Monthly Archives: January 2018

Flower of the Day, Jan 27, 2018

Does anyone know the name of this beautiful flower?

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By forgottenman’s suggestion, here is a photo of the entire spray of flowers. They are about a foot long. En mass and from a distance, they look like wisteria, but the flower is completely different.

For Cee’s Flower Prompt.

Behaving French

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Behaving French

Today I find it suitable
to practice my inscrutable.
It’s part of my act femme fatale
that men can’t fathom me at all.

They’re wiles my mother taught to me
back when I was only three,
and I admit it’s served me well
putting bon vivants through hell.

When situations new astound me,
I wrap my femme fatale around me.
I use it everywhere I go,
’cause it’s the only French I know!

The prompt today is inscrutable.

It’s a Weird Weird Weird Weird World!!! (Starts with “W.”)

Click on first photo and then arrows to see captions and enlarge photos.

 

For Cee’s Challenge: https://ceenphotography.com/2018/01/23/cees-fun-foto-challenge-letter-w-needs-to-start-with-w-and-have-two-vowels-in-the-word/

Dark Against Light

 

 

Dark Against Light

The universe’s fine maquette

is light on dark and dry on wet—
her quietness and stillness set
against the thrum of castanet.
It is a sort of etiquette:
opposite versus opposite.
Victory gauged against regret.
Sunrise followed by sunset.
Every lottery and bet
boundless riches as well as debt.
It does no good to fuss and fret.
This irony is all we get—
nature one pure brightness set
as backdrop to our silhouette.

 

Want more views of this sunset?  Go HERE.
The prompt today is one of the prettiest words in the English language: silhouette.

Look Up!!!!

Click on first photo to enlarge all.

 

For Nancy Merrill’s Photo a Week Prompt.

La Manzanilla Sunset, Jan 25, 2018

I have not changed the color in any way in these photos.  It was really this bright.  You can find more sunset photos of this night and a poem HERE.

Click first photo to enlarge all.. Ho hum, as usual.  I put this instruction here for new viewers.. sorry, old hands.  Don’t mean to insult you.  

Play Break

 

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Play Break

See how the young dog darts and nips
at the old dog’s neck and hips?
Anxious on this glorious day
to jump and scamper, tease and play.

With one year only to his name,
his entire life’s a game.
The older dog, his conquests made,
calmly commandeers the shade.

Winded, panting, tired, sore,
he lies there for five minutes more,
then springs to life, ready again
to be the dog he was back when.

 

Trilling

Click on any photo to enlarge all.  jdbphotos

Trilling 

Don’t you hear the mockingbird
trilling out the whole absurd
story of the passing year,
giving voice to shock and fear?

Listen to the mourning dove,
warning us from far above,
the starlings, wrens and birds of prey.
Our debts all nature has to pay.

How can it be that those in power
sit and ponder and yet cower,
too intent on their own needs
to enact necessary deeds

to bring a tyrant fool to task—
to do what all the sane men ask?
Shame on these godly well-heeled men
who fold their hands and say amen,

but let sick children go untreated,
tenements to go unheated,
our waterways to be polluted,
laws and edicts instituted

that benefit the filthy rich
to raise themselves another niche

while milling masses unenlightened
vote heedless as their belts are tightened,

favoring the autocrats
in fear of what the democrats
“might” do, when all around them all
democracy proceeds to fall.

Hear  her there, up on the limb,
surveying all who follow him?
Simple nature mocking us?
Laughing at our furious fuss?

Perhaps more knowing than we know
when raging fires and piles of snow
assault us, it is nature’s way
to lead us and to have its say.

We cannot think of only our
needs and exercise our power
for special interests without paying.
This is what all of nature’s saying.

Mudslides, hurricanes and drought
may show us what it’s all about.
Balance, sanity and sharing
fairness, ecology and caring

will bring about a world that’s lasting
beyond our legislature’s casting.
God-fearing men, do you care
about how your children fare?

And as those whom we’ve elected,
oh so naïvely selected
pad their pockets and close their eyes,
our world around us swiftly dies.

Those are the truths clearly absurd
told to us by the mockingbird.
He sits above on swaying limb.
Why are the masses deaf to him?

The prompt today is trill.

Cactus: Flower of the Day, Jan 25, 2018

Last day of different shots of this little guy.  Gotta go out trolling for flowers tomorrow:

Net Neutrality 101

What is net neutrality?  This is the best and most entertaining explanation I’ve seen, Before (or after) you view it, please make a comment here on my blog about  your views regarding net neutrality!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ltzy5vRmN8Q