Spent the morning editing the new book manuscript (editing is way more fun than writing the thing in the first place, but I can’t put a comma where it belongs for love or money).
Heather commas, semi colons, and —- in the morning necessitate an afternoon in the sun. Enjoy, relax, and kayak back into our lives whenever you choose to be our modern St. Francis, We await your guidance.
Heather Cox Richardson, you have enriched our minds by elucidating the weave of our country's racial and political rope past and present. Today you bring us autumnal beauty with your photograph in orange, white, green and gold on land and reflected on the water. Thank you for this week's bundle of reality.
For the Chipmunk in My Yard
BY ROBERT GIBB
I think he knows I’m alive, having come down
The three steps of the back porch
And given me a good once over. All afternoon
He’s been moving back and forth,
Gathering odd bits of walnut shells and twigs,
While all about him the great fields tumble
To the blades of the thresher. He’s lucky
To be where he is, wild with all that happens.
He’s lucky he’s not one of the shadows
Living in the blond heart of the wheat.
This autumn when trees bolt, dark with the fires
Of starlight, he’ll curl among their roots,
Wanting nothing but the slow burn of matter
On which he fastens like a small, brown flame.
***
Robert Gibb
b. 1946
Poet Robert Gibb was born in Homestead, Pennsylvania. He is the author of The Homestead Trilogy, a cycle of poems detailing the history and culture of a steel-working town. The trilogy consists of the poetry collections The Origins of Evening (1997), selected by Eavan Boland for the National Poetry Series; The Burning World (2004); and World over Water (2007). Gibb’s other collections include Fugue for a Late Snow (1993) and What the Heart Can Bear: Selected and Uncollected Poems, 1979–1993 (2009).
The recipient of two fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts, Gibb has also won a Pushcart Prize and grants from the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts.
That was wonderful 🙏 , as a fan of the monk tribe, I really enjoyed it. I must have 30 or more of them living in my yard, they do trash some things, and we have our battles, some have names, they have no fear of me, so I can be working in the yard and they will playing with each other and gathering seed’s for winter. I had one run up my leg and onto my shoulder to escape from a cat 🐈⬛ , I could go on, we have a cordial relationship, that was an unexpected treat.
Yes. Dick, we love these little critters but must be wary. During harvest season their squirrely cousins have eaten every ripe cherry the day they’re ready. And their eyes are sharp. Their Yosemite brothers grabbed a pound of cheese from our picnic table before we knew how to pay attention. Is this metaphor political too? Paying attention. Not knowing what we should know. Being prepared. Learning about the real world?
I willingly share my cherry tomatoes with the deer. They leave me enough or i go to the farmstand (which is a treat too) when there's not enough for dinner. I figure their forebears were here before me.
The deer are so displaced and affected by drought here in Northern California that they are bolder and hungrier than ever. On the freeway, there’s a “deer crossing” sign. But our drought is historic and we have been trying to outsmart deer and other wildlife forever. We just ignore their messages.
About 10 years ago, I planted 3 hazelnut bushes in my yard. Since that time, they have grown into 15' high mini trees that each bear 100s of nuts each fall. Between them, the grey squirrels and chip-monks have eaten every. single. one. They more than pay for this piracy with the constant entertainment they supply to my neighbors and family. Thanks for the poem Fern!
I can’t imagine the furry feeling of how the son or daughter of the tribe ran up your pants leg and then onto your shoulder! I can sure visualize that scenario. 😃 My little dog wants them to play with her and they just wiggle their tails at her.
Now Gibb! Fern, in the past month your suggestions have expanded my reading to now include Tim Snyder., Brynn Tannenhill and Sam Freeman.
My learning has moved beyond anything I expected to acquire in my 8th decade.
Along with HCR’s lesson I realize I will never have the understanding of the world I hoped. But with this expanded corridor the journey improves daily. Thank you.
We are all on this journey Art, separate and yet together, you are just a little ahead of me but not by much, every day I learn something , more so at this point in my life than any time before, for that I am profoundly grateful. To me it’s a blessing to have lived this long and still be learning more with each passing day, I have everyone I encounter here to thank for that 🙏❤️
I can hear the water lapping under the oar. And see the ripples in the mirror image of the beautiful fall foliage. So peaceful...so what we need right now. Thank you Heather
Yes, so peaceful....I look forward to weekend pictures that bring serenity. We have had a dry fall, although it is finally raining, so not as beautiful as last year which was stunning.
No chipmunks either, but plenty of squirrels and when I was out pruning, I saw a small head peek out of the hebe....a mouse. We do have plenty of birds in the yard and I leave dead flower heads on because they like the seeds. The garden is now put to bed and I am waiting for it to freeze, so the parsnips sweeten up. I am still picking figs.
