Monthly Archives: February 2014

WHITE HORSE INN

                                        Oh, the night came undone like a party dress
                                        And fell at her feet in a beautiful mess.

                                                  – Gillian Welch (“Barroom Girls”)

To fit the dark approaching rain,
you play your father’s Martin,
sing Gillian as I hum and harmonize

my relief in low and grateful moans,
learning the words as I go,
reaching for the moment written

to see our separate selves
sparking at the White Horse—
leave this thirsty ground

to replay our connections,
each electric flash saved
in the dark oak bar.

                                       for Robbin

 
 

“Barroom Girls”

Oh, the night came undone like a party dress
And fell at her feet in a beautiful mess
The smoke and the whiskey came home in her curls
And they crept through the dreams of the barroom girls

Well, she tosses and turns because the sun is unkind
And the heat of the day is coming in through the blinds
Leave all the blue skies for the rest of the world
Because the neon will shine for the barroom girls

Ah, the barroom girls go by your side
Like the ponies who pass on a carousel ride
And all of the colors go around in a swirl
When you dance in the arms of the barroom girls

Now she rolls to her feet when she can’t sleep no more
Looks at her clothes lying out on the floor
Last night’s spangles and yesterday’s pearls
Are the bright morning stars of the barroom girls

Last night’s spangles and yesterday’s pearls
Are the bright morning stars of the barroom girls

Songwriters
WELCH, GILLIAN HOWARD / RAWLINGS, DAVID TODD

Published by
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, BUG MUSIC

Courtesy: MetroLyrics

 

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Flower Friday – White-Veined Mallow

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It seems a bit early for wildflowers, especially with so little grass, but a few Fiddleneck and Popcorn Flowers are also starting to appear on the shoulders of the ‘long pasture’.

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Wild Cucumber (Sierra Man-root)

Wild Cucumber (Sierra Man-root)

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Not a drought-buster, but the grass is happy—and hence, so are we.

Golden Eagle

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We’ve been watching a young Golden Eagle since the first-calf heifers began calving in September. Everybody’s hungry in a drought and the small Wagyu X calves had to be tempting. Yesterday, it landed in a tree outside the window to watch us. I’ve often thought we were entertainment for eagles.

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Click to enlarge.

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WPC – Threes (2) – Good Guys, Bad Guys?

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The sound of a low flying helicopter brought us out of the house, our horses nervous and uneasy. We assume it was looking for marijuana gardens in canyons that have been bone dry since the beginning of the drought.

Camera shy, they avoided the house, then headed to a steep pasture where a 75 year-old man is gathering remnants on a young horse. We worry. The colt would damn-sure blow-up if face-to-face with a helicopter coming over the ridge—damn-sure scatter the day’s work and maybe get someone hurt.

Promising

6:30 a.m.

6:30 a.m.

AT OUR FEET

Like loose rocks, discarded
twigs, felt with shuffling
feet—another time of propriety

and flush purpose passed, yet
lingering to trip us up,
slow progress down

and we rest, set-up camp
on running water
and remember what really was

important, how much we cared—
invested in moments
we knew would never last.

Dry Creek 2013

January 4, 2013

January 4, 2013

SEEIN’’S BELIEVIN’

They’ve been talkin’ rain for days,
singin’ happy tunes like puppets
jerkin’ and jiggin’ on TV

to amuse children after school—
the same promise,
before and after work,

of dessert if you’re patient.
Like dancin’ fools from the shadows
some even proclaim El Niño.

But nowadays,
with the price of hay,
you look a gift horse in the mouth.

Christmas 2013

December 28, 2013

December 28, 2013