Blackberry Balsam

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Blackberry Balsam

Blackberry Balsam, the scourge of my youth.
It was repulsive, my father uncouth
for presenting this mucous-like liquid most vile,
insisting I swallow the ghastly brown bile.
I gritted my teeth and went sullen and wild,
but how could I refuse? I was only a child.

Gagging and choking, I chased it with Coke,
expecting another dose when I awoke.
All these years later, its flavor unfaded,
its vomitous odor my memory invaded.
Blackberry Balsam? No taste could be worse,
proving sometimes the cure is worse than the curse.

Gerbera Daisy: FOTD July 7, 2020

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For Cee’s FOTD

Mental Athletes

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Mental Athletes

Some call us impetuous, but we suspect they’re jealous.
Others say we’re over-eager when we’re merely zealous.
Our acts are not illegal, though I admit we use
a thousand bits of trivia that all together fuse
to give us an advantage over what may be the norm.
In our minds they come together and we give them form.
Call it a theorem, a proof or an invention.
Such ends are never gotten to by following convention.
As athletes run the marathon and banners are unfurled,
we exercise within our minds and thereby change the world.

Prompt words today are impetuous, glimpse, trivia, suspect and illegal. Image by jeshoots.com  via unsplash, used with permission,

Alstroemeria: FOTD July 6, 2020

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Also known as the Peruvian Lily or Lily of the Incas.

For Cee’s FOTD

Bill Maher on How Melania can Save the World

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Worth seeing again! Oh, if only. . . .

Double-fold

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Double-fold

An idyllic excursion to the isle of Bora Bora
reveals a bit of trivia about the native flora.
If you like vanilla ices or crave a bit of flan,
choose a certain orchid to train attention on.
Hummingbirds that glide from flower to new flower
fertilize the orchids that cling to forest bower,
and the end result of these journeys here and there
is a wrinkled seed pod, hanging in the air.

All these fragile flowers, gorgeous to the eye,
give birth to vanilla pods and then proceed to die.
The triumph of their being revealed here in this seed
that mankind in its questing, mankind in its need
collects to sell as flavoring whose savor is so nice
that only golden saffron exceeds it in its price.
What triumph of nature—bounty that is hung,
as pleasant to the eye as it is to the tongue.

The Ragtag Daily Prompt today is GLIDE, Fandango’s One-Word Challenge (FOWC) is IDYLLIC, Your Daily Word is EXCURSION, Word of the Day is TRIVA and Spur is TRIUMPH. Vanilla Planifolia  Orchid, image from Wikipedia.Image of vanilla ice cream cone by Marie Dehayes on Unsplash, used with permission.

At the end of Cee’s Friday Funny Finds is the most hilarious video of an ingenious obstacle course for squirrels. Don’t miss it.

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Click on the red link below to see it.

via Cee’s Friday Funny Finds – Week of July 3

Hibiscus/Moth Fusion: FOTD July 5, 2020

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This huge moth seems a part of the hibiscus it rests against. That’s my hand under it, turning it to the camera.

For Cee’s FOTD

Animal Nature

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Animal Nature

She had a penchant for excitement but discretion was a must,
for how her family worried and how her family fussed—
fingers tearing hair and both palms shielding eyes.
Was bungee-jumping safe? Did she think sky-diving wise?

They’d have her clipping coupons and baking cherry pies,
so she only did her favorite things shrouded in disguise.
A person in a chicken costume jumping from a plane
might have been seeking notice, might have seemed inane

if the chicken ever took off her feathers or her mask.
If she ever answered the questions they might ask.
But she only shed her feathers once safely in her home,
arranging them with fingers and a broad-toothed comb.

Snow-boarding in her fox costume, she knew they’d never know
how she banged up her left elbow, fractured her little toe.
She’d said it was at tennis—that family-sanctioned sport,
as they happily imagined her on golf course or on court.

They found other sport unseemly, inappropriate at best
when associated with their spotless family crest.
Thus did she live her life according to her nature
while never bringing shame to her family nomenclature!

Words prompts for the day are: eyes, penchant, excitement, discretion and coupon. Illustration from Pinterest.

Birthday Bouquet

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This bouquet of Gerbera daisies, baby’s breath and alstroemeria was one of the nice surprises to pop up on my birthday yesterday. Here are some others. Click on the photos to enlarge and read captions.

My sister and brother-in-law were the first to wish me happy birthday when they called to sing “Happy Birthday.” As we talked, Sergio and David next door asked me to meet them at my garage door where they greeted me with a dozen of David’s incredible chocolate cookies
As they handed me their birthday offerings, a butterfly flew in to continue David’s butterfly motif. I nestled on the concrete beside us the whole time we were there.
Mary Oliver is my favorite poet. How did they know?
It seemed appropriate to chase the birthday cake with one of David’s delicious cookies after a relaxing swing in the hammocks. A nice, peaceful birthday.

For Cee’s FOTD