A POEM BY MY ALL-TIME FAVORITE - A REPEAT I THINK BUT WORTH REVISITING

What can I say that I have not said before?

So I’ll say it again.

The leaf has a song in it.

Stone is the face of patience.

Inside the river there is an unfinishable story

And you are somewhere in it

And it will never end until it ends.

Take your busy heart to the art museum and the

Chamber of commerce 

But take it also to the forest.

The song you heard singing in the leaf when

You were a child

Is singing still.

I am of years lived, so far, seventy-four,

And the leaf is singing still.

“What Can I say”

by

Mary Oliver

HAPPY SUNDAY, HAPPY NOVEMBER EVERYONE - FALL LEAVES AND PINECONES

"As long as autumn lasts, I shall not have hands, canvas and colours enough to paint the beautiful things I see."

~Vincent van Gogh~

"Autumn shows us how beautiful it is to let things go."

~Author Unknown~

"It's the first day of Autumn! A time of hot chocolate mornings, and toasty marshmallow evenings and, best of all, leaping into leaves!"

~Winnie the Pooh~

"Fall leaves are not lifeless but rather appear to dance in the wind."

~Author Unknown~

"Meet me under the falling leaves."

~Author Unknown~

"Love the trees until their leaves fall off, then encourage them to try again next year."

~Author Unknown~

"For anyone who lives in the oak-and-maple area of New England, there is a perennial temptation to plunge into a purple sea of adjectives about October."

~Hal Borland~

And last one.

"If only Alexa could rake the leaves."

~Author unknown~

Those of you who have followed me for a while, will recognize the back deck with our regular kissing bunnies and the blue stone birds on the water dish. The crows are really going to have something to complain about today as it is filled to the brim with leaves. 

The deck had not long been swept clean and that night I woke up to a lot of scratching on our bedroom window. Coming out of a deep sleep it scared the dickens out of me. Too much talk of Halloween? Probably! 

As I peeked outside between the blinds, the wind had picked up, and the branches just like the sound spindly little fingers would make, were crawling along the glass. It took me a while to go back to sleep. The scratching continued for another hour (mental note to get the branches trimmed again as soon as we can).

The next morning when I looked outside, I was greeted by a deck strewn with crepe myrtle leaves, pine needles and pinecones. We have both of these trees growing on the side of the house. The fir tree in particular is reaching up to the sky.

It seems a shame to throw away all those pinecones. Do any of you have any ideas as to what I could do with them? I am sure some of you out there might have an answer. 

I had a friend who years ago decided to 'cook' them for a while in her oven, or was it the microwave? She had wanted to get rid of any larvae that might be inside them as she was going to make Christmas Wreathes. I found this out afterwards. Her oven/microwave was never the same. All the food that came out of it had a pine taste that could not be gotten rid of and no amount of cleaning helped. Needless to say, she never did that again. 

I was also given a 'pinecone' Christmas tree by another good friend one year. It was very pretty but as soon as the heating warmed it up, I had literally hundreds of strange looking tiny bugs crawling out of it. Needless to say, it didn't last long after that. One of those big trash bags was thrown over it and it made its way into the trashcan. I was so sorry to do that to a friend's gift, but I seem to remember her telling me a while later after she asked me about it, that the one she made for her family did the same thing and had ended up in their trashcan too.

So, what would you do with all these pinecones? Maybe I should pop them in an outside container so that the birds and squirrels can nibble away and find the seeds inside. I've heard they like those.

Thanks for reading and 

I hope your day is a great one.

THERE IS NO WIFI…

 

 “There’s no WiFi in the forest, but I promise you'll find a better connection.”

~Author Unknown~

WHAT CAN I SAY...

What can I say that I have not said before?

So I'll say it again.

The leaf has a song in it,

Stone is the face of patience,

Inside the river there is an unfinishable story

and you are somewhere in it

and it will never end until it ends.

Take your busy heart to the art museum and the 

chamber of commerce,

but take it also to the forest.

The song you heard singing in the leaf 

when you were a child

is singing still.

I am of years lived, so far, seventy-four,

and the leaf is singing still.

What Can I Say?

by

Mary Oliver

Mary Jane Oliver (September 10, 1935 – January 17, 2019) was an American poet who won the Pulitzer Prize in 1984 and the National Book Award in 1992. She found inspiration for her work in nature and had a lifelong habit of solitary walks in the wild. Her poetry is characterized by wonderment at the natural environment, vivid imagery, and unadorned language. In 2007, she was declared the best-selling poet in the United States.

