Bird Ballet: a poem
small brown birds swarm flit
yellow flash here
black eye stripe there
warblers finches chickadees
quiet busy zip
vine shrub pine tree
they follow winter’s first rains
flee cold down mountainsides coast
numbers protect
small boy and I watch
nose to window
white droplets catch light–
more rain or even snow?
no, a torrent of insects
float glide antlike insects
wings don’t flap
yellow warbler loops by
snatches one in flight
a bit of wind brings meals in view
too many for the resident black phoebe
townsends audubons goldfinch
swoop in
insect downpour done
bird ballet over
no encore
we leave our seats
I found this poem a week or two ago when my Mac laptop crashed and I returned to use a laptop I borrowed 2 years ago. I”ve done some editing on it and will likely do more…it doesn’t do justice to the image of these odd insects & birds …the surprise we felt. I think it’s over edited right now.
BTW, if you’re wondering what happened to the meme about 4 things a beginning poet should avoid or do, I’m still working on it!! My post was lost 2x to cyberspace and haven’t had the chance or the heart to do it again. Watch for the 2 incomplete posts (Tag I’m It & Art City) in the next few days…
as always, in search of that which engages the whole soul,
the art predator
Desert Hot Springs: no kids please
I am writing from the HIghlander in Desert Hot Springs, CA, about 3o minutes from downtown Palm Springs, 2 hours from downtown LA, about an hour from incredible wildflowers in Joshua Tree National Park, about 30 minutes from Coachella Music Festival.
I’ve stayed in various funky 50s style motels here in the last 10 years (it’s awesome to soak in teh mineral water and soak up the stars after being immersed in music at Coachella) but we have done other adventures since 2003 and somehow missed out on the way the place has changed. The places I used to stay at are closed or under renovation, and the newly renovated places are great–but NONE of them take kids! We spent almost 3 hours trying to find one where we wanted to stay where we could stay!!
Finally, the woman here took pity–as long as we didn’t bring our son near the pool area! So we have some really nice digs–our own jacuzzi pool on our own patio even with absolutely the best views around. The shower is 50’s pink and black tile but other than that it’s all redone. The place is wildy groovy and has wireless… in the lobby.
So now it’s time to head back for a nice long soak…
thanksgiving & chocolate rum pecan pie recipe
GROWING A PECAN PIE REVOLUTION
Nothing says Thanksgiving or Christmas to me like warm pecan pie…with a little rum in it and some chocolate chips, maybe a little vanilla ice cream on the side…mmmm!
Give thanks to the universe this holiday season by making two homemade pecan pies—no measuring required! If you make two, you might even have some leftover to take with you—ours last year went with us to the Granite Mountains in the Mojave where we warmed them by the fire on a frosty night and enjoyed with a little tawny port!
My dad’s dad grew his own pecans out in Bakersfield. He and my grandma–with her beautifully gnarled arthritic hands– spent hours watching TV and shelling them so come Thanksgiving and Christmas, we’d have pecans for pie and candied yams. I remember cold fall evenings climbing the trees with my cousins, and shaking the limbs until the pecans rained down.
One Thanksgiving in Santa Cruz I set my former husband and housemate to shelling pecans from a huge jar. The house smelled of the oven warming, butter melting, and nutmeg, strong scent of fresh nutmeg. “We can’t find the pecans–it’s all shell,” they complained. No wonder–they were trying to find the pecan meat inside nutmegs!
All over the east end of Ventucky, before they grew avocados, before they grew oranges and lemons, they grew walnuts by the acre. I grew up out there near the government center, on Burl Street, so-named after walnut burls. Every house had a walnut tree in the yard; some even launched walnuts for us to find on our way to Mound School. We’d crack them open with our teeth, maybe find a nest of spiders. Maybe not.
If we can grow walnuts here in Ventucky, why not pecans? Perhaps we can plant a pecan or two dozen here in midtown, and some downtown, gather us enough pecans to make us a few pies for one of those second Thursday Midtown Council meetings, or Monday city council meetings. Don’t forget to put in the rum or chocolate chips. Vanilla ice cream on the side would be nice too (and maybe a little extra rum!)
We could grow a pecan pie revolution! It’s really easy to make pecan pies—epecially if you make two at a time. Change the world– make it a better, sweeter, richer, more satisfying place—one slice at a time.
