after
a lot, a lot, a lot
of rain
the river rose high
up and over
paths washed out
nice to intersect
where the land met the water
with this very happy dad
following his wife and son
in kayaks
making their way
through what was very recently
a grassy playground
on island park
paddling through to the river
“ever think you’d find yourself paddling here?”
“no, but i’m so, so happy that i am!”
—
“celebrate the success of others. high tide floats all ships.”
-susan elizabeth phillips
(similar to a typical group I saw running into target today)
just a few days to go before christmas
it’s sunny and almost 50 degrees
in the lower peninsula of michigan
out come
the shorts, the sandals, the sunglasses, the smiles
the coats stay behind
close your eyes
feels almost like summer
we are a hardy lot.
—
“heat is heat.”
after enjoying a day that finally hit a balmy 60 degrees (above zero!)
when home and relaxing at last
the tornado sirens started blasting
tv news was covering the local map live
updating the movement of the storm minute by minute
texts from the sheriffs buzzed saying to take cover.
because i live in an old cottage with no basement to be found
i went to my safe room (aka the bathroom) to hang out for a while
luckily, my natural survival instincts kicked in
and i took the following items with me to ride out the weather:
phone, laptop. chargers, flashlight, book, hot tea,
and for some unexplained reason –
an uncooked spaghetti squash.
i then decided that i might as well just take a lavender bath
enjoy my book and tea
and let the chips/cottage fall as they may
no worries.
balance was quickly restored
when the weather soon passed us by
and best of all
my spaghetti squash was still intact.
—
“there is a safe spot within every tornado. my job is to find it.”
-david copperfield
—
image credit: lush uk
“Hint of spring showing up in upcoming weather pattern”
above is quote from our online paper
at this point in the year
i was really hoping for something more than just a hint.
seems like a burlesque version of a weather forecast to me
all optimistic style and not much substance.
after giving examples and explaining their reasons,
the article wrapped up with:
“This isn’t a permanent pattern change to feeling like spring. After the weekend we have temperatures dropping back to feeling like winter. If you add 10 to 20 degrees on, it won’t be too cold. It might remind you of spring. Time is on your side if you need spring. Just keep hanging in there.”
—
“one can never produce anything as terrible and impressive
as one can awesomely hint about.”
h. p. lovecraft
—
credits: m. torregrossa, mlive
once the rain came
and the temperature rose by 50 degrees
and the snow and ice turned
to slush, and mud, and dirty water
and the discovery of this
brought such a level of joy and celebration
to the sandbox
that it was immeasurable.
—
“childhood is messy and beautiful.”
-rachel martin
‘there is a harmony in autumn, and a luster in its sky.’
-percy bysshe shelly
—
i’m not sure about today’s
hail, rain, snow, sun, wind, lightning, and thunder.
i suppose some could classify these as ‘luster’,
but probably not ‘harmony.’
my candle quietly answers the question.
—
“what dreadful hot weather we have!
it keeps me in a continual state of inelegance.”
-jane austen
with
the onset
of a new series
of storms
and
many more verses
it looks like
i could
be asleep
for quite some time
—
image credit: study of baby bunny sleeping, pencil on paper by gina matarazzo
when my niece and her family
relocated to the midwest
moving
from
flagstaff, arizona
to
toledo, ohio
for two years of graduate school
i was excited
to have them nearby
and
i told them
about
the beauty of the seasons here
and
no drama
no wildfires
no scorpions
no excessive heat
no worries
then
came the polar vortex
and it was so cold
no one could go outside
or navigate
the mountains of snow
and i told them
that this had never happened before
in my living memory
and not to worry
the worst would be over soon
and then
came
lake erie’s
toxic algae bloom crisis
no one could drink or bathe
or even boil the water
for days on end
and i told them
i’ve never, ever
have
experienced this before
in my entire lifetime
and i told them not to worry
the worst would be over soon
and then
came the 5 inches of rain
in just
a few hours
and the floods
and no one could drive their car on the roads
and basements flooded
and you might
have to kayak
through your neighborhood
to get home
and i will tell them
that this
has not happened here
since 1925
before i was alive
and not to worry
the worst will be over soon
and
i hope they believe me
as we head into autumn
in the beautiful midwest
and
i am
crossing my fingers
that
there will be
no earthquakes
or
volcanic eruptions
or
a series of rogue sheep attacks
and i wonder
if they
are beginning
to doubt my word
———
one person’s disaster is another person’s talking point.
henry rollins
—
image credits: infographicality.com, news net.com, sallyreed.com, nyt.com, acuweather.com, oc115.com, kwana.com
