softness in the skies
adrift over layered tuff ring,
white veils eclipse sun
Skyscapes from Fort Rock, Oregon.
Softness in the skies haiku: LAPC & SS
Poetry
Old one’s last winter haiku: Haiku Prompt Challenge
bound by ancient roots
branches sway in desert winds
old one’s last winter
Walking with Winter in B & W: LAPC
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
And crystalline waterfalls frozen in time
Where icy peninsulas extend the reach of land
So winged ones can walk on water
Walking with Winter along a River of Falls
Lens Artists Photo Challenge (LAPC) – Glimpse into your world
Juniper caught misty moon poem: Monochrome Monday
Juniper 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
Frost spikes haiku: Haiku Challenge
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: Pull Up a Seat & Haiku Challenge
On a distant shore
Rushing away from the flow
Resting in the ebb
Ronovan Writes Weekly Haiku Poetry Prompts Challenge # 332 Ebb, Flow
Recognizing a place in Placed: High Desert writings
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 – 4 haiku: LAPC
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 haiku: Monochrome Monday
Rounded river rocks
Solitary standing snag
Weaving waterway
Monochrome Monday
Owls in the mist – Images & poem: BWPC
Owls in the mist
glide into view
on silent wings
Pondering us
Through eyes,
Round and wise
Hope in a sunrise – tanka poem: LAPC
A sliver of hope
glimmers on the horizon
A dark bud opens
delicate petals unfurl
Hope blossoms, filling the sky
Bright blossoms haiku: Friday Flowers
After waiting years
for bright blossoms to appear,
luminous at last
Friday Flowers
A silent symphony haiku: Friday Flowers
A deserted stage
Emptiness filled with blossoms
Silent symphony
Friday Flowers
Resplendent with crystals of snow: LAPC
Winds shift and winter blows
In from the farthest reaches of
North, carried on cold fronts
Turning landscapes into
Enchanted scenes
Resplendent with crystals of snow
Yellowstone in spring is a time to… : LAPC
Yellowstone in spring is a time to
Shrug off that old winter coat and
Feel the warmth of the sun
Continue reading
Columbine pictures and Haiku: Friday Flowers
Delicate flowers
Suspended from slender stems
Chime in pastel tones
Friday Flowers
Yellow flowers with petals radiating -Tanka: LAPC
A single flower
With petals radiating
Captures warm sunlight
To share on overcast days
Illuminating us all
Lens-Artists Photo Challenge – One single flower
Wet and Wild Otters Haiku: LAPC
Wet and wild otters
Grateful for their liquid world
Tread into its depths
Gliding silently
Steering with slender rudders
In a search for bliss
Day breaks and clouds wait: LAPC & Sunday Stills
Precious little souls on Easter – Haiku
Precious little souls
Clad in curly woolen coats
Innocent and pure
Keeping our Distance: LAPC
Covered in coldness poem: LAPC
Covered in coldness
Obscured from view
Layered in lightness
Dazzling and new
Lens-Artists Photo Challenge (LAPC) – Cold
Watching & waiting for clouds: LAPC
Watching & waiting for clouds
Turning the sky into a color collecting kaleidoscope
Expressing their thoughts with fiery punctuation
Bright bouquets of fall foliage poem
Autumn
is bright bouquets
shining in fading light
warming our souls through the winter
season
Elk of the Shadows: LAPC
Solitary grazer
Hiding in filtered light
Antlers flocked in
Downy velvet
Oblivious to his
Wonder
Lens-Artists Photo Challenge – Shadows
Bye-bye Brother
Farewell to my little brother
From flying his food into his mouth as a toddler
To piloting F-15’s and commercial jets as an adult
My brother soared to great heights until
Cancer struck him down
May he use those wings he has always had
To fly to his next destination
Bright Passes
Storms can be raging around you
Clouding your judgement
Darkening your mood
Look for the passes
On your horizons
Make your way
Across the low spots to the
Brightness beyond the barriers
Weekly Photo Challenge – Elemental
Purple punctuation
Purple wildflowers
Punctuating dry deserts
With cool regal tones
Bark – Tanka poem
White-headed woodpecker, Picoides albolarvatus
Bark
Protects hidden hearts
With tough layers of texture
Clinging and peeling
And revealing small glimpses
Of tenderness deep within
Finding grace
Rivers make their own way
Flowing
In a steady direction
Turning
When they find obstacles
Rising
And descending towards
Finding
A unique form of grace
Weekly Photo Challenge – Graceful
Snowfall makes
Snowfall makes
Mountain ranges on branches
Snowfall makes
Stars burst forth below
Snowfall makes
Logs into letters
Snowfall makes
The roughest spots smooth
Snowfall makes
New tracks in ancient places
Fall Foliage Fireworks: Weekly Photo Challenge
Fall leaves
Bursting with color
Explosions of warms and cools
Reflecting the last rays of summer
On a quest towards the
Cold crispness to come
Weekly Photo Challenge – Quest
Concealed
Hiding in plain sight
In a cradle of summer
She patiently waits
Grounded 2: Notice the world beneath you
Look beneath your feet
And notice
Notice the textures
Notice the colors blending
And bold
Bold and brilliant hues
Bold and distinct edges
And patterns
Patterns of cracks
Patterns of smoothness
And transitions
Transitions moving towards new
Transitions moving in a rhythm
And beat
Beat into the earth
Beat into your memory
And soul
I am re-posting one of my favorite posts in celebration of one year of blogging and 100 entries. Hope you are enjoying my blog!
Embrace them
Fox kit at Yellowstone National Park
A gust of wind
Can take them away
Embrace them and guide them
With gentle breezes
Words: A poem on Sticks and Stones
Words
Sharp and cutting
Smooth and soothing
Colored by what surrounds them
Words
Forked and dividing
Fibrous and fortifying
Defined by what surrounds them
Words
Tangled and eroding
Tranquil and tempering
Embraced by what surrounds them
May Showers, High Desert Flowers
Purple sage and paintbrush
A desert can be desolate
Arid and barren
Spring showers
Splash colors
Of brilliant hues
Amidst the sand
Painting with a delicate brush
From a palette of rainbows
Balsamroot 
Tiny Oasis: A Haiku about a starlily
Tucked beneath the sage
Reflections of stars above
Shine forth from the sand
Flocking to Malheur in the Springtime
In the Spring, the flocking begins.
Flocks alighting,
Optics focusing.
Nature’s fireworks on display
Exploding in a timeless rhythm.
Wings fluttering,
Voices trumpeting.
Welcoming visitors to share
In a celebration of Spring.
Flocking to Malheur.
Easter cottontail
Mountain cottontail, Sylvilagus nuttallii
In the sagebrush sea
Where bunchgrass waves in the wind
Alone he grazes
Nose twitching, large eyes gazing
Cottontail punctuating