Spring Rain Remodeling

The creek is muddily, frothily busy 

shifting her furniture.

Moving In

“Kchiiirk, chiiiirk, chiiiirk!  Bzreeet!”

and sounds of knocking about

in the dining room ceiling corner --

starlings returning to the unmended eaves.

Make Do Rain Turtle

I forgot the umbrella 

so of course, it starts raining 

as we are walking to the bus,

it dumps even harder as we wait.

I pull the polyfill military surplus

“Liner, Wet Weather, Poncho (One Each)” 

 from the bottom of my daypack,

we drape the blanket over our heads and packs

and stand there like a giant, blind mutant 

camouflage turtle 

sorting the passing vehicles by sound.

Ponderosa Cafe

At the base of the puzzle barked pine

downy woodpecker hammers for breakfast

tunk, tonk... tomp, tump,tup,

chips fly

she twists her head, prying

more hammering,

“Chik!” with two wingbeats

she booth hops to the next trunk over.

Sheltered

Rain tip ti-pit ti-patting all around,
but since I stopped under this pine
only seven drops have struck me.

Two Puddles

Klup-splush, klup-splush, ku-sploink!

Winter shaggy piebald pony 

paws the marsh puddle with her forefoot.

Pondering muddy bubbles frozen

into the puddle’s surface I stand

slowly tapping my toe on the ice edge,

skwee-ka, skwee-ka, skwee-ka.

Unburdening

Snow clumps plummet from pine boughs
trailing drifty powder avalanches,
cratering the snowy ground around each tree.

Momentary Mystery

A sudden sizzling -
tiny hail flecks falling though pine boughs.

No Trespassing

Kr-krunk, .....kr-krunk
the thin, weather bleached steel sign
flaps from one remaining nail
in the creosoted fencepost.

Illusion

Against a backdrop of wind hustled clouds
the pines seem to bend, to lean
forward into earth’s rotation.

Mending in the Making

Feet moving loosely in rubber knee boots,

heels rubbing roughly in favorite rag socks

just where I know the wool is getting thin.

Close the Umbrella

Let the drops strike
the stiff felted hat brim directly,
a faint physical resonance
under ptt-tat-tatting sound.

Flat Gray Overcast

The sun is a diffuse disk
tinged blue at the bottom
white through the center
orange at the top.

Obstacle

The wind has torn the roof
from the neighbor's knocked together woodshed
thrown it upside down blocking the muddy lane
a rectangular carcass of corrugated steel
its 2x4 ribs exposed to the storm.
“Dad will have to more that,” I say to our son
negotiating the path to the bus.
Walking home through the woods above
I hear my husband grunt
as he lifts one edge, and tips it up
lets it fall -- SPANG-CLASH!
up against the road bank.
The truck door slams
the motor purrs on out the lane.

Tulips Begin

Thumb length spears 

burgundy and green

dare the bitter air

above hard-to-heel earth.

Friend Request

My wary friends the seven does

bound tails high across our path

across the fence lines and fields

crossing to the year-round creek,

the last doe spins back to the trees.

Returning, I pass below her on the hill.

She eyes me dubiously as I call 

“Good morning, pretty lady!”

Over my shoulder I can see she’s gone

back to grazing - probably my words

are nothing more to her than noise,

less than a marmot’s call

less than a nuthatch’s beeping.

Breakfast Grapes

On the oak table boards

green globes

swallowing the sun.

Ponderosa Power

Walking a deer path 

through elder pines, 

pause, pivot a mindful circle 

greeting tree after tree 

“You are giving me energy!

Thank you,

thank you!”

"Good Morning, Ladies!"

On the snowy, boulder strewn hillside 

seven does return my observation.

Are they the same seven I saw yesterday?

And are they mule deer or whitetails?

And how have I lived into my sixth decade

without learning to tell the two apart?