Peering through my pocket lens
Vivid reflections shine
where the river bends
The colors soar high into the blue
pausing in rainclouds
falling as dew
Droplets of pigment splatter parched plants
cling to pale petals
interweave and dance
fable of the fox
who crept too close to a fire
enlightened and singed
Morning
On a fall day
Brilliant colors appear
Merging into luminous wings
Soaring
the blur of autumn
catcher of fading colors
thoughts of winter’s chill
Geese flying high over Bend
Searching for good brews?
Soaring songs?
Avian sentry alert at daybreak
Perched on cattails near High Desert lake
Dangerous clouds move in
Surrounding him
Lightning flashes
Thunder crashes
Blackbird sounds alarm
Protecting marshes from harm
wind-sculpted mountains
emerge from sandy shorelines
embrace life, vanish
Note: These sand “mountains” near Waldport, Oregon are about 1/2 inch tall.
Today I’m sharing a primrose painting, photo, and poem I created. When I was on a field trip in early June, we saw a “field” of this plant in bloom near Crack in the Ground. Tufted evening-primrose, Oenothera caespitosa, usually only bloom at night but on that day, dark clouds filled the skies.
Here’s a watercolor I painted of the flowers.
And here’s the work in progress in my little studio space.
This is the close up photograph I took of these beautiful flowers near Crack in Ground. I’m growing evening-primrose in my landscaping and, so far, the always hungry resident mule deer have not discovered them. 🤞
Here is a Sijo poem about these remarkable flowers.
Awakened when the moon rises over the silent desert
Flowers in sandy soil open, shining like pale lanterns
Enchanting the world with intoxicating scent, until dawn breaks
Do you have artwork you would like to share? Be sure to include the First Friday Art tag.
High Desert voices can be heard throughout Central Oregon if you just pause and listen.
Bold shouts of the many
Quiet whispers of the few
Raucous calls of the many
the path meanders
up a rocky desert butte
embraced by spring clouds
Thermophile color blooms near Earth’s core
In bouquets of startling brilliance
Fertilized by extreme heat
In caldera water
Where few dare to tread
The Archaea
Find a home,
Warm and
Safe
Driving around the bend, visions of new worlds come into view.
Splashes of warm color, framed in cool blue, catch our attention.
Images pass by fast and vanish, remembered as a dream.
Lens-Artists Photo Challenge (LAPC) #191- Curves
delicate feather
propelled by whispers of wind
settles on snow drifts
dragons breathing fire
over magical snowscapes
on the edge of spring
diaphanous strands
a colorful serape
muffles winter’s chill
Online Writers Guild (OLWG) – #242 – A colorful serape
blue worlds drift away
scattered by the winds of change
winter’s eve draws near
Dusk and dawn desert sky,
Clouds move on, catch my eye
the wisest ones wait
impatient trembles of green
longing for fall’s kiss
scarlet embraces
gold whispers, orange laughter
autumn’s fleeting love
Sunday Stills (SS) – Leaves and Trees
Ronovan Writes Weekly Haiku Poetry Prompt Challenge – Wait and Wise
green leaves fluttering
ever alert for dawn’s frost
blushes of autumn
Ronovan Writes Weekly Haiku Poetry Prompt Challenge – Ever & Green
Splashes of autumn
Along verdant waterways
Beside winding roads
Within ancient lava beds
The glorious frocks of fall
I saw this impressive bison jump sculpture at the Buffalo Bill Center of the West in Cody, Wyoming. Free Fall, created by T.D. Kelsey in 2001, depicts a hunting method in use for hundreds of years. Hunters herded bison toward a steep cliff, where they fell to their death. As I’ve mentioned before, bison are dangerous and this is a safer alternative for harvesting them. At the base of this sculpture, piles of bones appear in a recreated archaeological dig.
T.D. Kelsey was born and raised on a ranch near Bozeman, Montana. T.D. Kelsey: Realist, Romantic, and Inspired Sculptor describes his background, including time spent as a rodeo cowboy, pre-med student, rancher, and airline pilot. With encouragement from his wife, Sidni, Kelsey eventually began working full time as an artist. His love for animals shows in this piece and other sculptures and paintings he created over the years.
Continue readingDo you wonder when you wander
Where the path will lead?
Up to mountains,
Where scattering clouds reveal the peaks of possibility?
Down to deserts,
Where sandstorms expose the color of earth’s soul?
Over to ocean shores,
Where waves create cryptic messages in the sand?
Through dense forests,
Where trees of different character stand together as one?
Do you wonder when you wander
Where the path will lead?
pushed by hot magma
through ancient layers of rock
the pull of dawn’s light
Ronovan Writes Weekly Haiku Poetry Prompt Challenge # 371 – Pull and push
souls from the past send
wispy notes in azure skies
smiles of summer sun
creatures of the mist
graze in meadowlands of steam
whisperers of warmth
rise swallow the wind
rapid plunge trailed by bubbles
joyful rays of sun
within a small seed
a tiny new life slumbers
awakened by sun
emerald limbs stretch
stems lengthen and reach skyward
embraced by springtime
Wildflowers in the desert sunshine
Emerging in harsh conditions
Shining with an inner light
Colorful expressions
Jewels in the sand
Ephemeral
Presences
Fleeting
Views
Wildflowers in the desert photographs taken at Gray Butte, Oregon in the springtime.
Water falling
And
Tumbling
Entering a
Rogue river
Finding
A course
Lyrical and
Littoral
Photographs of water falling were taken along Oregon’s Historic Columbia River Highway. For more information, and a map, see Waterfall Tour Loop.
softness in the skies
adrift over layered tuff ring,
white veils eclipse sun
Skyscapes from Fort Rock, Oregon.
bound by ancient roots
branches sway in desert winds
old one’s last winter
Walking with Winter along a River of Falls
Where snow softens hard edges of steel
And creates ephemeral works of whimsey
Where snow and ice form furrowed bridges
Continue readingJuniper caught misty moon on a chill winter night
Struggling to escape, moon gave up on the fight
Scrub jays gathered atop the great tree
Pecking and prodding until moon was set free
Monochrome Monday in infrared
Captured by frost spikes
Struggle against winter’s grip
Glints of sun, released
Ronovan Writes Weekly Haiku Poetry Prompt Challenge #341 — Frost and Glint
On a distant shore
Rushing away from the flow
Resting in the ebb
Ronovan Writes Weekly Haiku Poetry Prompts Challenge # 332 Ebb, Flow
I’m pleased to announce that one of my short stories was recently published in Placed: An Encyclopedia of Central Oregon, Vol. 1. This slim volume, however, is not an encyclopedia in the traditional sense of the word. It contains a collection of poetry and prose about this part of the planet. Central Oregon includes sagebrush deserts, thick pine forests, winding rivers, and volcanoes lining the horizon. Placed embraces tales of the wild, but also stories related to unique features – like Ocean Rolls from a local bakery.
My contribution is The Toad Queen, written after encountering a Great Basin spadefoot toad in my yard. It is one of the most unique things I’ve observed in Oregon – unlike anything I have ever seen. I snapped a couple pictures of it and gently pushed it off the trail. This creature with such an odd appearance and life history deserves a special story.
In the morning light
Fireworks light up the fall sky
Amazement above
When the day breaks bright
We find our comfortable place
Basking in its warmth
Rounded river rocks
Solitary standing snag
Weaving waterway
Monochrome Monday
