Year of the Dragon: 33 degrees

splash! fills the space
between hiss and crack -

hiking hurricane creek, chinese new year

Aseasonal Wallowa Wanders . . .

Aseasonal Wallowa wanders...

A short check during a moment of sun,

..this warm weather in deep mid-winter,

....has many species confused.

There are no bluebirds evident

..in front of this front, gleaning and moving,

....just a prairie falcon and harrier.

Bird predating raptors watching,

..where sharptails and partridges gather,

....and meadowlarks hide in holes.

Flocks of robins are gathering,

..where junipers offer both cover

....and a reliable resource of berries.

Starlings, that ever reliable and adaptable

..beastie, is pairing off and exploring

....every hole that could become a nest.

Folks with greenhouses are dancing

..with glee, first seedings of greens

....are already harvestable size.

--r.anderson 15Feb2011

Soft Spot in the Road (Directions in the Manual)

soft spot in the road
(directions in the manual)

rock gently back and forth
from the mucky stuck spot
to get yourself on
to the desired future.
it is easy enough.
let the movements
dissolve each other
like dust on ice - go
with the flow
one after another,
repeating after me:
what it would be,
what it could be:
and once askew -
forward motion appears
on the horizon, something
happens, and then
all that mud
in the rearview at last

Minam Canyon redux

Minam Canyon redux

the steelheaders are back
and so are the fish
they say

grazing granola bars on the river rocks
ice milt in the melt
cast your line

try your luck, hook your dinner
or maybe just another
fish tale

the mergansers won’t tell

KB, 2/2011

Dawn Auditions

Dawn auditions

Quoth the starling, “I’m a meadowlark.”
(translation: “do-DEE-do-bee-doo-doo!”)

Quoth the redwing, “BadeeBIT!”
(translation: “Bullshit!”)

Quoth the Brewer’s: “TWIT!”
(no translation really needed.)

Robins gurgle; doves too sleepy to coo; warblers done for the
moment; owls shut up for the night.

“Twit! Twit!”
What the sleeper says: “Shaddup! Shaddup!”

KB

Just Watching

just watching

the first day ice departs, boots sink, feet
slide not slip, and cabin fever infests
the bigger pick-ups. on the road,
I pull right, right right: and there's a rattle
of rocks now left by kicked up gravel,
and headlights that scan closer and closer.
just wave. let them go by, heading
where they’re not getting, not really,
not yet, not til spring rises and sun shines.

Whining About Spring

whining about spring

the mercury hunkers way down
and oh, my stars and
blisters! the sun laughs.

The Locavore Paradigm

the locavore paradigm

you are what you eat or
you are what eats you

a neat little theory of evolution

everyone thinks

everyone thinks

whether they know about it or not,
everyone thinks they have Coyote inside -
or some charming trickster. I'm eight
yesterday, when he follows me and
my ancient horse to the edge of the canyon.

we all rest on the rocks for a good
long time, panting in the sun
under a deliberate blue sky. right there,
a horned toad scuttles into the sand -
I could saddle-bag him, but choose instead

to mark the moment with my hand
around wood turned to stone. then
time-to-go calls. Coyote and I lock eyes,
smile politely, and it is the end of an
unconscious moment, the beginning of knowledge.

girl, he says, keep your whole self aware
of what is going on out there. dinner calls
the old horse and me; Coyote gets no treat.
someday I will go back and leave things
for Coyote or archaeologists to find.

Allium Redux: Her Civilized Palate

allium redux: her civilized palate

the first time I nipped a wild onion flower
a juicy taste of herbal richness
watered my tongue.

the first time I tasted a wild onion leaf
fresh and green, tears started
in my brain and my eyes lit up.

the first time I tried a wild onion bulb
the flavor of pepper and galvanized nail
overwhelmed - no lettuce-y dainty, this!

the second time I bit into a wild onion bulb
old from the sack, and washed of dirt -
the hard metal rocked my brain.

girly-girl, she says, stick with
with the flowers well-surrounded by greens.
and bulb, she says - stay put, put forth.

KB