Category Archives: Photographs

September Echinopsis II

Posted on November 6, 2015 by | 2 comments

 

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Flower Friday

 

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POT OF GOLD

Posted on November 5, 2015 by | 9 comments

 

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No longer children
chasing rainbows,
we want to believe

the drought is over—
look to the mountains
to shield our souls

from insistent cities
and a world at war.
Like native Yokuts

we want to believe
the ground can hold us
before we leave.

               ~

 

A trace of rain up-canyon yesterday afternoon as I looked up from my desk, inside after an 1.5” of rain, sorting poetry for another collection—working title: “The Best of the Dry Years”, 2013, 2014, 2015. A formidable task, like sorting 90 head from 900, it will take many more rainy days to complete.

The photo has that postcard-look of not quite real, a reminder of what a little rain can bring. Yet, I harbor some skepticism, not ready to say the drought is over, to set ourselves up for disappointment. But it sure feels good, nonetheless.

 

Weekly Photo Challenge(3): “Treat”

 

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THE FUZZY FACTS

Posted on November 4, 2015 by | 3 comments

 

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Rumors take wings,
names and places change,
swirl up and down canyons

like sycamore leaves
before the dark clouds come
to settle things for awhile.

Mouths full of dust,
we didn’t talk much
in the dry years

looking out and up
when we weren’t scratching
for grass and water.

Since she’s returned with rain,
the hills grin green
and reach to embrace us,

calling cows and calves
to the ridge tops.
The phone rings from town:

“was it a lion or bear
killed five or seven horses
on Cottonwood or Dry Creek?

I hear the Fish and Game…”
trails off in monotone.
All I know: it wasn’t here.

 

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FOR RAIN

Posted on November 3, 2015 by | 2 comments

 

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Look to the sky:
bare oaks branched
upon uneven ridgelines
filigreed against
the promise beyond.

In the shadows
faces forgotten
re-inspect the man
I cannot change
from this distance.

Black and white,
dark and light
contrast youth
with age. The trail
is never straight

up the mountain—
granite rip-rap
and switchbacks
beside cold creeks
swept into rivers.

I believe the gods
ignore the pleas
of certain men,
prayers of the sure
and careless.

Look to the sky
for the wet gray rain
to wash this moment
before we start over
and over again.

 

 

1.45″

 

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ARMADA ROUGE

Posted on November 2, 2015 by | 3 comments

 

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First sign of a convoy at dawn
scout the sky eastward, small raft
of red on blue, I photograph

a promise of rain—then check
the Internet to bolster old saws
for shepherds and sailors

at the mercy of fickle gods
of weather and wonder
if our lover has returned—

how long will she stay?
Kindling split, we will be warm,
ignite the fire, cut wood and

carry ashes out until spring.
We are ready and prepared
to say goodbye to drought.

 

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LATE OCTOBER

Posted on November 1, 2015 by | Leave a comment

 

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Dry green for breakfast
among Halloween shadows—
who comes and who goes?

 

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Posted in Haiku 2015, Photographs, Ranch Journal

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Present and Accounted For

Posted on October 31, 2015 by | 7 comments

 

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It’s been hard for me to accept that I’ve worn my body out, always able to do any job on the ranch, feeling secure with the strength of my arms, back and legs. I’ve been lucky, but my knees, among other things, are gone. In the past 45 years, I’ve probably handled, loaded and fed, 15,000 tons of hay with Robbin’s help, but looking back, it was the 500 tons in 2013 that did the real damage.

It’s been a blessing having Lee Loverin and Terri Blanke feed for the past two seasons, as well as fix and build fence, help gather and work our cattle. They know the ranch and our routine and take it seriously.

Cropped and shot with a Canon 100-400mm zoom, I should have known the girls were separately counting cows and calves to make sure everyone was present and accounted for—it’s part of our job when we feed. But at 300 yards away, I took the photo for a different aesthetic. With the photo enlarged, imagine my pride, and my relief, knowing the girls are getting the job done right, and that the ranch can get along fine without me being a part of every single thing. Now that’s a treat.

 

Weekly Photo Challenge (2): “Treat”

 

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A Real Treat

Posted on October 31, 2015 by | 2 comments

 

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Enough rain to give the grass a good start in most places, we’re still feeding hay, a treat for these second calvers close to the house. We were especially glad to see this calf on the ground, its mother spending most of the month of August uncomfortably in pain, having difficulty walking with slow, short strides to hay and the water trough. A week or two before it was born, the calf must have shifted within her, as she began getting around again as if nothing was ever wrong.

Ambushed by her calf while on the alfalfa yesterday, this mottled-face Hereford is becoming a little rough-haired, showing the effects of raising a calf. If the calf were thin, we might be concerned and increase the hay, but right now she’s giving all to her calf, taking better care of it than herself—the kind of mothers we want.

The bare south and west slopes struggle as they have dried out since our first good rain on the 18th, but all the weathermen promise another good storm for Monday and Tuesday. With a little luck, we’re near the end of feeding hay as the cows move up into the hills for fresh green grass—a real treat for everyone.

 

Weekly Photo Challenge (1): “Treat”

 

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LIFELINE

Posted on October 30, 2015 by | 2 comments

 

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After the first inch rain
I work the road
with big Cat loader tires—
three towed behind

            four wheel drive
            low range crawl
            smoothing ruts
            like icing a cake

keeping gutters clean
and runoff into draws.

Outside, inside
down the middle
two round trips
four miles clay, rock
and some d.g.—
plenty time to think
and look for life:

            quail, hawk
            deer and bear,
            somewhere cattle

this fresh day.

Through the open window
scent of milk and cud
in the flats—

            little bunch:
            cows and calves
            upwind.

I’ve grown wild
since college and the Sixties:

            hauling hay loads up,
            goosenecks gathered
            with fat calves down
            the mountain—

our dirt road lifeline.

 

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YEAR OF THE BEAR, Part 3

Posted on October 29, 2015 by | 3 comments

 

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I’ve added a third part to the YEAR OF THE BEAR for the nearby mountain town of Three Rivers currently inundated with bears. A good many of these bears are habituated Park bears, adept at breaking into cars for a bag of potato chips—mommy vans with sliders are the vehicle of choice. Breaking into a house is much easier. The bear population in California has more than doubled since 1982.

Believe it or not, some residents have been feeding the bears and are vocally indignant and dismayed that some bears have been destroyed. Without thinking, Three Rivers has all the ingredients for a tragedy.
 

3.

Oso,
Ursus arctos
own the moonlit mountain town
on Halloween,
rummage door to door,
wait on the porch for more
of anything to eat.
Trick or treat.

 

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