Lion in the Sun

The sun shone one more time on
the accoutrements of the autumn garden
the lion sits, basking in the fading warmth of the sun's low angle



the cabbage unfurls layers and layers of purple flesh



taking one last bow, the skirts flared wide over the ground full of brown leaves.



The beauty of the autumn garden
lies beneath the discarded foliage of the neighborhood


and hanging in abundance on the vines,
awaiting the arrival of a great gang of birds
hungry and wanting.

Tarnish on the Rocks

Yes, it is really fun to road-trip in a Jeep. But, what I didn't count on was how fun it is taking pictures of the Jeep. This shot was taken in Moab on a road that runs along the Colorado.

There is so much grandeur in the area that it is hard to get that perfect shot, you know, that shot that captures the essence of the trip. This place was especially difficult as the road is literally carved out the stone, making for really tall road-side rock formations. The Jeep helps frame the shot, I think, and allows the sense of enormous height.

Autumn reds

After all the leaves have withered and fallen to the ground, the color of the red berries fill the sides of a dirt road. So easy to pick in comparison to the thorn-protected blackberries, yet so not edible.

Outside Thanksgiving

from the journals of 2003....


Outside
hanging in others' property
are the bleeding carcases of deer in groups of two and three
so casual - picturesque, almost
morbidly so.

I felt the disturbance in the air
the minute I arrived.
Something not right
just a mere 400 feet away.

Deer medicine speaks of gentleness
compassion and unconditional love.

I trouble with this
my mind unwilling to accept what is
flowing from my heart.

At this point, origins are unknown
the land around me is stark
colder and more harsh than I expected.
Fallen snow carves odd shapes on the fallen logs.
It seems as desolate as the desert.

Yet the hanging deer are undeniable evidence of
the vitality of this land
The abundance of wildlife -
We have seen none as of yet.

------------------------

For over twenty-five years, the land has been peaceful and nurturing. Now the woods are full of this:





There is no understanding coming to my mind, no poems about death and rebirth, just callous and peace-shattering emotions.

november changes

Now that all the leaves are gone and the region shades itself with browns and grays, I think about how so much can change in just one week...from the oak reds...

...to the golden beauty of the maples...

I'm reading Ellen Meloy's The Anthropology of Turquoise and in it, she explores how the body experiences color and constructs a connection to home; "Color is the first principle of Place." Color intoxicates the senses, makes suggestions to the nose, imprints upon memory, invokes emotion, beckons the touch, and fills the heart.

Here, I am surrounded by all manner of color: a riot of reds, browns, greens, yellows. The land where I choose to live is the full spectrum of nature's creation. Each season brings on a fresh palette of color...

....and soon, this will blanket the earth...

Jeep Porn

I was talking to my husband this weekend about all that has changed for us now that the election is over. We laughed at the idea that getting DSL and new laptop coincided with election of Obama. Now, I have a faster internet connection which means being able to see all those YouTube videos of Jeep roll-overs and crashes.

We sat and watched most of them, and while the first dozen were rather exciting, a feeling of dread started to set in. Do people really do those things? It was like watching porn, not sex porn, or even food porn, but Jeep porn. It was one of those phenomenas where people are anxious to watch, yet barely get the opportunity to participate. The dread started to arise when I realized we could actually participate in the metal crushing, rock climbing mania.

Now, I like to be alone when facing of my failures. I have been known to cry while caught up on some rocks in Pucker Pass, Utah. My heart has been known to beat real fast as we inch our way down the Jeep trail. When covered with tears and on the verge of a panic attack, I like to be alone. It was clear to me that in the YouTube videos there were a lot of people around to witness the crash. The possibility of this too embarrassing for me. But, then I realized if you are going to roll your Jeep over, wouldn't it be better to have tons of people around to help?

I don't see a single tear in any of these videos. Certainly, there were women's voices all over, screams aplenty, but no tears. Are people so overjoyed with the adventure? Or am I just a wimp?

On our first Jeep to the Southwest at the end of December, Shannon at the rock shop said to us that "adventure is knowing when to turn around". Maybe I'm not a wimp, I'm just spending too much time looking for our turn around spot, preferably the spot before the Jeep rolls over.

I loved the video titled "Best friend and wife in Jeep Roll". The wife kept saying "I don't like it, I don't like it", but all the while, smiling. That so reminds me of myself on a Jeep trail. I might not like the moment because my face is tearing and my heart is getting ready to jump out of my chest, but truth be told, when it's over, I'm already looking for the next adventure!

A Bold New World

A sand sculpture of president-elect Barack Obama, created by Sudarshan Pattnaik, is seen on the beach in Puri, India, Wednesday. By Biswaranjan Rout, AP