That golden glowing image is why "a picture is worth a thousand words." I have no arfully crafted words to accurately describe the feeling I get from your kayaking image. I can smell the fall foliage, hear the light dip of your paddle, imagine the water bugs skittering across the lake, feel the afternoon sun on face and back, see the wind ripple through yellow leaves reflected in water...Thank You!
Elizabeth, thank you for your “artfully crafted words”. You took me right into Heather and Buddy’s world. Especially the “light dip of your paddle,....”.
Such gorgeousness! Thanks for sharing the beautiful Atumn colors. Living in California (from N.Y. 30 years ago) we do miss that transition from summer. Thanks also for keeping up "Letters" which we depend upon to keep us focused, even when news from around the world makes us despondent. Helen from Berkeley.
Wow what a beautiful photograph. Living down here in Southwest Florida yes, Port Charlotte where we didn't get entirely devastated like Sanibel, Captiva or Fort Myers Beach, I forget the colored of the of Pennsylvania and Northern New Jersey. What a beautiful photograph. As a former photographer who never converted when everything went digital I recently purchased and upgraded to a Samsung S21 from an old Samsung 5. And I'm now learning the ins and outs of what my phone will do with respect to photography. I've learned to do things that other people didn't know smart phones were capable of doing and then sending it it around at the speed of light. Actually the speed of the internet. But the colors, as an old Kodachrome User, are absolutely stunning in this photograph. Thank you so much for sharing this as well as your excellent history and research. My professors from the University of California and Penn State would be proud of my interests in history and politics. And it is all because of you Heather Cox Richardson. I thank you for helping me to develop and interest in both domestic as well as International geopolitics. I'm sorry to say when I was younger in college and the university I just didn't have as much appreciation as I do today as a result of reading your posts. Thank you so much for your extensive research. You are my main source. I appreciate the detail and I realize the work that goes into it. So good luck with the manuscript and the kayak trips and of course the photography. Any chance if I visited your area I could go kayaking with you? I have a friend who lives and has a camp in Portsmouth Maine and when the weather warms up in the spring I intend to come up and visit. But to reiterate the purpose of this post is to express my sincerest appreciation for the warm colors of the leaves turning color which we just don't have in Florida. Actually for those who are wondering since our hurricane, and I am someone involved in Horticulture the amount of new green growth and the rate at which it's flushed out is absolutely incredible. Truly a testament to Mother Nature's ability to recover. Unfortunately we're causing Mother Nature a difficult time as we continue to put fossil fuel emissions into the atmosphere. Again I say thank you for posting this beautiful picture. Best of luck and I'm grateful for you that you're able to kayak in an environment where you're looking at Landscapes like this in addition to my phone and I really wish I could come up and visit and see this place. Best of luck to you and your new spouse. Please have a nice day thank you, Jim Leidich, Port Charlotte Florida.
Evil is so boring and humourless. How people open their hearts and minds to it is a profound mystery to me. When all around us the glory of creation is showing us such vibrant beauty and calling us to dance with it.
Heather, thoughts on Brazil? First bit of good international news in a while (apart from Ukraine’s resilience). Next up, Israel, and I hope we are done with Bibi.
Heather commas, semi colons, and —- in the morning necessitate an afternoon in the sun. Enjoy, relax, and kayak back into our lives whenever you choose to be our modern St. Francis, We await your guidance.
Good for you!! That photo alone is good for the soul!! Rest and gear up for a very busy week ahead!!
Thank you for all your help navigating these tumultuous days we are in ....
Rest ... and keep well! 💝
Heather Cox Richardson, you have enriched our minds by elucidating the weave of our country's racial and political rope past and present. Today you bring us autumnal beauty with your photograph in orange, white, green and gold on land and reflected on the water. Thank you for this week's bundle of reality.
For the Chipmunk in My Yard
BY ROBERT GIBB
I think he knows I’m alive, having come down
The three steps of the back porch
And given me a good once over. All afternoon
He’s been moving back and forth,
Gathering odd bits of walnut shells and twigs,
While all about him the great fields tumble
To the blades of the thresher. He’s lucky
To be where he is, wild with all that happens.
He’s lucky he’s not one of the shadows
Living in the blond heart of the wheat.
This autumn when trees bolt, dark with the fires
Of starlight, he’ll curl among their roots,
Wanting nothing but the slow burn of matter
On which he fastens like a small, brown flame.
***
Robert Gibb
b. 1946
Poet Robert Gibb was born in Homestead, Pennsylvania. He is the author of The Homestead Trilogy, a cycle of poems detailing the history and culture of a steel-working town. The trilogy consists of the poetry collections The Origins of Evening (1997), selected by Eavan Boland for the National Poetry Series; The Burning World (2004); and World over Water (2007). Gibb’s other collections include Fugue for a Late Snow (1993) and What the Heart Can Bear: Selected and Uncollected Poems, 1979–1993 (2009).
