In the Merry Month of May

 

An early morning shot of the full moon shortly after five this morning.

For the first time since 1988, the Full Flower Moon has coincided with Beltane.

This month there will also be a Blue Moon when the second full moon of the month occurs May 31.

It's also the day for May baskets. I don't remember the last time I received a May basket but Bud gave me one this year. I commented that I had gotten a May basket from my sweetie, Budbo, a nickname for him I have used over the years. Then it hit me, it should be Budbeau. Why had I never thought of that before?

Going May basketing was a big deal when I was young. I tried to make it a part of my children's lives when they were young. I wonder how many of my great-grands go May basketing.

A few days ago I heard a personality of one of the Des Moines TV stations say that she didn't know about May basketing until she moved to Iowa - that it wasn't something they did in Missouri. I really don't think it is "just an Iowa thing".

Big Blue even flew in to mark the first day of May and spent part of the day at the pond.

He did a lot of stalking along the bank but I never did see him catch anything.

In ancient Rome, May Day was celebrated with the Festival of Flora to honor the Roman goddess of flowers and spring.

I have always wondered if my great-grandmother, Flora Richardson Duncan was named for her.

This photo of Flora is part of the 1st Century fresco from the Villa di Arianna in Stabiae. There are many more versions.

April ended with a very colorful sunset.

It also ended with a tie between me and Hubby Dearest.

Bud and I are both competitive and both cribbage players. He began playing in grade school and I began as a teen.

We played our first game on our first date 45 years ago. We now play a game every day during lunch and we keep track of who wins.

After yesterday's game, the 120th of this year, we were tied 60 to 60. A sign that we're evenly matched? He is the better player. I'm just glad I give him some competition.

April '26 Books Read

 A very slow month of reading - only four books read this month - a new 'low' total for me. That top book is the only one previously unread. I had read the other three years ago and liked them. I decided to go back and reread them. All four are authored by Kate Morton.

Homecoming has been at the Library since 2023 but I had missed it as being a new book. Set in Australia, it begins with a shocking crime in 1959 which isn't solved until 20 years later when a London journalist returns to her native land in search of a story.

The Clockmaker's Daughter is from 2018, first read in January 2019 - noted as my favorite read for that month and 'highly recommend'. 

The Secret Keeper is from 2012. I read and reported on it in March 2013 Reading List. Rated as a 5.0 and described as one of the best books I've read.

The Lake House is from 2015, read in March 2016 and rated as a 4.5. I enjoyed rereading the last three as much as I did when I read them the first time and remembered very little about the first reads.

Just a friendly reminder to myself (and others) that if it's been awhile since you read a good book the first time, you might want to go back and reread it in the future.

The first book on my May books read list will be by one of my adopted authors and paid for by me so I am the first to read it. I'm only a few pages in but already loving it. 

One last April surprise was adding a new bird to my life list.*

It's not a great photo, but hidden among the Oak catkins is a Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle).

The Cruelest Month?

 In his poem, The Waste Land, T. S. Eliot refers to April as the cruelest month:

April is the cruellest* month, breeding

Lilacs out of the dead land, mixing

Memory and desire, stirring

Dull roots with spring rain.

Winter kept us warm, covering

Earth in forgetful snow, feeding

A little life with dried tubers....

Sorry Mr. Eliot, but in deference to your poem, I earnestly disagree.

In my opinion, April is one of the most hopeful months.

Spring rains and warmer temperatures encourage flowers and lush foliage like this on the north side of our house.

And while Autumn is my favorite season of the year, Spring is a very close second choice.

Is there anything cruel about catkins swaying in a spring breeze?

My only objections to the beauty of the Oak catkins is the abundance of acorns and leaves to rake in the Fall.

Otherwise, they delight me every April.

As does a small bouquet of Violets even if they are considered by some to be a weed.

And Lily-of-the-valley which is just beginning to bloom. Soon a bouquet of those will perfume my room.

