Saturday comes early

Morning
by Billy Collins

Why do we bother with the rest of the day,
the swale of the afternoon,
the sudden dip into evening,

then night with his notorious perfumes,
his many-pointed stars?

This is the best—
throwing off the light covers,
feet on the cold floor,
and buzzing around the house on espresso—

maybe a splash of water on the face,
a palmful of vitamins—
but mostly buzzing around the house on espresso,

dictionary and atlas open on the rug,
the typewriter waiting for the key of the head,
a cello on the radio,

and, if necessary, the windows—
trees fifty, a hundred years old
out there,
heavy clouds on the way
and the lawn steaming like a horse
in the early morning.

N is for my n.o.t.e.b.o.o.k

Today's ABC Wednesday letter is the ubiquitous n.
To join in or just enjoy, check out Mrs Nesbitt's site for more n-words.

All things are connected.

Creation Turtle...Daniel Ramirez (Saginaw Chippewa)

But the old Lakota was wise. He knew that a man's heart, away from nature, becomes hard; he knew that lack of respect for growing, living things soon led to lack of respect for humans, too. So he kept his children close to nature's softening influence.
Chief Luther Standing Bear (Oglala Sioux)

Happy Earth Day 2008

P

Loon Update

Just yesterday I wrote about my Loon sitings and then today the Minneapolis Star-Tribune had a short article that explained why so many were in our area. "The northward spring loon migration has become 'like a car pileup,' with large flocks congregating on area lakes to await the breakup of ice." The larger lakes including Lake Superior are still frozen.

What I want to know is how do these guys know about the conditions up north? Do they have scouts or do they all make the trip, see the ice, and head back? And does anyone mention, "I told you so!"

No sadder sound salutes you than the clear, wild laughter of the loon.~~Celia Thaxter