Morning Coffee in the Meadow

Day begins
After my coffee is brewed and in a cup
In my hand

Out the back door I go
Towards
The back meadow
Behind our house
I aim for the back corner
Where two chairs and a table
Are my resting place

There I sit
There I gaze up at the morning sky
There I take in the long grass
Blown by a morning breeze
Birds chirp
Rabbits run in and out of the grass
Sometimes
If I am quite
A deer or two will stroll by

My favorite part
Is just to ponder
Ponder what is going on n life
Ponder a verse I had just read
Ponder how good that locally roasted coffee tastes
Ponder how blessed I am to have my family
My wife
My kids
My grandkids
I am grateful
The pace of life in the meadow
In the morning
Is slow
A perfect time to gaze, ponder
And drink coffee

 Portal to Childhood

I often run across certain objects
Certain settings or places
That bring me back to
Those special years
Those years as a child
Maybe from a walk on a nearby beach
Waves crashing to shore on a sunny day
Before I know it I am seeing
How close I can get to the wave
Without getting wet
Being chased by waves was, and is
The best
Heck I am well over sixty years old
Yet I am at that moment
The 5 year old on the Mendicino Coast
Running with my brothers
Being chased by waves

Passed by a big pile of fresh dirt lately?
Last week I did
ANd actually what made it even better
Was the bright yellow
Tonka Truck on the backside
I wanted to stop and dig some roads
A bridge maybe
From the bottom of that hill of dirt
Clear to the top.
The time would stop
In my mind
The child in me would dig and move
That dirt.

I was a "big things" kid back in the day
Although I did like collecting rolly-pollies and lizards
I did not notice the tiny specks on the flowers

My grand daughter sure does though
I came home one day and she was collecting ... guess what?
"Aphids"
Later that evening it was slugs
Not your common pets a kid brings inside.

Being around her and living life through her eyes
I am transpoted into a new world of a child
She sees the world differently
As she should
Because she is "Eleanor"
She is "micro"
Does not miss a thing

Still, explores, chases, splashes, collects, builds
All the while living in the moment.

Maybe that is what is so important about thje Portal to Childhood.
Being brought into the moment, current.
How fleeting those moments are
But children can squeeze every little bit of wonder
Out of those moments.

Go chase a wave
Search for a slug tonight, or aphid
See if there are any owl-droppings under the pine trees in
Cuz I am mhgoing to go line up the rusty tin cans
In the backyard
And get out my bb-gun.

Energy of Music

 

Energy of Music

The show starts
That first note
First measure
The beat
Or sax belting out a cool vibe
Fingers dancing on the keyboard
In rhythm
All in rhythm
Playing as one
The six nusicians
That energy hits me in the face
Like a blustery day on the beach
Fresh and salty
Wakes me up
Goes straight to my inner soul
I close my eyes and take it all in
The music
Live music
Right before me
Fills me up
And carries me for the next 2 hours
The energy of music
Experience it

Glorious Flag

 Glorious Flag

I have always loved our nations flag.
The stripes mean something.
The stars mean something.
To me.
As a kid I remember
In elementary school
Standing and looking at the flag.
Hand on my heart.
Reciting the pledge of allegiance.
Those words meant something back then.
They mean something now.
I hung this flag in my front forest.
At the entry of my home.
Hung it on the 4th of July.
Had never hung anything there.
But after it went up ...
... and started blowing in the breeze
... shining the the light of the evening sunset
... our glorious flag will stay hanging in that forest.
For no other reason than what my 4 year old grand daughter said last week ...
...  when walking through the forest
She said, "That sure is a beautiful flag."
It sure is, Eleanor.
Look how glorious it is.