TO A VISITOR…

 

To A Visitor

I live in an old house 

With two big dogs out front.

They may run to greet you.

Don’t worry, 

Just scratch them under the chins

And you will have forever friends.

If you’re hungry, pick purple grapes 

From the porch,

Or sage leaves

From that dented metal tub.

The porch is messy.

You might find a bike

Or a cooler just unpacked from camping,

Or a book turned upside down,

Or a cat,

Or three cats

Snoozing in the shade.

Pet the cats.

Borrow the book if you like.

Come in.

Tea’s on.

~Amy Ludwig VanDerwater~

I took the photo of this lovely old house on our trip along the Snickersville Turnpike a few weeks ago.  I am continuously drawn to these beautiful old homes.   It is another ArtCard effect.   

AN OLD RED BARN

 

Through the ample open door of the peaceful country barn,

A sunlight pasture field with cattle and horses feeding,

And haze and vista, and the far horizon fading away.

~Walt Whitman, Jr. - A Farm Picture~

This, as you might know, is another photo turned into art with my ArtCard app on my iPad.  I haven’t gotten tired of it yet and I hope you haven’t either.  The original photo I will share soon.  We went on another drive along the Snickersville Turnpike scenic route after having to curtail our last trip due to a car problem.  It was a very enjoyable ride and once again the weather was perfect.  We saw a lot of old barns and pretty homes.  Even the places that had been abandoned had their own beauty.  These red barns look incredible against the blue of the sky.

We had an unexpected visitor today.  A very regal looking hawk rested on the deck rail.   The neighborhood crows set up quite a racket.  They were warning other birds to stay clear and were sitting on other branches quite near it.  Gregg read that Blue Jays mimic the call of a hawk to warn other birds also.  The hawk flew up into a tree when it realized we were staring just beyond the glass.  After a few minutes of the crows loudly squawking it took off, with the crows in hot pursuit.  Gregg took a photo and tomorrow I will share it if it came out.  It all happened so fast.  I don’t know my hawks well enough to tell which kind.  Others I have identified as Coopers Hawks.  

Walt Whitman Jr. (May 31, 1819 – March 26, 1892) was an American poet, essayist, and journalist. He is considered one of the most influential poets in American history. Whitman incorporated both transcendentalism and realism in his writings and is often called the father of free verse.  His work was controversial in his time, particularly his 1855 poetry collection Leaves of Grass. Whitman was born in Huntington on Long Island, and lived in Brooklyn.  You can click on his name for more info.

CHASING THE CLOUDS

 

I was very happy to get this photo.  We were on a Saturday afternoon road trip going through the countryside (the 22nd).  Gregg spotted a deer crossing the road three hundred yards in front of us.  I got my cell phone ready and pointed it towards the spot where she disappeared - hoping but keeping expectations low - and there she was on the hill just coming into frame as we drove by.  One of nature’s amazing gifts.  It was another perfect day for a drive, an incredible blue sky and white, puffy clouds. There were no other deer that we could see.  Perhaps she was joining her family in the tree line that we had just passed.