LOOKING AT THE WORLD THROUGH BINOCULARS

I saw him from far away, 

sitting high on an old wooden trellis. 

What did he say? 

"I have my eyes on you Missy!" 

"Good," I said, "I have my eyes on you too.

I may not have your fancy binoculars but 

my 20-20 vision will do."

With that we smiled and gave 

a bit of a wave, telling each other, 

in a nice way, to behave  

and wished, in that whimsical way,

to have a very nice day.

Yes, well a poet she is not!

I found froggy a long, long time ago in my favorite garden. I don't think he is there anymore. I have seen him two or three times since but I'm sure he has rusted away by now as the last time I was there, he was nowhere to be found. I have taken pictures of our froggy before. I am hoping one day he will appear in our garden, at least maybe a cousin of his. I can dream. Everyone needs a rusty old frog in their garden, don't they?

Ah well now, time to get sensible and get head out of clouds, and talking about clouds...

these were taken in the parking lot of a supermarket called Sprouts Farmers Market. It's in Manassas, a bit off our usual beaten path but it was nice to see something different, and we said we would like to go there again. 

I actually wanted to go to a farmer's market a couple of miles away but was a bit too late getting there. I looked for my honey (Gregg just looked up and I had to tell him no, not you Honey). That would be the honey I use to top my yogurt off with. I am running out of it and saw loads of honey at Sprouts, but didn't see the one I am looking for. Still on the hunt as I have a bee in my bonnet for this one local honey, pardon the pun, and for the groaners. It's late and my brain is getting a bit past its bedtime.

Instead, we bought a couple of pears, a piece of fresh ginger so that I can slice it and put into my tea, some Asian Pork Dumplings, quite small and they went great with the freshly made shrimp and vegetable sushi, also bought at Sprouts. We had this for our dinner. I think that was about it for our shopping trip. It was a nice, short trip but we got a bit of sunshine and that was lovely. A bit too hot but we weren't in the heat for long. Cooler today - 85 degrees F. (30 degrees C. I think that is). We have had it in the 90s for a few days and it has started to get hot and humid.

Okay, whimsical side just left. As I said it's late and I am off to bed. Sweet dreams everyone and have a great time tomorrow/today. 

Thanks for stopping by.

I NEVER THOUGHT I WOULD SEE A LEPRECHAUN RIDING A UNICORN.

 "I've seen it all now", said she.

"What are you talking about?" said he.

"A leprechaun riding a unicorn!"

A look from he who just had to say...

"Are you tippling out of the wine this day?"

"Nay", said she, "Turn around and look!"

So, the next road he took a loop,

and saw a house with a basketball hoop.

And not far away but his eyes did see,

A leprechaun riding a unicorn with glee.

The man knew where leprechauns were born.

Not here! 

Have you ever seen one riding a unicorn?

No way, you may say and 

well, you have now

And it's not even St. Patrick's Day!

With apologies to all my favorite poets.

Thanks for looking and hope your day is a fun one.

(Much to my surprise, a sight seen while driving through our neighborhood on 2-24-25.)

I WHISPERED TO THAT OLD...

 

I whispered to that old windmill,

Don’t give up! Even though

Your blades are rusty, and

They creak and groan,

Your voice will sing again.

And soar on the wind,

And your notes will weave

Through the rustling trees,

And joy and hope will be 

Felt in every leaf. 

SLEEPY BEE - MY POEM

 Intoxicated with pollen,

Or having a nap?

I haven’t decided whether

To snooze or to clap!

This bee must be older, and 

He has really slowed down.

A young bee with its energy

Flies to all points around.

As old as this bee is,

From the time of its birth,

It is a valiant soul,

And has shown its true worth.

Let’s applaud him for 

Dedicating his life to the hive,

And tell him what a great bee he is,

As because of him we all thrive.

Prose by Denise

With apologies to all the greats who inspire me, old and young. I love reading poetry but I don’t very often attempt to write any, and I didn’t start the day saying, “Today I am going to write a poem!” Once in every blue moon something will click. The thoughts in my head were a jumble, but as I looked at my photo of this tired little bee, I started jotting things down. I thought he deserved more today than just a photo. They deserve as many tributes as we can give them, our bees. We would be in a very sorry state if they were no more, and their numbers are declining. A very interesting article here on this very subject  

My information below comes from a variety of sources, over a long period of time. You may know much of this already. I always enjoy finding out such things, I enjoy refreshing what is inside my head, sorting out that jumble. I need to be more diligent making a note of where I found my info, as I would like to revisit. This is an ongoing process.

Onward!

