No word of the whereabouts
of La Niña 3, one more dry year
waiting in the wings to sell cows
and feed more hay—instead,
8 days rain out of 9 and more
to come, bare canyon green.
We are helpless, flood or drought,
her fickle Nature always serving
what she wants, anywhere, anytime.
Posted in Photographs, POEMS 2023, Ranch Journal
Tagged cattle, Drought, green, Mother Nature, photography, poetry, rain, rainbow, weather
It’s not about you—
and not about to change
the weather or politics.
You are helpless,
at the mercy of the swirl
of elements colliding,
ricochets and explosions,
occasional clear views
of space and landscape
that keep you leaning forward
into the sun, your shadow cast
upon a fading track of small
accomplishment. After a rain
every tree frog sings
as if spring depended on it.
Posted in Photographs, Poems 2016, Ranch Journal
Tagged helpless, rainbow, tree frogs, work
Crown on ice
waiting for a rain
in a water glass
for me and this
yellow pad
to storm black ink,
prolong spring
with fresh metaphors
for resilience.
Posted in Photographs, Poems 2016, Ranch Journal
Tagged Crown Reserve, poetry, rain, rainbow
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”
Posted in Photographs, Poems 2015, Ranch Journal
Tagged cities, rain, rainbow, sustainability, war, weather, weekly-photo-challenge, Yokuts
She could have stayed
longer, spent the night
pelting the roof,
roaring like a river
over boulders, flashing
foothill silhouettes
to cracks of thunder
like in the old days.
wordpress.com/dp_photo_challenge/blur/
It was good to see her,
visiting like a sister
forty days late
with much on her mind.
Never aging and beautiful,
she spent the afternoon
outside in the gray—
left a rainbow behind.
Posted in Photographs, Poems 2015, Ranch Journal
Tagged Drought, Dry Creek, rain, rainbow, Sulphur Peak
Easter 2013
I made a joke of it:
attending funerals
as the price of survival—
saying goodbye, adios
as their souls ascended
to meet eternity, look
down occasionally
on our plight
of being human
and whisper in our ears.
With no wants,
they must envy
the depth of our passion
and its sensitive
entanglements, our pride
erected and dedicated
for their inspection.
We are never alone.
Posted in Photographs, Poems 2015, Ranch Journal
Tagged death, Dry Creek, funerals, photographs, poetry, rain, rainbow, saying goodbye, water, weather, weekly-photo-challenge
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