NATURE PROVIDES MANY A SUBJECT
FOR OBSERVATION,
DISCRIMINATION,
REFLECTION
AND MEDITATION.

WITH  NATURE,
THERE IS A NEED TO BE STILL,
SILENT AND PATIENT.
TO EXPERIENCE A PLEASURE AND PEACEFULNESS
NOT OTHERWISE OBTAINABLE.

Nature In Concert

A

Continuous performance
Conducted offstage,
No one melody.

H A R M O N Y

And dissonance,
Performed in rhythmic cycles,
Only to tune in.

The Signal

A
signal
will
be
given
to
change
over.

We will not hear it
but the trees, bushes, all earth growth,
will.

We
need
only
wait
and
watch
and
see
it
confirmed
in
time.

Springtime Show

Springtime opened without fanfare.

Quietly,
mostly at night,
it has come to center stage
and decorated it
with beautiful colors
for its audience.

The show is free
and open to all.
it goes on,
rain or shine,
and is ever changing its colorful presentations.

The morning show
is specially set
to the music of birds
announcing their joy to be back

A Flower

Adopt
a flower
Watch it look
at you
Offering
its beauty...
Become
a
lover
for
life


A geranium potted in a stone vessel looks for admirers.

A Rose

DO YOU SUPPOSE
A FULLY GROWN ROSE,
ITSELF KNOWS
HOW BEAUTIFUL IT IS?

DOES ANY FLOWER
IN ITS FINEST HOUR,
UNDERSTAND ITS DRAWING POWER
FOR A BEE AND ME?

DO BIRDS NOTICE FLOWERS - REACT
OR ONLY SEE THEM AS A FACT?
DO THEY SEE BEAUTY AS I?
DON'T THEY ACCLAIM - NOT JUST FLY BY?

DON'T THEY GASP AND HEAVE A SIGH,
ENJOY SUCH WONDERS FOR THE EYE?
CAN I BE DELIGHTED - NOT THEY?
CAN THEY SEE AND JUST FLY AWAY?

The summer sky
greets me warmly today
saying -
it is, you are, just be...

Can I not but agree
and return a smile
and a subtle nod?

May I stay aware of my friends
the sky and all its skin
that from time to time
greet me?

Thank you sky
sun, moon, cloud, stars,
every day
in every season.

In air hot and still
The sun has screened itself
In haze and fog, scorching the earth.
It is now prolonged and the land and all its present possessors are parched.

The water in the air is now nearing steam.
Without clouds the air has become non-transparent.
It continues to expand.

On the ground a butterfly plays on its wing.
It has much to do, to flit from flower to flower.
To carry its touching power to propagate summer's stock of color
and white blossomed flowers,
still gracing the ground.

The butterfly has no need for visibility.
It seems to sense its mission
and it doesn't matter if it is blazing hot in the field.

Pity for the poor man and his animal friends
Who in the intense heat cannot escape
Or fly and create their own breeze .

Becalmed,
the ocean awaits rain swollen clouds...
A heron looks on.

The sky holds its breath
waiting for thunderheads to burst and clear the air.

As it grows darker
I watch a drama unfold -

r e l e a s i n g

t h e

w i n d.

Fall colors bright and bold
Demand attention,
Deliver delights.

Mums and marigolds
In assorted hues of orange and gold
Mix with black-eyed Susans
And leftover daisies.
Bordering the rusts and browns,
They have replaced the runaway green.

Warming and cheering,
They keep us tied for a while
To the warmer season that is passing on.

Along the highway,
The golden rod and their purple pals
Blend perfectly,
Distracting us from the whirling, swirling winds,
The advance messengers of wintertime.

It will be a different scene soon
With these timely reminders
That nature is true, forever,
As it now shows its fall colors.

What are the birds about?
Do they pack?
Prepare for their exit?
Do they just go as they only, know?

The leaves are turning,
Colors are leaking through,
What has been stored somewhere,
Now coming into view,
The green
will last a while longer,
But soon will lose its hold,
The feast we had all summer
Not much longer to behold.

My eyes enjoy the colors
Much more than mostly green,
Yet the red,
orange and yellow,
are only in between!

Winter will be arriving
Through days warm and bright.
With new colors unfolding,
Not for long will the leaves delight.

The falling leaves flitter down on light breezes
like flickers of foil flowing free from on high.

The small ones
sustain side movements,
their slight size and shape
slow their fall.

One or two at a time,
the wind snaps their clasp
on the stem
to which they were attached.

Their turn has come to say so long
to the sky and the passer-by.
They go to the ground
to become part of it.

Fall's disappearance goes on
with
each
falling
leaf
baring
empty
nests.

Snow Blanket

A white blanket was laid last night.
Flake
by
flake,
it grew into a thickness as heavy as it appears
- nothing is excepted.

All is covered
and weighs down on those things
whose nature allows them to bend.

Pity the bushes and branches.
The birds must feel forlorn
- no place to go to hide -
their nests have become shrouded.
Will they have the strength to push through
to all that lies above the snow?

It is a beautiful happening,
but not without human hardships including strained backs.
Won't these be eased by the snow play
and the smiles that will develop
from the statues that appear from the fall.

The fog
settles over all,
A misty veil taking its form
From whatever lies below it.
It hovers and penetrates
As it rests in place.

Soon
the snow will be gone
As it merges with the air,
Adding its moisture to the veil,
Making it thicker and thicker.

It is eerie
Because it happens secretly.
The
subtle,
silent
and
soft
blanket
of
a
winter
fog.

Brownie is my friend.
If she sees me
when I walk by after my run,
she will come along.
We don't talk
- she can't,
I know that,

She's not always there,
but if she is,
she'll walk with me,
usually ahead or by my side,
doing her thing,
things dogs do ...
Wandering,
looking and smelling,
meandering,
occasionally urinating,
doing her doggy things.

I like her company.
she knows me,
somehow sensing I am doing my thing.