AUTUMN, THE YEAR'S LAST...

 

William Cullen Bryant (November 3, 1794 to June 12th, 1878) was an American romantic poet, journalist and long-time editor of the New York Evening Post. Born in Massachusetts, he started his career as a lawyer but showed an interest in poetry early in his life.

In 1825, Bryant relocated to New York City where he became an editor of two major newspapers. He also emerged as one of the most significant poets in early literary America and has been grouped among the fireside poets for his accessible and popular poetry.

ARE YOU LOST?

Stand still. The trees and bushes beside you

Are not lost. Wherever you are is called Here,

And you must treat it as a powerful stranger,

Must ask permission to know it and be known.

The forest breathes. Listen. It answers,

I have made this place around you.

If you leave it, you may not come back again, saying Here.

No two trees are the same to Raven.

No two branches are the same to Wren.

If what a tree or a bush does is lost on you,

You are surely lost. Stand still. The forest knows 

Where you are. You must let it find you.

~Lost by David Wagoner~

David Russell Wagoner was born on June 5th, 1926, in Massillon, Ohio. Raised in Whiting, Indiana, from the age of seven, Wagoner attended Pennsylvania State University where he was a member of Naval ROTC and graduated in three years. He received an MA in English from the Indiana University in 1949 and had a long association with the University of Washington where he taught, beginning in 1954, on the suggestion of friend and fellow poet Theodore Roethke.  Wagoner was editor of Poetry Northwest from 1966 to 2002. He was elected chancellor of the Academy of American Poets in 1978 and served in that capacity until 1999. One of his novels, The Escape Artist, was turned into a film by executive producer Francis Ford Coppola. You can learn more about him here.

BURKE LAKE PARK, BURKE, VA - 11-12-22 - LAST OF THE PHOTOS FROM OUR VISIT

Here is the little dog I shared in last week's post with its human friend.

You can rent kayaks and small flat boats here.  The only time I have ever been in a kayak was with my sister when I visited my family in Germany years ago.  They used to go out in them all the time having their own kayaks.  I had fun but I haven't been in one since, and don't intend to.  I am not too fond of being so close to the water as I am not the strongest swimmer, and that is with a life vest.  That's not to say I don't love looking at all that beautiful scenery and the lake.  And when I get to the beach my favorite time is when it's quiet, usually in the winter,  and I can look out at the ocean with hardly a soul around.  But I'm rambling...probably the reason why I named this blog with the word 'ramble' in it!

More geese photos because...

I always love taking photos of them...

probably because they are always around, and they don't swim away.  Hoping for someone to feed them no doubt, and there were plenty of someone's that day.  I am mentioning again my last post where I give the reason why we should not, but this will be the last time, at least for a while.

I particularly enjoyed taking photos of the reflections of the clouds in the water, and the patterns their wakes left.  

One small feather resting on top of all the fallen leaves at the water's edge.  I wondered if it was a downy feather from a goose, or perhaps another water bird.

We walked on the pier and there were a lot of people fishing.  

On our way back we passed another cute dog with two couples our age, sitting in a line looking out at the lake.  They had brought along fold up camping chairs.  We are not too far from one of the parking lots and it crossed my mind to bring our own camping chairs next time, and maybe a picnic.  

No explanation for this one needed except to say, "She likes to take photos of Fall leaves."

While sitting on one of the benches a lady asked if she could join us.  She was enjoying her new phone, telling us about it, and showed us how to use the pano.  Below is my practice shot.  A lovely lady and our conversation lasted about 15-20 minutes.  She was with her husband and grandson.  Grandson was letting off steam, with grandpa watching, and enjoying his space.  She joined them soon after when they were ready to go.  This is a great place for kids and there were many.

We should probably have hung around to take sunset shots at the lake, but driving home we thought the sky was incredible.  

I didn't really mind our street-view-sunset and took these (from the passenger side).

I didn't mind all the lines from the traffic lights either, or the utility poles and their electric lines.   Usually I try to avoid such things but today was not that day...

and the sky was just too good to miss.

This is the end of our trip to the park.  I hope you have enjoyed.  

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by.

FAVORITES - SUBJECT: LEAVES

 Leaves can be as pretty as a flower.  Here are a few favorites, not taken this past month but over several years.