It is possible Mr. Eliot refers to the snowstorms and the severe weather warnings, including tornadoes, that go along with the month of April. Those seem insignificant on a day like today when you can spend a little time on the deck and come away with photos like these:

Yes! Baby goslings! Just as in past years, these are not the ones from the nest floating on the pond but one hidden in the reeds.

 

A far-away flash of blue and a quick snap of a Bluejay on a fir tree.

A sprig of the aforementioned Lily of the valley just beginning to open.

As well as my very colorful Iris that bloomed a few days ago.

I only quoted the first few lines of The Waste Land and really did not garner the idea of April being the cruelest month from the rest of the poem, but honestly, can you believe that this second month of spring can be the cruelest?

(* British English spelling of the word.)

"Spring has returned. The earth is like a child that knows poems." Rainer Maria Rilke

"A Poem Is......

.......a record of discovery."   (Ted Kooser)

And from the time I first discovered his poetry, he has been a favorite of mine.

Today is his 87th birthday.

 Recently I've been giving some of my depression glass collections to the granddaughters. 

Depression Glass

By Ted Kooser

It seemed those rose-pink dishes   

she kept for special company   

were always cold, brought down   

from the shelf in jingling stacks,   

the plates like the panes of ice   

she broke from the water bucket   

winter mornings, the flaring cups   

like tulips that opened too early

and got bitten by frost. They chilled   

the coffee no matter how quickly   

you drank, while a heavy

everyday mug would have kept   

a splash hot for the better

part of a conversation. It was hard   

to hold up your end of the gossip   

with your coffee cold, but it was   

a special occasion, just the same,   

to sit at her kitchen table

and sip the bitter percolation

of the past week’s rumors from cups   

it had taken a year to collect   

at the grocery, with one piece free   

for each five pounds of flour.

Pelicans On Earth Day

I have celebrated Earth Day for many years, most often by planting a tree or some flowers. Watching the WHO-TV weather early this morning I saw a photo of pelicans at Green Valley State Park. I thought going to see them would be a good way to recognize Earth Day. These were at the north end of Summit Lake.

In the marshes between Green Valley Lake and Summit Lake were flocks of pelicans. 
This photo was taken from a greater distance.

Four coots and a wood duck were close to the road.

We came home past Lake McKinley where I believe the dredging is done because now they are working on shoreline stabilization and fish habitat. An article in the local paper said more than 300,000 cubic yards of dirt had been dredged from the lake.

Past the lake and the campground runs the gravel Spillway Road leading back to McKinley Street. I always liked this street because of all the naturally lush wild growth, about two-thirds of which has now been rooted out. I'm not positive what this is, possibly chokecherry.

But I am sure that this is Honeysuckle and while I love it, the DNR considers it an invasive species and wants it eradicated.

 And while I didn't plant anything for Earth Day today, I do plan to go shopping tomorrow. It's possible a plant or two may find its way home with me - better a day late than never. 🌿

You! Haiku

April 17 and it is National Haiku Day again. My first Haiku poetry blog was eleven years ago. Six years ago I posted these three on Facebook. It looks like we were still having winter on some days then, too, just as we have had this spring.

I swim all alone 

While mama sits on the nest

Watch for our goslings

 

Lonely yearling asks

Underneath all this snow is there

Anything green, like grass

Lovely dove ponders

Spring-it's April seventeen

Snow coats everything

My daughter dearest

In a turquoise Mustang rode

To toga party

Mother's Maytag stove

Now in grandson's kitchen sits

Brings back memories

Bowers of plum and

Redbud in fence row delight 

Bring spring to my day 

In addition to Haiku being a seventeen syllable verse form of three metrical units of five, seven, five, Haiku uses images from nature. It emphasizes simplicity and directness of expression. My Haikus are probably not any better than my attempts at writing poetry. (Example: Or Shades of Gray? 5/17/21).

Yet I dream being

A competent composer

Of exquisite verse

The Landscape of Childhood

 "The landscape of one's childhood is more vibrant than any other."

"My soul is sky; my heart is soil."

"Remember your first everything."