Airborne

Today the prompt at CARPE DIEM is "flying."
Sharing with Open Link Monday at Imaginary Garden with Real Toads

 I wrote this first haiku  about a week ago, while watching fair weather clouds  scoot by my window.

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white clouds

sail across the blue sky

migrating geese

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Yesterday, knowing that a three day storm was on its way, we went for a long walk, front-loading on exercise for the week.  This is what greeted us.

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the silent wind

contradicts the low gray sky

the skittish birds know

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Today there is a very different scene outside.  A huge storm is bearing down on us from the tropics.  She is on a collision course with 'Old Man Winter'  who is heading our way from the north and west.

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a summer storm

flies north for an autumn date

with winter

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  Still hundreds of miles away, its presence is very much felt this morning.  I am  listening to the howling wind and watching the scene outside my window as I write.  

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a finch hunkers down

in the shelter of a tree

autumn leaves fly

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Thought for today :  If you are in the storm's path, hunker down like the birds and be safe.

                                            

Scarecrows and Ghosties

  These scarecrows seemed to be everywhere we went on a recent walk through one of the state parks.  It was all decked out for the October holiday beloved by children of all ages.  I wish I had had my scary little 'monster' with me! 

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witches and scarecrows

roam village and countryside

scaring up a treat

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I think I'll get this outfit to wear when I work in the garden!

Looks just like my 'gardener'

Where is the bike lane?

Close up of the biker

These two are up to no good!

No Fishing Allowed

What tree roots do when no one is looking

This is my favorite scarecrow

Shared with AT HOME WITH BOOKS Saturday Snapshots and HAIKU HEIGHTS where the prompt for this week is 'witch.'








    

Resurrection

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knowing about spring...
 trees dress in orange and gold
and laugh out loud

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Shared with CARPE DIEM where the prompt for today is "laughter."

Tears

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a thrush

hits a glass wall

falling rain

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This was written for CARPE DIEM where the prompt for today is 'tears.'  

Pre- Election Agita?

  Has the media-mania in the run-up to the election got you down?  Are you jumpy?  Angry?  Not sure why you are so upset?

  Perhaps the constant bombardment by feverish pundits and news 'commentators' has you a bit on edge?

   Have they convinced you yet that the world will end if so and so is elected or reelected depending on who is speaking?

    You already know who you are voting for, right?  So why stress out about something over which you have little control.
 
     Here's how I am escaping the hype without flying to a remote island in the Pacific.  I:

                  *** Shut the TV and radio "news" off. (OK I will watch the debate, but nothing else especially not anyone else's take on the debate.  I can make up my own mind, thank you very much!)
                     
                  *** Read the paper if I want to know the news.

                  *** Kick back and listen to some soothing music.
                         Here's and hour or so of wonderful Chopin Nocturnes to help              
                         block out the craziness.





                   *** One more thing:   Vote!

Wild Music

At dusk
A lone bird trills

 an overture

two crickets

on scratchy violins

begin a duet

dressed up in pink

a rose spills perfume

on the score

dark clouds
promise

sky music

urgent wind whips

blackened treetops

to a fugue

sparklers fly

clapping applause

in the distance

raindrops pound

chasing squirrels off the roof

dueling drummers

wind surrenders

giving the rustling leaves

back to the trees

the moonrise

weaves
 infinite silence

(((  )))

Shared with POETRY PANTRY

Gray Dawn

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 titmouse
flies out of the mist
into morning

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a gray blur
at the feeding station
fog melts

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Thought for today:  How come I need a cup of tea to get the fog to lift every morning, and the birds don't?  

For HAIKU HEIGHTS The prompt is 'conscious.'

A Rest From Green

             Who would have suspected, back in April, when my eyes hungered for the first blush of green,  or in July when I gorged on it day after day, that  I would finally get my  fill of this fair color and go looking for another hue to feast upon?

              But here I am, this lovely autumn day, on a hunt for red (or gold, or bronze, or orange) October!

             I am a fickle lover after all, my sweet green.  But then, you did leave  me first!

             I promise to love you again, green,  when spring returns to my fair island.  But in the meantime, the Eternal Artist has lavished other colors on my world and enjoy them I will!

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 heart open

to  the sensory feast

gratitude

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red leaves

punctuate the brown

stream debris

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neither

picasso nor monet

painted this

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long shadows

beckon the dying leaves

rest here

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who dropped

red and gold confetti

everywhere?

