Loss
Through haunted smoke of lost civilization
The tang of past dynasties hangs redolent in the air
Here our gaze to the heavens
Finds the consolation of an airless world
Removed from our cares and tribulations
Read more
Summer Storm
The winds have scattered the lightning-crazed clouds In their place tattered remains litter a blue sky We walk amongst the pear and apple, walnut and plum aftermath To know that fall is near
Ode to the Western White Pine
The western white pine has become my favorite tree at least for now. It also happens to be Idaho’s state tree which I learned only after my decision to elevate to the lofty esteem that I currently hold it in. My position on the tree is its sheer beauty.
Squirrel Gifts
In the local woods where Mollie and I walk, the trees are dropping cones. It seemed to start with the Grand Fir but has now moved through the Douglas fir and Western White pine. (The Lodgepoles hold on more preciously to their cones.) Now Ponderosa is getting into the act.
What I Am Reading Now
These are a matched set in many ways. I got them both through random browsing at Bonner's Books in Bonner's Ferry Idaho. They are also from roughly about the Meiji Era of Japan (1868–1912). The Meiji era is a fascinating period of Japanese history as