing soothed,
and hiking trails beckon fitness imbued
to engage in the life so long now queued--
waiting for the day living would return
with loads of energy begging to burn.
Actions the virus held in abeyance
now returning 'midst movement and cadence
high in the mountains and low in the fens.

Springtime seems to be calling out this year
to the souls and spirits of all who hear
her luscious promise so precious and clear.
Pain in our hearts for the victims of war.
Such an odyssey--fallacies afar--
blaming the innocent for their own fear.
How to learn from the daily wear and tear,
decrease the valence? With good intent we share
and attend the pain and suffering they bear.
It nay alleviates hate in the air
nor shields from the agony wrought anywhere
when the world looks on, tells them of our care.
No matter what we say as war instills pain,
hearts will ne'er reclaim the old peace again.
Remembrance o'er-shadows all occasion.

~~~~~~~~~

Photo Above: by Yoksel Zok @Unsplash.com.

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Fall . . .

. . . is on the way

by tkbrown
Just when it looks like summer
has settled in to stay,
sunshine follows days of wet
with a teeny bit less heat
during mid-day sun
and some temperature drops
as nighttime turns to  dawn.

Cooler temps have been knocking
for a few days now,
patiently awaiting just the right time
to make a grand entrance
and take Mother Nature's bow.

Highs in the seventies
and lows in the sixties--
then suddenly lows drop
into the upper forties.

Knock, Knock, Knock:
Fall pleading to be let in
to meet the schedule
as planned--
beginning an end to life's cycle
currently at hand
as the never-ending circle
inches forward in the sand.

As time and warmth fall back,
colors explode along scenic drives
to ease the pain when mostly black
with touches of grays, browns,
and splotches of green
signal hibernation--
from which Mother Nature
slowly awakens the Southern Hemisphere
where leaves and buds begin to appear
in varying shades of yellow green
and the most beautiful flowers
a body has seen
poke their heads out to welcome the sun
as we flip earth's annual cycle
of fertility and recline.

The fall equinox
with it's Harvest Moon
is knocking quite loudly
on summer's tune
as Mother Nature's produce
is reaped and stored while Earth's
lower half is tilling and sowing
for the abundance provided
by summer's noon.

With a knock, knock, knock,
cooler temperatures arrived--
just a wee bit cooler,
from those storm clouds derived.

When the sunshine returns
with an inviting hue,
heads swivel about to view
the blinding sheen.

Then suddenly, a warning
of a cold night to be--
quite unexpected
during Harvest's Jubilee.
As it slowly returns to normal
over nightfall--two or three--
we will see the colors blossom--
yellow, orange, sienna, and red
will be ushered in for free.

God will be busy painting hillsides
as He beckons days of gold
followed by the nighttime
filled with shivers from the cold.

It is time to pick the pumpkins,
acorn squash, and butternut--
put them in the freezer
for the goodness they impart.
Apples, pears, and walnuts
are being harvested as well
to create delicious treasures
for a healthy winter shell.

Cooler days just seem to call
for something cooking on the stove:
time for Shrimp and Pumpkin Curry,
a pot of aromatic Red Beans,
Sage and Walnut Pumpkin Butter
spread upon a wholegrain bread
or saucing tortellini
for a filling winter spread.

It's time to create
a healthy formula
where spices explicate the flavor--
taking sugar down to size--
in recipes far better
for the heart, and health, and eyes.

These pursuits decrease the half-life
of the wither doldrums when
idleness is created
by the binds of winter strife.
The harvest--then in storage--
promotes artistic flair
just to see the results,
small the aromatic air,
and exhilarate the taste buds
from the harvest reaped in fall.
≥∑ tkbrown 25 September 2021

~~~~~~~~~~

Photo Above:

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Summer 2021

~~ a seasonal quindecim

by tkbrown
Summer, in all its splendor, ushered in--
crowning the longest day just 'ere mid-year--
with promises to warm the soul within
and the body without as days grow shorter
bit by bit with warmer days yet to be.
Gardens are bursting with good food to eat
fresh--raw or cooked, flavors only set free
when plucked from the stalk in the summer heat
of early morn--cooled by lingering night.
Refreshing dips in a freshwater pool
during the heat of day are such delight
to the body, render balm to the soul.
Memories built with family and friends
o'er barbeque or picnic fare attends
to those leaving as summers fun time ends.

The longer days and shorter nights will blend
some of the best daytime activities
to be carried in thought as life doth send
loved ones to local schools or overseas,
beginning new chapters in books mostly
yet to be written as steps lead away
from home fires. Embracing new life boldly,
with surety closely akin to the sway
of limbs on a tree waving in the breeze--
ruminations of failure never piqued
by fear, remorse, or guilt provoking pleas
through rife cajoling whether squawked or shrieked.
Emboldened by new friends in new places
standing out 'midst a sea of new faces
where past life is leaving no bold traces.

Graduations, weddings and moving top
summer lists for vacation reflection.
Those completed, checked-of, doing the flip
as packing moves to a higher section
amid lives taking a new direction.
Not seeing the void in lives of others
who must now find some substitute function
to insert where newly loosened tethers
flutter freely, blown hither and thither,
refashioning purpose at each new whim--
until satisfied with some new dither
utilizing free flowing excess vim.
Activities of summer dawn an ardor
determined by planned point of departure
and designed to nurture exit fervor.

~~~~~~~~~~

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