“Anyone can love a rose, but it takes a lot to love a leaf.  It’s ordinary to love the beautiful, but it’s beautiful to love the ordinary.”

~M. J. Korvan~

THIS AND THAT...

I have just eaten breakfast.  On a weekday I usually have a bowl of steel cut oatmeal, with a tablespoon of dried chopped dates, a tablespoon of chopped pecans or walnuts, sliced banana (not this morning as I need to buy them on the next shopping trip), or another piece of fruit, and topped with half a cup of oat milk.  On the weekends we splurge a little.  Something with eggs (poached eggs on toast is a favorite with both of us). What's your favorite breakfast?  I am always looking for ideas.  Do you have time for breakfast?   Many of us are so busy that it's hard to fit it in.  

I had a lot of photos in our camera that I hadn't downloaded in a while.  These photos are a variety over the last couple of months. 

This Turkey Vulture was at Green Spring Gardens at the beginning of December.  Gregg took the photo.   I liked the dark contrast of the bird with that pretty blue sky.Another of his when it got very breezy, and the leaves were falling like rain.  

It was beautiful!  And some of the leaves were the size of dinner plates. 

Gregg's foot is next to a magnolia leaf.

Gregg likes to take candid photos.  Here's one of me walking up the hill.  We only visited the pond that day.

I took the photos in the squirrel collage with our other camera, not the trail cam.  I thought you might like to see the one I use (below).  I get a lot of enjoyment out of it and position it where I put the seeds.  You can see it on Amazon here. There are many to choose from, depending on what you are looking for.  

Added note: Ginny's of Let Your Light Shine told me in her comment that this camera is no longer showing.  Thankfully there are many others to choose from.  Thank you for letting me know Ginny!

Lately I have been thinking of buying an additional cam, to put on one of the trees on ground level, to see what night animals we might get.  I was toying with the idea of getting one with a wifi.  The cam I have now is described as: "Flagpower Trail Camera 16MP 1080P Hunting Game Camera with Night Vision Motion Activated IP66 Waterproof 120 Detecting Range Motion Activated Night Vision 2.4" LCD IR LEDs 32 GB Memory Card."

Everything stops for birds.  Whatever I might be doing inside, when I see furry or feathered friends, I stop and grab the camera.  By the time I'm finished I have forgotten what I was doing originally, and usually put the kettle on for a cup of tea.  I sit down and watch the birds for a while, and after I have finished with my tea, I remember what I was doing and start again from there.  This is how she rolls these days!  I have about ten cups of tea during the afternoon and yes, I am joking.  Above you can see two Goldfinches and a house finch.  These were taken when the weather was warmer a couple of months back.

A few weeks' ago, my sister-in-law let us know that the International Space Station would be doing a pass over the East Coast.  I didn't think I had a hope of seeing it, my eyes not being very sharp, but I said why not?  The weather cooperated and the skies were clear.  I strained my eyes and after seeing some dots said, well, maybe that was it!  But truthfully there were so many planes coming into Washington-Dulles Airport, it's anyone's guess.  I did take a moon shot which came out so-so, a bit washed out.  I am always very impressed with Ginny's Let Your Light Shine moonshots, and a week later I took another that pleased me more.  This was on a different night, and the stars were aligned, so the old saying goes.  I should get more practice when the moon is fuller.  I used the one below for my post yesterday, with the saying.

The next photo is of a male Downy Woodpecker that stayed on one of the rails out back, in that position, for 10 minutes.  My thought was that there may have been a hawk flying around.  There were no smaller birds in sight.  I haven't actually seen a hawk in months.  

The other thing that has been happening around here in bird-land, is that the Mourning Doves have been flying into the patio door window.  This is a new thing.  All bounced back off in flight and none landed on the deck.  At first I couldn't figure out what the marks were on the glass.  When I looked closer, I could see the outline of a few feathers on each side where a bird's wings would have been, their oils had transferred.  I washed the window and the next day there was the same outline.  When I was sitting in my spot looking at the doves lined up on the deck, I actually saw one fly towards the glass with a bit of a thump, but it flew off again immediately and didn't seem the worse for wear.  I also put a small Christmas tree next to the door.  Could they try to be landing in that?  I suppose anything is possible!  There are decals on the shopping list!

That's it for today's post and thanks so much for stopping by.  Enjoy your day!