This Thanksgiving we’re taking our leftover chocolate rum pecan pie and port off to Joshua Tree National Park for some bouldering, exploring, and cycling plus a stop for some r & r at Desert Hot Springs –leaving momentarily!
How to Make 2 Revolutionary Pecan Pies w/o measuring:
because one is never enough and it’s just as easy to make 2
You need–
2 pie shells
a bottle of dark corn syrup (Karo)
1 box brown sugar (or a 1/2 bag or 2 cups)
some molasses (optional—up to a 1/2 cup)
half dozen eggs, slightly beaten
a bag/pound of shelled pecans (whole halfs or broken)
2 handfuls chocolate chips
2 tsp vanilla (small spoon)
2 T dark rum (large spoon)
4 T melted butter (cut a cube in half and melt in the microwave)
a pinch salt
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Beat the eggs lightly with a fork in a big bowl. Mix in the brown sugar, corn syrup, salt, molasses, rum, vanilla, butter. Spread pecans and chocolate chips across the pie shells, then pour half the mixture into the two pie pans and bake at 350 degrees for an hour or until a knife stuck in comes out clean. If the pans are overfull, you can put the extra in to any oven safe baking dish and cook it for a shorter time with the rest. TIP: You can usually find glass pie pans in a thrift store. Buy crusts already prepared (check to see if they use lard!) and lay them out in the pan; be sure to “marry” any creases or cracks by blending the edges together with your fingers.
Update; Thanksgiving 2008–my pies are in the oven! are yours?? Happy Thanksgiving!
gonna try to write about Art City
because I have to for the cryer, have to finish my article for the next issue, but have to sort through my sadness, my grief for what has been lost there, and to recognize what is still there and what has always been there–a huge heart.
too bad that beautiful alalbaster heart that i was going to finish was destroyed in the first fire. it would make a great image for this post.
another post in progress…
TAG–I’m IT!
ok, so what’s a meme anyway?
danika at open channel tagged me to write 4 things beginning poets should attend to and 4 things to avoid. i think she called it a meme (is that pronounced mee-mee? or meeem? or meeem-ee? anyway so here goes!
a beginning poet should attend to:
1. READINGS!
even if there isn’t an open mic, especially if there isn’t an open mic, go to as many readings as possible and listen–listen to what catches your attention, listen for sounds which find your ear, listen for images which ignite your inner eye. listen to how the poet reads the work, introduces the work, pauses, speeds up, plays with the words. or doesn’t. try to remember one image and tell the poet about it. most communities have poetry readings listed somewhere on line or in print. the listings aren’t usually correct but they can give you a start. if you’re in california, poetryflash.org lists readings all over the state. pw.org lists readings they are co-sponsoring.
2. POETRY IS EAR CANDY! READ WORK ALOUD!
not just yours but other poets, any poet. listen to how they write to inform your reading, listen to how the words tickle your tongue while they tickle your fancy, how they might roll around in your mouth, slide into each other, or dance right out to seduce your ear.
3. MAKE CHOICES. know that every thing you do in your poem is a choice you make to inform your reader how to read and understand your poem.
avoid:
1. centering your poem unless you have a specific reason for centering–unless it’s a concrete poem or a stanza poem like herbert’s easter wings or you have some other reason which helps your reader understand your poem. poems on hallmark cards are centered. unless you are writing a poem which you will be submitting to a card company, do not center it.
2. if you must rhyme (for example you are writing a ballad or villanelle or some particular form) put the rhyme at the end of the line.
3.
i am working on this post still…more to come soon. i already wrote it once and it got eaten by the cyberspace monster
Barking: 8/1/07 3:15 experiment poem
with this post, on danika’s recommendation, i am joining rhian’s Monday poetry train, and will hereby do my best to post a poem each monday
the following is a poem from this year’s 315 experiment–a transcription of what i wrote at 315am Aug 1–followed by a version edited tonight. for more info go to http://www.315experiment.com
Weds Aug 1 315am Ventura
The damned dogs sound
mechanical in the warm fog
a metal larygnx
spews out barks
its voicebox rusting
hollow echoing
bouncing off the fog
ricocheting in the
sweaty night
what are you barking at dog
what are you barking for dog
can’t you tell that no one cares
the way you do
stop crying into the night
shake the disturbance
out of your belly
find your home your bed
tuck your nose
under your tail
and shut the fuck up
revised 8/1 315 poem:
Damned dog sounds
mechanical in warm fog
metal larygnx
spews out barks
voicebox rusty
hollow echoes
bounce in fog
ricochet off
sweaty night
what are you barking at dog
what are you barking for dog
can’t you tell no one cares
the way you do?
stop crying into the night
shake the disturbance
out of your belly
find your home your bed
tuck your nose
under your tail
& shut the fuck up
shut the fuck up!
