gnarled oak knots
fishermen know season’s tides
skin aged by the sea
This door that I’m sharing with Thursday Doors has so many possible stories.
Tag: california
Landscape #photography #haiku
Eye dawns on beauty
seasons merge in a mist
sea my horizon
This week’s WordPress Photochallenge is Landscape. There is some beautiful photography for you to enjoy by fellow bloggers.
California Dreaming… #photography #poetry #dpchallenge
The
dream
like a
butterfly
fluttered about
not wishing to be caught
flaunting its winged victory
I grasped
at the very edge
holding tight
to yesterday
***
And what dream do you hold in your hands????
The wordpress photography challenge is “Show us something Dreamy“.
Come Dream with us:
Everything has a Price #water #ag #california #poetry
Comrades come and gather round
we have found water
in your thirsty ground
precious as it is to you
we will sell it back
it’s true
grow your crops
or let them die
what is it to us
if hungry children cry
***
Pictures speak 1000 words. These pictures are within miles of each other in California’s Central Valley.
You guessed it the beautiful water filled canal supplies water to the corporate farm.
The independent farms (family owned ) are left to go back to scrub brush.
Fracking is not helping the problem!
The Winery #poetry #haiku #harvest
long days of harvest
purple fruit teases the sun
hands are stained
*
purple stained
children finger paint the scene
shoes off, wine poured
**
shoes on, wine poured
oak casks now silent
not too tired to dance
I was reminded of the harvest at a friend’s winery a few years ago. Chevrefeuille’s Carpe Diem prompt Vineyards
Drink Up California #water #poetry #Californiadrought
Drink up California
I say lift your glass high
and as you do look
the politicians in the eye
mismanaged this drought
this time around
not sure what you’ll find
if you run for high ground
Drink up California
I say lift up your glass
for your government
needs a kick in the (rhymes with glass)
the newest report
you can read it right here
Surgeon General states
“Drink your urine” – hear hear
Drink up California
you might want to lower your glass
find a new kind of water
cows* are chewing dead grass
***
(*There is a new cattle urine collection system that provides “purified water)
News at 11 #poetry #drought #photography
and you
as the sun sets on the occurences of today
are you putting you little ones to bed
contemplating the school year ahead
are you checking your records
to make sure you have enough flu vaccine
reading up on the Ebola scene
are you shaking your head at the
26 page syllabus of first year spanish
as you finish your third ice cream dish
one your knees Thursday night
praying that none of your friends will have the shock
being the latest Christians on Friday’s chopping block
and how will you deal with the news
what items would you run and take
preparing for another San Francisco earthquake
you must know that water sources are failing
politics in California turn off the spout
no water for your family to drink out
food and dairy replaced by weeds
feed your family from a box
this fall don’t expect more expect high costs
disease can travel on any transportation
were so filled with misinformation
I turned off our news for the last and final time
I’ll check France 24 overseas at Nine
Never in a Straight Line #poem #dpchallenge #photography
Water flows
circuitous route off mountains
it was a warm winter
the river never runs in a straight line
*
feelings flow
never making any sense
two hearts spring
the river never runs in a straight line
*
passion flows
dawn collides with day
heat beads off summer skin
the river never runs in a straight line
*
life flows
making confusing rules
fall of three streams
the river never runs in a straight line
Today’s prompt at DP photography challenge is Zigzag.
What zigzags in your life???
Racing Dawn #tourdefrance #cycling #poetry
warming up before I pull
my steady friend
a green Lemonde 
off the truck bed
cinching my helmet
snap,snap
rolling my neck
shoulders anticipating miles of strain
my shoes becoming one with my vehicle
click, click
slow motion forward
adjusting gears from last ride
muscles groaning over yesterday
smile, as I push forward
knowing there is a mountain ahead of me
there is little I can see
I aim toward a wall of fog
all alone except for cattle greetings
pull, push, pull, push
the only sound I hear
is my cadence of breathing
ha, ha, hu, hu
ha, ha, hu, hu
oak tree my friend on the descent
not so welcome as I climb
passing the tree line
when did the fog dissipate?
I don’t remember
Fire danger sign at high alert today
the thought of fire makes me thirsty
gulp, gulp
muscles start lactic acid build up
squeeze, squeeze
reach behind for my liquid protein
squirt, squirt
one moment to take a long breath
check brakes
another inhale preparing for the rush
the welcome descent
racing the wind
willing my 23 mm tires to hug the hill
there are moments I fly
wheeeeeeee
it seems minutes since I left the summit
and when I hear
the “welcome back to earth“
blown out of warm nostrils
they go back to gossiping
about life in the fields
as the sun prepares
to meet the day
The photographs are taken ( Sierra Madre) in the area I used to start my cycling morning (promptly at 5am to beat the 110 degree days) Sometimes there would be other cyclists, sometimes just the cattle. Cyclists of all levels train on these mountains.
In honor of the (spirit of cycling) Tour de France, the prompt for midweek motif is La Tour de France.
Things of the Past #agriculture #dpchallenge #drought
oiled plows
turned the ground
anticipating harvest
Once full of life
wheat fields clapped their hands
cattle gossiped in the stalls
tractors slowed traffic
we rose before the sun
greeting the day’s challenge
rusty hinges no longer squeak
children no longer milk cows
our food is imported
The prompt for the daily post photo challenge is Relic.
I used to look upon rusty, dilapidated farms as romantic. I anticipated the change of new metal barns and air-conditioned John Deere tractors. While I lived in the agricultural center of California, I never anticipated the return of the land to desert where nothing grows and a lye/ salt makes it impossible to grow anything but sage brush. There is an abundance of uncultivated sagebrush land. The United States has been reliant for up to 90 percent produce (from California) including cotton, citrus, dairy, fruit, vegetables, nuts, grapes…). The land (even with water) cannot be cultivated in a season (or a year.)
Have you noticed where your produce is coming from???
I have no qualms about buying produce from other countries except for the lack of FDA regulation on amount and type of pesticides being utilized.
Please enjoy the Relics produced by others:
