The Larch

Happiness In A Gardening Metaphor

Laying an essay down that I've been
reading to scan this balcony of all
its dirt-full containers,

the eye works
right to left, left to right
through the varigated yellows, purple
and reds. Again a new set
and I'm surrounded closer here by green.

Leaves of tall sprouting Sun
and Moon flowers before me and
to my right. I'm busy
anticipating at least five
black centers with a burst
of neon amber.

Funny how I've just noticed
the same bird singing a different
song than the one I
woke up to this morning.

Pet Shoppe Pics of the Week

Meet the latest resident of the Pet Shoppe, she just arrived today. This Pomeranian is barely two months old and weighs a mere 1.84 pounds... so she won't be much larger than this when full grown (she's really not much bigger than a hamster at this point!)Thanks to co-worker Allyssa who helped pose little Pommy, for also providing scale. Really. Can you even resist a ball of fluff like this?

I'm sure most of you have heard already what happened to Kentucky Derby winner Barbaro at the track over the weekend. I haven't usually extended focus to race horses but as an animal lover, I was really concerned with this story. I knew the racing career was over but was shocked to learn that the injuries were considered life-threatening. At this point he's out of surgery and enjoying an excellent first few days since the accident, but as they say... he's not out of the woods yet. So keep Barbaro in mind and wish him a full recovery.

Unweary

Motion like that could turn your thoughts
loose to build momentum out in the wind,

while the breeze is still chilled
in its own way, this late in the season.

My thoughts are with the hawk, barely visible
and soaring the undercurrents of surprise.

He must feel it too, this thing unseen until
the effect reaches wing, feathers; and lower

still where it sings through limb and leaf.
Alive when another gust compels an understanding

of instinct and action immediate.
Flow with it, flow with it...

And he does, high above and tethered
by my lens.

Bring it back...

I've been hearing off and on about NBC cancelling one of their most successful sci-fi shows from last season. After a spectacular cliffhanger for the season finale, they've chosen to cut the entire show from the lineup. Wanna do something about it? If you're a fan of the show Surface feel free to visit this site and sign the petition directed to the executives at NBC. Other shows have been brought back this way (correspondence from a fan base) so get your name on the petition to bring the show back on the air.

Oh, the weather... the month is already half gone which means next month by this time it should be summer. You couldn't tell it by how chilly it still is in the mornings, and in the evening once the sun starts to set.
But in the meantime when the sun warms up the day, there's always this...



... Which I caught on a quest by taking an alternate route home from work yesterday, passing a retirement community which hosts the pond and footbridge that can be seen from the road.




I can remember a time when it seemed I would never be able to do anything like this again... the opportunity to take such pictures, the sense of contentment that comes with it. Just the chance to do something I always wanted to do...




I stayed at that post a good half-hour, snapping picture after picture. Ah, life is good!







Then later at home, I snuck these covert shots of Pablo, a before and after set during which I got even with him for all the times he woke me up waaay too early...







Wakey, wakey!

Well, just a little sample of what I've been up to lately... taking pictures. It seems I've rediscovered photography, and just recently got myself a new digital camera. I'm still learning the features on it. That and the software programs. It seems pretty easy to follow. That's not the problem, though... the problem now is deciding which ones I want to keep - oh hell, why not all of them? Lol. Looks like I'll be photo crazy this summer for sure.

Woah... a video of my pet shoppe Bengal kittens... The quality isn't really up to par because I was moving the camera a little more than I should have I guess, plus it's not what you'd call top-of-the-line equipment... But its a start, though. Oh, the possibilities! :)



Get this video and more at MySpace.com

Sunflowers, candles and poi, oh my!

Springtime has been busy so far... not so much at the pet shop where things have slowed down quite a bit at the moment, but in general. About a week and a half ago I planted sunflowers, and already they're getting some height. It didn't take them long, I can't wait till they start to bloom. Not a very good picture though, but maybe you can still see what I'm talking about. I've noticed with the camera I have now, its been nearly impossible to take inside pics because for some reason the camera doesn't register available light, especially if the source is from a lamp. The only halfway decent ones taken indoors are those with daylight streaming in from outside. In other words, the subject has to be right at the sliding glass door.
I just finished the Harry Potter book that came out last summer. It took me long enough to get to it, and the ending wasn't such a shocker for me, thanks to Nick Pickerell of Blue Springs, MO, who posted a surprise spoiler on his Xanga site last year. What gets me though, is he never even read the book... he told a story about how him and a friend went into the local Barnes and Noble, and he happened to see it on display, picked it up and quickly turned to a point near the end, read a few paragraphs, set the book down and then commented to a complete stranger the end events. He's still a jerk for doing it in my opinion. So I've decided that when the next (and final) book in the series comes out, I'm not going near anyone's blog until I finish the book. It was really a dirty trick, a smart-ass stunt.. grrr...
So The Half-Blood Prince has been logged on my "have read" list. Now I'm on to The DaVinci Code. Not to worry, I'm conditioning myself to be well aware of potential spoilers until I finish this one, lol.

I've also been keeping up on the latest with my daughter's new home-based business venture candle sales. So if any of you might be interested, feel free to visit her site.

This spring I've been trying to get back into yoga more... I enjoy it, that is on those days I'm not being lazy. And I think I've found something I can really enjoy as much if not more, as well. I'm anxiously awaiting my order from Home of Poi, which is a site showcasing an art form similar to fire dancing. Fascinating, I'm really looking forward to learning more about this. I happened to see an episode of Survivor: Exile Island where half the tribe members were allowed to bring some kind of luxury item for winning a reward challenge... one of them being a firedancer, her luxury item was a set of fire poi. Very cool, very cool indeed.