Oak Leaves as Sculptors

It froze overnight

After yesterday's cold rain

Ice on glass table

Leaves brushed from surface

Leave their own likeness behind

Natural ice sculptures

 ~dkm 23/52

 

 

Noon Light

 One thirty pm

 Winter in Georgia. Beauty

at its simple best

Being from Kansas

my dad always marveled at

our tall loblollies

~dkm 22/52

Sheila’s Bald Cypress

 Four seasons have passed

The world is different now, yet

So little has changed

One year in the life

of a tree that could live to

 be fourteen hundred

~dkm 21/52

Unimagined Fungus

After a full year

of daily haiku entries

from the same backyard,

plus eleven years

of longer essays, one might 

expect that one had

exhausted all the

possible observations

on which to write. Wrong. 

Twenty some odd growths

show up overnight in lawn

Brown Dog Turd Fungi

So named not because

they grow on poo, but because

they resemble it

Apt name, methinks and

alarming to discover 

one late afternoon

~dkm 20/52

Yellow Feathered Beauty

Precious pine siskin

Flew against my window pane

Heartbreaking stillness 

~dkm 19/52 

Unexpected Drove of Pine Siskins

An irruption year

for pine siskins in Georgia

driven by climate

Here by the dozens

I counted nineteen at once

perched on the feeders

From same family

as American goldfinch

Shared genus: Spinus

Smaller, but louder

meowing like their cousins

sounding like kittens

Sometimes they raise a 

hint of a crest on the top

of their dainty heads

Not the least bit shy

these cute small streaky brown birds

with yellow edged wings

don't fly as soon as

most, at Backyard Spectator's

approach with camera

They all stare right back

Curious or aggressive?

Size of a large thumb

~dkm 18/52

Beauty, Longevity, & Gratitude

Sixty-five year old

Cherry trees in deep decline

White lichen the sign

They've exceeded their

40 year expectancy

by twenty-five years

Breathtaking gifts to

 the world each spring, yet they've asked

nothing in return

Lichen does no harm

Mother nature's housekeeper

Gives beauty to death

~dkm 17/52

Beside the Still Waters

Deep breath of blue sky

Cleansing the spirit, the heart

body, mind,  and soul

~dkm 16/52

Chickenhouse retreat in Marietta, GA

Survival Assurance

Black walnuts fallen

Easy to collect but hard

to clean, cure, and crack

Remembering my

grandfather's blackened fingers

my grandmother's cakes

Distinctive flavor

Delectable in baked goods

worth all the effort

Don't compost the husks

he said. They'll poison the soil

and kill your garden

Native to every 

North American country

they inhibit growth

of neighboring plants

with toxins in roots, leaves, husks

Good survival plan

Now I have a taste

For black walnuts from market

Will buy some next week

~dkm 15/52

Chickenhouse retreat in Marietta, GA

 

Bluebirds Planning Ahead

Fluttering lovers

already staking a claim

on next spring's nestbox 

~dkm 14/52

Fawlty Towers

Green praying mantis

upside down on banister

calls to mind that time

Sybil called Basil 

a Byzantine stick insect

Funny then as now

~dkm 13/52

Who's in Charge Here?

Old seed packet found

Label said garden balsam

Unknown plant to me

Took a chance on them

Sprinkled into Sheila's bed

replaced her pansies

They grew tall, slender 

Bloomed in multiple colors

Like their honoree

End-of-season task

Pull out the spent brown annuals

Drop in compost heap

Too late I noticed

Seed pods bursting on the tips

Like impatiens kin

Uh-oh, get ready

for a balsam profusion

in next spring's garden 

~dkm 12/52

 

Creature Magnifique

Grasshopper on deck

for the Kansas girl in me

Flashback to childhood

~dkm  11/52 

Sister Storm

Headed for gulf coast

Heavy rainfall and flooding

Hurricane Sally

Unlike my sister

in every trait but her name

The Sally I know

is a gentle soul 

She calms and inspires the mind,

body, spirit, heart

~dkm 10/52

Youngsters Begging at Feeder

Unflappable dad

goes right on demonstrating

how to feed oneself

even as his four

brand new clumsy goldfinches

flap at him like mad

But wait...more fly in

How many fledglings ARE there?

Maybe from two broods?

~dkm 9/52

Bright yellow father

on the bottom rung looks green

Color distorted by rainy daylight

through camera lens

 

Brand New Tufted Titmouse

Late season fledgling

Disheveled, slow to react

Unafraid of me

~dkm 8/52

Dear Chipmunk

Are you not afraid

the hawks or cats will nab you

at your own front door?

~dkm 7/52

a not-so-well-hidden chipmunk hole

Mr. Toad

Funny landing place 

for a small gray spotted toad 

The deck table brace 

 ~dkm 6/52

Moe vs. Shrub

Prickly holly hedge

stood guard for 63 years

at basement windows

Discouraged burglers

as well as home maintenance guy

from painting windows

Old bushes, deep roots

Cut down, dug up, carried out

Good bye sticker bush

~dkm 5/52

 

Tomato Man

Who built a cairn of 

tomatoes on the counter? 

Not me. Him? And why? 

 ~dkm 4/52

Young Hawk Shots

Cooper's Hawk youngster

long staring at the fellow 

he spies in the truck

Sibling hawk takes flight

Upturned tail, powerful legs,

Wings at the ready

~dkm 3/52

Perspective

To see the same leaf

from opposite sides is to

understand some things.  

~dkm 2/52

Bigleaf Magnolia, Anderson Farm, Marietta, GA

Same leaf viewed against lake reflection

Gratitide 1

Thoughts after one year
of daily haiku challenge
What I've learned and loved

That nature changes
by the hour, day, week, month,
season, and second

That the plain act of
slowing down enough to see
what there is to see

in my own backyard
has forever changed the way
I walk down a path

The way I practice
the fair art of longsitting
The way I listen

That things viewed close up
have beauty, grace, and intrigue
otherwise unseen

That nature never
fails to serve up something new
for each day's notice

That you don't have to
travel far and wide to be
dazzled by new things

That waiting, watching
is daily rewarded with
exhilaration

at the wonder, the
awe, the expectedness of
the unexpected

~dkm 1/52

Bird Friends

Haiku self-challenge

Day three hundred sixty-five

Hard to choose topic

Long walk around yard

Saint Francis of Assisi

hints from behind fern

You've met your challenge

A haiku a day all year

Now try one per week

Thank you, St Francis

Mary Nevil said the same

Challenge accepted

~dkm 365/365

Gardening in the Time of Covid 2

Planted in the rain
Full bloom in just a few weeks
Simple impatiens

Perhaps Sir Cooper

who comes here often to bathe

enjoys their beauty

May the hawk's presence

be a good omen not bad

And may he move on

~dkm 364/365

June 5, 2020

July 14, 2020

Gardening in the Time of Covid 1

"Seaside petunias" (Calibrachoa)
from seedlings to grand full bloom
Awe and wonderment

~dkm 363/365

March 21

June 19

July 18

Coleus Gift

Cut from mother plant
rooted in water, returned
to earth for new growth

~dkm 362/365