>> 2 good reasons to go to santa paula saturday 11/17: reason 2
Lettre Sauvage publishes the cryer, broadsides, cards, chapbooks, t-shirts and lots of cool stuff and their gathering Saturday would be the second reason to go to Santa Paula Nov. 17 because as they announce:
We’re having our first party! All Lettre Sauvage print work will be on display. There will be demonstrations of our equipment and the opportunity to print greeting cards.
Entertainment includes Opal Gann’s electronic tonalities, Sophia Kidd’s performance art and possibly some film screenings. Jean Benoit, wine maker at Casa Baranca, will host the vin. All are welcome. Please stop by and power our machines with your regards.
check out Lettre Sauvage on my blogroll
>> 2 good reasons to go to santa paula sat 11/17: reason 1
edited from an email from John Nichols…
The John Nichols Gallery invites you to an opening reception for a collaborative show of work by photographer John Nichols & painter Gail Pidduck on Saturday, November 17 from 4-6 pm. Refreshments will be served.
This artistic collaboration will allow the visitors to the gallery to see people of Ventura County at work in a variety of settings through the eyes of both a painter and a photographer. On exhibit will be images of cooks, airplane mechanics, sheet metal workers, strawberry pickers, and still lifes of many other occupations that surround us all as we go about our own work.
The gallery is located at 916 E. Main St. in historic downtown Santa Paula. Hours are noon to 5 Wed. to Sat. Portions of the exhibit will be available soon on the web at www.sespe.com/jng.
>> whew! plus the best chocolate frosting recipe
how many kids? 25?
how many adults? 25?
how many balloons, sandwiches, gift bags? 25, 50, 25?
how tiered am i?? very…
but it was a really fun party! and everyone said it was the best chocolate frosting so here it is, the recipe for the best chocolate frosting:
DARK chocolate frosting for dark chocolate lovers:
INGREDIENTS
1 cube butter, room temp
4 cubes/squares (about a half box) unsweetened chocolate
1 box powdered sugar
small SMALL!! amount liquid–choc milk or espresso preferred
Soften the chocolate in a bowl in the microwave (check every 30 seconds or so–better to have it a little lumpy than burnt)
Cut the butter into chunks in a small bowl.
On low, beat the butter adding SMALL amounts of powdered sugar at a time. (Bonus if you sift it in.)
When it gets firm, add melted chocolate. When that’s too firm, add a Tablespoon of espresso or chocolate milk and continue mixing.
Keep adding powdered sugar to your taste. Add small amounts of liquid as necessary. Any extra frosting is especially great on graham crackers.
let me know how it comes out!
>> screwed
this week’s remodeling project hasn’t been tile, no not painting, and no, not really about faucets–it’s been about varnish. yep varnish–that nasty toxic substance that you sand off, then apply, then sand off, ad nauseum, filling your house, your nasal pasages, and your lungs with varnish gunk.
but we’ve done it over the last week and some 50 hours of labor–3 coats of new varnish, sanding from 80/100 then 120, then 180 grit with each pass. and it sure looks better–not new of course, but like it’s got 60 years of life, its in its golden age.
now, before we can put the cupboard doors and drawers back, we’re cleaning the hardware instead of buying new (what a concept!)
so far i’ve spent 4 hours over the sink scrubbing old finish and smegma off. it’s about all done except the screws. 10 screws per cupboard door and there’s 14 doors, plus 2 screws on each drawer handles! that’s enough screws to take the skin off your fingertips, the song off your tongue, and your let’s get on off to bed.
so that’s what i’m going to do now–(no not get it on or go to bed!) i’m gonna make some homemade chai with whiskey and get screwed. want to join me? there’s room at the sink!
seeking that which engages the whole soul esp while screwing== the art predator
art predator 