10 posts tagged “sunflowers”
The balcony looks odd now, with the sunflowers gone... I cut them down a few days back, they were done for the season anyhow... had to do something before I started writing more poems about them... they got their due all summer...
Finished that one short horror story and got it in the mail... we'll see what happens, tho I expect rejection... can't expect much more on the first try...
Didn't do much the past weekend, got tangled in the "House" marathon on USA network... works on me as bad as Law and Order, once you watch a bit of an episode you have to go all the way to see how it ends...
Still reading the book of Poe stories... still managing a few poems here and there... still disgusted with politicians and the whole election thing...
Weather's been cool and rainy this weekend and thru to today... some amazing clouds tho, been a pleasure to watch... gave Moopy a puppy cut on Saturday... she's antsy tho with all the rain haven't been able to walk her much - she tends to hit ALL the puddles if I take her out while it's wet... sleepy now, some new stuff in the morning...
Well today was supposed to be a "taste of September", according to yesterday's weather report... but it was still hot... tho thankfully, lately, the humidity has been real light, so that when the sun goes down it turns chilly fast... makes for nice crisp morning's too...
Today I watched "The Fountain" on HBO, starring Rachel Weisz and Hugh Jackman... it was a really great movie, I liked it better than I thought it would... it was beautiful how the three stories wove together, really making one think about love, life and the desire to defeat death... it's one movie I'd like to see again, to take more of it in...
The sunflowers are done blooming, the dry heads turning to see, so the goldfinches are heavy at the harvest now... oddly, the African daisies are blooming again... three buds so far, one that started opening tonight, they're beautiful flowers, a very rich red that almost seems unnatural... I learned quickly these are plants that thrive with very little water - once I cut back, they stayed green and rich all summer, and now I'm being rewarded with late flowers... but the moonflowers are suffering this year, for some reason they just haven't thrived, and lately the blooms shrivel before opening... it just hasn't been a good year on the balcony this summer...
So I've still been writing mostly short poems, which are my favorites... I find when I write such poems, I linger more over my decisions on each word used than I would with a longer poem... sometimes I'll jot a poem down, and then debate on it in my mind as I'm doing chores or bumming around, before I finally post it as Done... still no word back from Atlantic Monthly about the poems I sent them, but I'm hoping to hear something soon...
I'm half-heartedly reading a sci fi novel by S.L Veihl called "Rebel Ice"... I've read some of her other books in the series, they're ok, not favorites of mine... I'm already debating whether to finish it or not, but I'm halfway thru so I should just keep going...
... and my Law and Order CI and SVU addiction still continues... unabated...
A pic of that tall sunflower I mentioned the other day... it towers above all the others, easily over 7 foot tall...
Easy
Sunflowers
bowing to the
will of the wind -
nod and agree,
nod and agree.
(... I know, I've been writing a lot about
sunflowers this season... can't help it, with
three huge pots of them blooming just outside
on the balcony... I see them all day and night,
when I sit outside, or even sit on the couch...
one has a 7-foot stalk, I kid you not, it
almost reached to the balcony above this one...
I stare into their faces in the sunlight
and at night... and listen to their leaves
rubbing against each other, against the
balcony railing... so if this summer had
a theme, they would be it... )
Pic of two of the cats concentrating on
a goldfinch on the balcony... the goldfinches
love the sunflower seeds when the flowers
bloom.
One of the sunflowers on the balcony, been open a few days, but the bees and goldfinches haven't gotten to it yet.
In the jungle, the sunflower jungle, the mantis slept all night... and he's still hanging around... my friend Sherrie suggested I name him after a prophet, given the origin of the name, "mantis"... but I'm actually taking to calling him/her/it, Waldo... since trying to find him is like one of those "Where's Waldo?" books you used to see around a lot... he's been the main attraction of the balcony this summer tho... no sign of the hummingbird I used to see a few years back, but then again I have no red flowers out there this year, and I didn't put the hummingbird feeder up this year cause the nectar attracts so many wasps... only thing the sunflowers attract are goldfinches which will pick all the seeds in one sitting, and those big black-and-yellow bumble bees...
Finished reading Dan Simmon's "Lovedeath", which is a collection of 5 novellas, and I loved it... to death... the first novella was a bit lite to me, but each one got better than the one before it, so by the end I was sad to see the book finish... I've loved most of Mr. Simmons' books, only his Ilium duo of books kind of lost me... not sure what I'm reading next, tho I pulled out an old Diane Ackerman book called "The Moon by Whalelight", read it once about 12 years ago, might read it again...
... other than that, it's been a quiet weekend of reading, writing and Law and Order... did finally see the movie "The Reaping", which I really enjoyed...
In the jungle, the sunflower jungle, the mantis slept all night... and he's still hanging around... my friend Sherrie suggested I name him after a prophet, given the origin of the name, "mantis"... but I'm actually taking to calling him/her/it, Waldo... since trying to find him is like one of those "Where's Waldo?" books you used to see around a lot... he's been the main attraction of the balcony this summer tho... no sign of the hummingbird I used to see a few years back, but then again I have no red flowers out there this year, and I didn't put the hummingbird feeder up this year cause the nectar attracts so many wasps... only thing the sunflowers attract are goldfinches which will pick all the seeds in one sitting, and those big black-and-yellow bumble bees...
Finished reading Dan Simmon's "Lovedeath", which is a collection of 5 novellas, and I loved it... to death... the first novella was a bit lite to me, but each one got better than the one before it, so by the end I was sad to see the book finish... I've loved most of Mr. Simmons' books, only his Ilium duo of books kind of lost me... not sure what I'm reading next, tho I pulled out an old Diane Ackerman book called "The Moon by Whalelight", read it once about 12 years ago, might read it again...
... other than that, it's been a quiet weekend of reading, writing and Law and Order... did finally see the movie "The Reaping", which I really enjoyed...
The past two months there's been this praying mantis living among the plants on the balcony... it was a baby when I first saw it, a little brown thing wobbling among the alyssum... it goes missing for a week or so at a time, and then suddenly I'll be sitting out there or watering the plants and it'll turn up... and that's just what happened last night, about 11pm, I went out there with my iPod to listen to some music, and the tall sunflower pot was right in front of me... as I was lost in my music, I studied the sunflowers and noticed one of the leaves seemed to have an extra stem, which in fact turned out to be the mantis... hanging upside down from one of the plant's big, wide leaves, hunting in the dark for a late night snack... it had grown a lot too, it's now almost as long as my little finger, tho still brown in color... I only hope it survived the night, because by midnight a storm had moved in with gusty winds and heavy rains... the sunflowers were whipping around a lot, and I only fear the mantis got shaken off and fell from the balcony... hope not... you know I'll be keeping my eye out for it.
Sunflowers
Facing west to the sunset,
heavy heads bowed in silence,
God has left the building
for the night;
note the top pair of leaves
on the tallest one, how they
almost touch like hands
in prayer - this one must
be their pastor, shepherd
of the whole flock, keeping
them strong through the
long dark time, his golden
face still warm and alight
with faith that in due time
He will return and shine
life over them all, amen.