Sometimes you may come across a bee who is so still you might think it is dead but this is not so. These bees have flown miles and miles, and may have miscalculated their journey back to the hive.  They are utterly exhausted and in need of some sustenance. To help them on their way, you can mix a special drink for them  

Mix 1 tablespoon of water with 1 tablespoon of sugar until the sugar is dissolved.  Either pour this into a shallow plate or you can use a spoon. Place on a garden table or near where you have spotted a bee. You will soon be hearing a buzz of appreciation.

Here are some interesting facts about bees.  Did you know…

The reason bees are so noisy is that they beat their wings 11,400 times in one minute.

Only female bees can sting.  Male bees don’t have stingers.

Honey bees communicate through a series of dance moves.

A hive of bees will fly over 55,000 miles to make 1 lb. of honey a year.

The lifespan of a honeybee is entirely dependent on its role within the hive and the time of the year. During spring or summer, a worker bee will live to about six weeks, while a bee that is prepped and ready for winter can live for four to six months.

Bees can sense the hormone a human gives off when they are scared. If they feel their hive is threatened the bees will attack.

The honeybee is the only insect that makes food that humans can eat.

Each honeybee from the same hive has their own specific color identification.

Eating honey makes you smarter. It has an antioxidant that improves brain functions.

Bees have existed for 100 million years.

The name Melissa is derived from the Greek word for honeybee.

There is a very interesting article here with more fascinating facts about bees.

THE TIN TURKEY

A very interesting guard

Stands in a field of long grass.

This tin turkey waits for those to pass

So that he can chase them back over

The fence if one makes it onto his patch, 

For signs on all the trees say, "No Trespass!"

I fear his sharp beak, don't you?  Scary
Memories of childhood, of Hungry Geese, 

I kid not....I have not forgot.

This tin turkey wants to 

Be left In peace, 

So on our way

We go, we go!
On our way
We go! 

I think I will name him...Garbo,

For by his very tone, I know 

He wants to be left…

Alone!

The Tin Turkey
by
Denise 

(Yes, I know, he is really a rooster, but he acted like a real turkey.  All joking aside, I would love it if he made a home in our garden.  I took this photo in 2015.)

SATURDAY MORNING AT THE BIRD FEEDER - SQUIRREL FORGETFULNESS

Hello Dear Squirrel,

Why are you so sad?

The sun is out

And the sky is blue,

Not gray enough

To make you of

The same hue.”

To this he replied,

“I worked so hard

To store up my food,

I buried it in a

thousand holes

Said this sad little soul.

I can’t remember

Where they might be

I’ve dug everywhere

As you can plainly see.”

And yes there were

A thousand fresh holes

But no nuts to be found

At the top of each mound.

“How long has it been?”

Said I to this sad little face

“Quite a while “ he said

With barely a squeak,

“As I don’t remember this

Wood when I fell asleep.”

I said, “Your brother

must be Rip Van Winkle

My dear little friend.”

And I said as a tease,

“All those nuts that you buried.

Are now very big trees.

You’ll have nuts a plenty

But next time you bury,

And from one nut to another,

May I suggest

With not as must jest,

You make an extra large map,

And mark each hole

With a very large ‘x’!”

In the meantime this dear little squirrel won't have to put up with my poor prose, as I keep filling up the feeder in which to bury her nose - ahhhhh!!!!!

And patiently wait I for the little birds to appear, when squirrel has had her fill for never fear, she will be feeding her own babies in the spring of the year.

Welcome to one and all to my feeder I say, room enough to go around on this kind of day.

And now I leave so that you can stop your groaning, I say. Denise is feeling better and will be out of the house for the rest of the day.

The sniffles have almost gone, no more time on her hands to mope, for there are lots of lovely things with her camera to be found, now that she is no longer cabin and fever bound.

Oh boy!

Prose over and done!

(This is one from a while ago and though I was under the weather at the time of writing, I am perfectly free of sniffles.)

BERRIES APLENTY!

Birds sing
Lunch bell rings
Sun Shines
Happy feathers fly!

OUR FAVORITE SPOT

Our Favorite Spot

by Denise

Our favorite spot is waiting for us where

We sit and stare across the pond, letting the  

Warmth and peace surround us, as comfortable 

As a warm blanket on a chilly night.

But for now we sit and listen to the sounds of summer.

The birds chirp in the trees, the frogs croak on their 
Lilypads, and we watch as a turtle swims to the surface.

The dragonflies dash here, there, occasionally resting

For a second or two, which may seem like

A lifetime in their world but a moment in ours. 

We experience a moment of peace as we sit 
In our world, a lifetime in theirs. 
I wish it so in yours.