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 the artist splashed 

color with no holds barred

mad with joy

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spent needles

under old mother pine

a cone bed

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bittersweet

do the birds save some berries

for the winter?

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gold necklace

captures the sun's glow

in spite of mist

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october gold

shimmers in the morning

slant light

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 the sun and breeze

 play a game of hide and seek

in the tall grass

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Today's thought - no sense longing for what is going, going, gone.  Might as well savor what is right here!

Shared with RECUERDA MI CORAZON Check it out for more Haiku My Heart!!
Shared with AT HOME WITH BOOKS.  Check it out for more Saturday Snapshots!

Perhaps the Wind Knows

Jones Beach West End 

Perhaps the Wind Knows

 The reeds make music

in their own greening voices,

 they touch each other

and the rustling rises like an anthem,

they don't ask for meaning,

 just quiver with life,

and when the breeze passes by 

they stand in ecstasy.

A falcon rides an updraft, 
 above a sun-beaten shore

not questioning but soaring,

wings sing as it dives to find

 an unsuspecting field mouse

whose final screech is unheard,

except by the breeze.

 Walking  for miles and miles,

mind wandering and pondering

the evidence of life all around,

 eyes sting with the joy of autumn goldenrod,
born of sand and salt

 ears ring with the humming cadence of bees,
sucking the last of the nectar.

Soon there is only the sound of breathing,

and I shiver and melt into the day moon.

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Shared with POETRY PANTRY

Light and Dark

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the setting sun 

wrapped in a blue and gray shroud

slips away

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More haiku on the prompt 'shroud' can be found at HAIKU HEIGHTS
More photos at AT HOME WITH BOOKS SATURDAY SNAPSHOTS

After Basho

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No poppies bloom
in warm October light
daisies stand in

daisies speak
their own silent words
to open hearts

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Shared at CARPE DIEM and RECUERDA MI CORAZON

Fresh and Refresh

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fresh

Swiss chard cut today

sauteed with garlic and oil

garnished with cayenne

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refresh

a breeze whistles through

a darker bronze dogwood

after the rain storm

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Shared with SENSATIONAL HAIKU WEDNESDAY   The prompt is fresh. 

What Time Is It ? It's Soup Time!

    I love soup!  I make it at least once a week from the first cool day in autumn until it gets hot and sticky in June!  I always make enough to freeze a few servings. 

    Nothing spells  fall quite like the first taste of Squash Soup. To me it  is the ultimate comfort food. I have several recipes, all wonderful,  using either pumpkin or butternut squash but I'm always open to new recipes.   

    I discovered a wonderful food blog a few months ago and love visiting Susan at The Spice Garden. Her recipes and photos are enough to send me to the kitchen to cook.  Her recipe for Coconut Curry Squash Soup jump started my autumn cooking spree.

  Since I usually fiddle around with any recipe I try, and since I wanted to use the vegetables I got in my CSA box, I made some changes to the recipe. (Besides, it's against my religion to follow a recipe exactly as written!

  Here's my tweaked version:

Coconut Curry Squash Soup

          *** Roast  3 squashes (1 butternut and 2 acorn)  I cut them in half, scoop out the seeds and coat with olive oil then place on a cookie sheet and bake in a 350 oven for about 30 to 45 minutes until nice and soft. Cool slightly and remove skins.

          *** While the squash is roasting, saute 3 or 4  leeks and 2-3 cloves of garlic  in olive oil until soft and lightly browned.  Add  1 tablespoon of curry powder (recipe below) more or less to taste, 1 inch piece of minced ginger, a teaspoon of ground cumin, a teaspoon of garam masala,  salt and pepper and a pinch or two  of cayenne pepper and cook for a few minutes.

         ***Add  2 cans of coconut milk  and the squash and puree.  Add  1 cup of plain yogurt and  soy milk,  between 1 and 2 cups,   depending on the consistency you want. 

       ***Reheat when ready to serve.  Garnish with a teaspoon of cream swirled into the soup or a pinch of  Roasted Spicy Pepitos. (see below)

Comfort food

Homemade Curry Powder

                                 1 teaspoon of each of the following:

                                            turmeric

                                            ground cumin seed

                                            red pepper

                                            ground fenugreek seeds

                                            ground coriander seed

                                            

                                  1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon and  dry mustard 

                                  3 ground  cloves             

Mix well, label and store.  Feel free experiment with this as there are as many recipes for curry powder as there are cooks in India!

