Art for Spring, and Beyond

From Dierk Haasis, your choice of beautiful images. Browse for them here.

April with Dierk Haasis

Now have a look at the pictures Dierk Haasis is offering this month -- delicious fish, a beautiful Easter egg, and many other enjoyable and thought-provoking images. Spring delights, all!

Dogwood Winter, With Tulips and Dandelions

Rainy and overcast, the skies briefly let a little sunshine through in the late afternoon of Thursday, March 24, 2011. And I spotted a welcome little tulip showing its head near my sister's mailbox. Was quite surprised, also, to find her dogwood tree in full earliest bloom, while, in my own back yard, to my delight, a dandelion was launching its seeds on their gossamer parachutes into the stiff breeze.

With the clearing skies, the temperature fell to 32 degrees F. (0 degrees C.) that night.

It's pretty early for dogwood winter, and the redbuds are also in bloom, but I haven't seen any blackberry blossoms yet.

Friends Who Grow Roses

"Veteran's Honor" and "Tiffany" -- two roses given to me recently by a friend who likes to grow roses:



She brought them to a garden-club meeting on May 7. This is the oldest garden club in Nashville, with about a dozen members, mostly elderly, ranging in age from 50 to 100 years old.

Now, I no longer garden, and never did grow roses. But when I was invited to join last Christmas, I accepted, just for the company of these old friends who meet about half a dozen times a year in one another's homes, share sandwiches, and invite a speaker on an interesting topic. So far, I've heard about birds, trees, and roses. Interesting tidbit: "Veteran's Honor" is descended from "Mr.Lincoln," another popular red rose.

St. George's Day

I'm going to comment on this date, April 23, by quoting my response to Celia Warren's post in honor of St. George's Day in England. Celia is a published children's poet, and a long-time e-mail pen-pal of mine, and today's page at her website, POETRY BOX (see the link above), is particularly delightful:

Today is also the accepted birth and death date for William Shakespeare, and over here in the U.S. it’s Earth Day. The first graders at the school where my sister teaches, including her class, made solar cookers from empty Pringle Chips’ cans, one per student, for roasting a hot dog (a weiner sausage) under the hot Texas sun. Neat science lesson, I thought.

There probably wasn’t any smoke — only steam — from this project. However, perhaps there’s no steam without dragons either?

And what is a steam locomotive but a great iron dragon?

End of musings on your wonderful poem. Thanks for the space, Celia, and Happy St. George’s Day to you!

May's birthday flower, the daisy

Memorial Day, 2008, With the Aid of Masking Tape

On an early morning walk, the day before the postal holiday in honor of Memorial Day, I came upon these crossed flags, secured to a neighbor's mailbox by masking tape.

A hurried improvisation or merely a humble salute to the memory of U.S. military veterans?

Seed Time

Sunrise with Dandelions

Dogwood Winter

A Neighbor's White Tree





Sunlit Blossom

On Campus

An Old Farmhouse That Gained a New Setting



University Colors by the Gym

Changeable April

Raindrops on My Crabapple's Lowest Branch




My Sister's April Tulip




Miniature Rose on My Kitchen Counter

Crabapple Blossoms After the Rain

Second Blooming

The miniature rose that arrived in full bloom at Christmas now sits near a kitchen window pane this morning, its single full-blown blossom--no more than a thumbnail wide--coaxed out by the sunny days ahead of this morning's rain.

Tulips Brighten a Rainy Dawn Below the Blossoming Crabapple

Rainy Dawn

After the Equinox ...

Magnolia and Conifer



... just east of this

Ornamental Peach Blossom



... captured in a cold and overcast Easter dawn.

Transformer with Storm Clouds

Today is National Limerick Day

Below is a little verse that I wrote
for the OEDILF project
(The Omnificent English Dictionary In Limerick Form):

http://www.oedilf.com/db/Lim.php?

On the twelfth day of May poets cheer.
Though they're chock-full of limericks each year,
They can write just one more,
Full of candles galore,
For the birthday of limericist Lear.

Every year on May 12, Limerick Day is celebrated
in many countries, including Ireland,
the United Kingdom,
and the United States.

The celebrations are in honor
of the birthday
of famed limericist
Edward Lear (1812–1888).

Cinco de Mayo

It's the day that
the people of Mexico
and people of Mexican descent
hold celebrations in much
the same way as the people
of the U.S. celebrate
the Fourth of July.

However, the Fifth of May
celebrations are in remembrance
of a significant battle in Mexico's
history and not of its
declaration of independence
from Spain, which had taken place
September 15, 1810.

May 5 is the anniversary
of the victory won by
Mexican soldiers, commanded by
General Ignacio Zaragoza Seguin,
over the French occupational forces
in the Battle of Puebla
on May 5, 1862.

The city of Seguin, Texas,
is named in honor of this general,
who can also be referred to
as General Zaragoza.

For one good account of that
battle, see this website page:

http://www.vivacincodemayo.org/history.htm

Birthday of the Bard

Today is, as well as it can
be determined,
the anniversary of
the day on which
William Shakespeare
was born.

The writing he did
in his relatively short
lifetime influences
the English language
profoundly
to this very day.

And allusions to his
works, I would venture
to say, are common
in nearly all literate
communities, whatever
language is being spoken.