The recipient of two fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts, Gibb has also won a Pushcart Prize and grants from the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts.
That was wonderful 🙏 , as a fan of the monk tribe, I really enjoyed it. I must have 30 or more of them living in my yard, they do trash some things, and we have our battles, some have names, they have no fear of me, so I can be working in the yard and they will playing with each other and gathering seed’s for winter. I had one run up my leg and onto my shoulder to escape from a cat 🐈⬛ , I could go on, we have a cordial relationship, that was an unexpected treat.
Yes. Dick, we love these little critters but must be wary. During harvest season their squirrely cousins have eaten every ripe cherry the day they’re ready. And their eyes are sharp. Their Yosemite brothers grabbed a pound of cheese from our picnic table before we knew how to pay attention. Is this metaphor political too? Paying attention. Not knowing what we should know. Being prepared. Learning about the real world?
My tomatoes too. I don't know why I bother to grow them
At my house, the answer is so the doe can teach her fawn how to make produce disappear!
I willingly share my cherry tomatoes with the deer. They leave me enough or i go to the farmstand (which is a treat too) when there's not enough for dinner. I figure their forebears were here before me.
The deer are so displaced and affected by drought here in Northern California that they are bolder and hungrier than ever. On the freeway, there’s a “deer crossing” sign. But our drought is historic and we have been trying to outsmart deer and other wildlife forever. We just ignore their messages.
Dick, your reply was an unexpected treat, too. I loved your monk tale.
About 10 years ago, I planted 3 hazelnut bushes in my yard. Since that time, they have grown into 15' high mini trees that each bear 100s of nuts each fall. Between them, the grey squirrels and chip-monks have eaten every. single. one. They more than pay for this piracy with the constant entertainment they supply to my neighbors and family. Thanks for the poem Fern!
I can’t imagine the furry feeling of how the son or daughter of the tribe ran up your pants leg and then onto your shoulder! I can sure visualize that scenario. 😃 My little dog wants them to play with her and they just wiggle their tails at her.
Thank you Fern! You know Poetry is the language I speak. We speak. This is wonderful.
“ He’s lucky
To be where he is, wild with all that happens.
He’s lucky he’s not one of the shadows”
The times we speak together, Irenie, are precious
Yes Fern, together Coast to Coast, another metaphor. ❤️
Now Gibb! Fern, in the past month your suggestions have expanded my reading to now include Tim Snyder., Brynn Tannenhill and Sam Freeman.
My learning has moved beyond anything I expected to acquire in my 8th decade.
Along with HCR’s lesson I realize I will never have the understanding of the world I hoped. But with this expanded corridor the journey improves daily. Thank you.
We are all on this journey Art, separate and yet together, you are just a little ahead of me but not by much, every day I learn something , more so at this point in my life than any time before, for that I am profoundly grateful. To me it’s a blessing to have lived this long and still be learning more with each passing day, I have everyone I encounter here to thank for that 🙏❤️
There you are Art. I always look forward to your comments = so alive.
Thank you for that beauty. Has the feel of Mary Oliver to me
Oh Fern. Thank you. ¨Wanting nothing but the slow burn of matter on which he fastens like a small, brown flame.¨ 🙆
Thank you for giving us this. We can all use such imagery and a bit of poetry on Monday morning.
Thank you for sharing this. I will definitely look him up.
I had forgotten him. Nice of you to jog my memory.
Thank you for posting this wonderful poem.
Gratitude to you, Dear Fern, for enriching my evening with this lovely. Blessings upon your head.
I can hear the water lapping under the oar. And see the ripples in the mirror image of the beautiful fall foliage. So peaceful...so what we need right now. Thank you Heather
Yes, so peaceful....I look forward to weekend pictures that bring serenity. We have had a dry fall, although it is finally raining, so not as beautiful as last year which was stunning.
No chipmunks either, but plenty of squirrels and when I was out pruning, I saw a small head peek out of the hebe....a mouse. We do have plenty of birds in the yard and I leave dead flower heads on because they like the seeds. The garden is now put to bed and I am waiting for it to freeze, so the parsnips sweeten up. I am still picking figs.
That golden glowing image is why "a picture is worth a thousand words." I have no arfully crafted words to accurately describe the feeling I get from your kayaking image. I can smell the fall foliage, hear the light dip of your paddle, imagine the water bugs skittering across the lake, feel the afternoon sun on face and back, see the wind ripple through yellow leaves reflected in water...Thank You!