Roasted Pepitos

Toss 1/2 cup  hulled pumpkin seeds with 1 teaspoon of canola oil, 1 teaspoon of mild or hot chili powder, 1/4 teaspoon of ground cumin and salt.  Toast in a 350 oven for 10 to 20 minutes, turning frequently. Use as a garnish for  Squash or Pumpkin Soup.

  If you want to see the original recipe, follow the link to The Spice Garden While you are there, check out some of Susan's other lovely recipes!

Today's Take-Away - When the weather cools off, make soup!


Linked to TASTY TUESDAYS at 33 Shades of Green.  Check out the link for some great recipes!

                          

                                         

Home

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a sparrow flies

into the white cedar

gathering darkness

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Linked to Haiku Heights in response to the prompt 'home.'

Moon Light

oo

a reflection
wakes me at midnight
two moons

oo

Shared with Carpe Diem where the prompt is 'moon.'

Morning Meditation - Psalm 27

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a single tree branch

becomes a squirrel's tail

wispy fog

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Shared with  :Carpe Diem for the prompt 'animal.'

What Fun!!

What Fun!

        Now here is a sight to make an old woman's heart sing,

out of tune perhaps,

 but nevertheless......

An almost four-year-old

 with brand new orange sneakers

on a brilliant October day,

What fun!

'Lets go to the park,' says Orange Sneakers

'I want to be a leaf-blower 

and clean up all the leaves!'

 Off they go to the park,

 to hunt for monsters

build a campfire in the  playground,

boil some leaves for tea

and best of all 

 pretend to be really, really, really big leaf-blowers!

How great is that,

to be almost four
 AND be a really, really, really big  leaf-blower
 in October,

in a park full of deciduous trees?

When the shadows grow long, 
the leaf-blower and his grandparents 
head for home,and on the way,

Orange Sneakers  informs his audience  

'I came out of Mommy's belly,'

Hm......

'Whose belly did you come out of?'

he asks,

 'I came out of GG's belly',

his grandmother says.

'Oh.'
  

Then a siren sounds  on the street
and a hook and ladder goes by,

 and little Orange Sneakers

dashes off to put out a fire.

At home,

 sneakers come off with a flourish

       and grandson becomes...........

SUPER PIIIIIIIIIIG

leaping over sofa cushions, er...

tall  apartment buildings,
 driving 'vehicles' to Paris, France

and making up rules for unsuspecting grandparents,

'Everyone HAS to take their shoes off  in the house.'

'I don't HAVE to eat Brussel sprouts'

'I AM allowed to climb up to the top of the sofa'

'I don't NEED a shampoo tonight.'

'Oh really,' says grandmother,

'Is that so,' says grandfather.

When it is time to leave,

 Super Pig morphs into  grandson

and offers  hugs and kisses

to grandmother
 and grandfather too.

'Can we go to the park when you come again?'

'Yes, we can!'

Segue to October

       Although the  garden is still mostly green and many plants are still blooming, there  are definite signs that summer is over and the whole landscape has  a new persona.  If it was audible, it would sound like the garden was sighing.

   The shadows change  at this time and observing how the sun manages to get right inside of the plants and trees as they first put on the bright colors of autumn and then slowly undress is one of the joys of the coming month.

  Right now, on this first day of October, many of the summer flowers linger and there is still much to be harvested.

 Autumn bloomers kiss the summer bloomers goodbye.

Herbs and flowers ready for preserving

Goldenrod opening a week or so  ago

 

These day lilies were a gift from my neighbor last year.  They start blooming in June and hang on until October.  Amazing!

Still a few butterflies around this bush everyday.

The cardinal flower vine never bloomed until late August, just when the hummers arrived.  It is still going strong -tying up the wind chimes and heading for the weeping cherry.

Look closely to see my little friend!

The Montauk Daisies save their show until the first week in October.

Sedum is another late summer into autumn bloomer.  The bees love it  and so do I.

The mums are showing off the first golds and rusts of the season.

Goldfinches will come for these spent coneflower seeds

                   The knowledge that soon all will be brown makes me savor the colors now.

In a few weeks,  the whole tree will be gold

Although this clematis finished blooming last week, it still looks lovely.

Late blooming roses will be a gentle reminder of summer days until early November

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october gold

spend it wisely

outdoors

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