Elizabeth, thank you for your “artfully crafted words”. You took me right into Heather and Buddy’s world. Especially the “light dip of your paddle,....”.
Elizabeth, you sell yourself short if you think you "have no ... words" because you took me right there in my head! Right THERE. So thank YOU, too!
Yes
So very lovely. Thank you for sharing! And happy editing!!
Absolutely gorgeous, I went for a walk in an old cemetery on a beautiful day in Duluth, MN.
Editing: Read your writing out loud. That will show you where the commas go.
Agree; that's what I do when writing.
Such gorgeousness! Thanks for sharing the beautiful Atumn colors. Living in California (from N.Y. 30 years ago) we do miss that transition from summer. Thanks also for keeping up "Letters" which we depend upon to keep us focused, even when news from around the world makes us despondent. Helen from Berkeley.
below as above
reflection feeding spirit
respite rekindles
Feeding spirit
Rekindles
H. A. I. K. U
✔️
Wow what a beautiful photograph. Living down here in Southwest Florida yes, Port Charlotte where we didn't get entirely devastated like Sanibel, Captiva or Fort Myers Beach, I forget the colored of the of Pennsylvania and Northern New Jersey. What a beautiful photograph. As a former photographer who never converted when everything went digital I recently purchased and upgraded to a Samsung S21 from an old Samsung 5. And I'm now learning the ins and outs of what my phone will do with respect to photography. I've learned to do things that other people didn't know smart phones were capable of doing and then sending it it around at the speed of light. Actually the speed of the internet. But the colors, as an old Kodachrome User, are absolutely stunning in this photograph. Thank you so much for sharing this as well as your excellent history and research. My professors from the University of California and Penn State would be proud of my interests in history and politics. And it is all because of you Heather Cox Richardson. I thank you for helping me to develop and interest in both domestic as well as International geopolitics. I'm sorry to say when I was younger in college and the university I just didn't have as much appreciation as I do today as a result of reading your posts. Thank you so much for your extensive research. You are my main source. I appreciate the detail and I realize the work that goes into it. So good luck with the manuscript and the kayak trips and of course the photography. Any chance if I visited your area I could go kayaking with you? I have a friend who lives and has a camp in Portsmouth Maine and when the weather warms up in the spring I intend to come up and visit. But to reiterate the purpose of this post is to express my sincerest appreciation for the warm colors of the leaves turning color which we just don't have in Florida. Actually for those who are wondering since our hurricane, and I am someone involved in Horticulture the amount of new green growth and the rate at which it's flushed out is absolutely incredible. Truly a testament to Mother Nature's ability to recover. Unfortunately we're causing Mother Nature a difficult time as we continue to put fossil fuel emissions into the atmosphere. Again I say thank you for posting this beautiful picture. Best of luck and I'm grateful for you that you're able to kayak in an environment where you're looking at Landscapes like this in addition to my phone and I really wish I could come up and visit and see this place. Best of luck to you and your new spouse. Please have a nice day thank you, Jim Leidich, Port Charlotte Florida.
Evil is so boring and humourless. How people open their hearts and minds to it is a profound mystery to me. When all around us the glory of creation is showing us such vibrant beauty and calling us to dance with it.
I wandered lonely as a cloud
That floats on high o'er vales and hills,
When all at once I saw a crowd,
A host, of golden daffodils;
Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.
Continuous as the stars that shine
And twinkle on the milky way,
They stretched in never-ending line
Along the margin of a bay:
Ten thousand saw I at a glance,
Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.
The waves beside them danced; but they
Out-did the sparkling waves in glee:
A poet could not but be gay,
In such a jocund company:
I gazed—and gazed—but little thought
What wealth the show to me had brought:
For oft, when on my couch I lie
In vacant or in pensive mood,
They flash upon that inward eye
Which is the bliss of solitude;
And then my heart with pleasure fills,
And dances with the daffodils.
– William Wordsworth (1802)
Lovely, Robin!
Ethereal...the essence of Autumn...
What an absolutely gorgeous picture! Wow!
Perfect day. Nice walk with the dog, and a bracing swim. Water temp still 58°.
Woods Hole, MA.
Bracing, a great word to describe 58° swim! I have trouble w 68° in Groton, CT where the Thames River meets Long Island Sound, when I go home in July!
I know how to edit with commas and ellipses in order to make a reading sound like your speaking cadence.
No, in fact: "speaking cadence" is a noun phrase, not a verb phrase, so Greg's use of the possessive here is correct.
Heather, thoughts on Brazil? First bit of good international news in a while (apart from Ukraine’s resilience). Next up, Israel, and I hope we are done with Bibi.
Great photo and fabulous excuse to get out on the water.