White islands float on
Lake Superior blue water -
        in UP blue sky.

             Or 

 

A fuzzy crescent

hanging in the maple tree -

       ornament of spring.

 

Still not a "3,2,1" haiku. (March 21)

 

Two thirds of March is

over now, springs first full day -

        time to start something! 

 

Equal day and night (1) -

more “outdoors” now, less tv -

    in the days ahead.

Skiing, walking, maybe even a early afternoon picnic?

(1) March 20 - vernal equinox, then full moon, then Sunday=Easter!

Revenge - forgiveness,

Hey, Count of Monte Cristo -

           Which one will you choose?

Read this book before,
heard this song, saw this program -
       left-over buffet!

Actually we had 2 "left-over" casseroles and some BBQ beans for supper -

Potatoes, onions,

sriracca spiced smoked salmon (1) -

         St Patrick's Day meal?

 

(1) baked in a white sauce with cheese. Not traditional maybe, but it was delicious!

Front yard rolling hills,
Sidewalk mountain range drifts, so -
      blizzard is still here!

We've got a six foot drift across our front sidewalk. I'd take a picture but I'm not sure I can get the door open!  Ok - picture from outside-

Alternate last line-
          No grasshoppers here.

Happy St Urho's Day!
        

Amazing Graceful God,

I open my eyes and see the beauty of your creation,

  the smile of a spouse or child,

  the wildness of the storm blowing past,

  the bounty of food, clothes, friends, home.

I close my eyes against the ugliness and harshness of the world,

  the hatred and cruelty with which we treat others,

  the despair of those who are attacked or abused,

  the suffering of the poor, the lonely, the troubled.

I close my eyes, and yet I see,and thus am culpable.

Others are more culpable than I, perhaps,

but I am not without blame.

I trust in your forgiving grace

this day and each day to come.

And I pray that better times might come for all.

Lakeshore flood warning,

waves 20 to 30 feet

       possible - say what? 

 Winter storm - schools close,

sidewalks covered, streets clogged, but -

    made it to Stucko's! 

 For my birthday.  

Fish fry - cajun/panko grilled with fried white cheddar cheese poutine!  Tomorrow, Monday - sounds like more winter storm!

 

"Winter storm warning" -

How much of life to cancel?

          So far skies are clear!

Light snowfall last night
Frosts this morning's pine branches -
           Cupcakes for breakfast?

Actually with school (and other avtivities) closed, I had waffles!

Snow's back, temps lower,

nothing on the calendar -

       stay in, do taxes. 

Sunshine, rising temps,

Leftovers in sun oven -

          Lunch outside today!

 

67 degrees?! 

 

All Knowing God -

you see everything we’ve ever done

and still you welcome us to your side.

In your mercy and grace

you give us food when we are hungry

and water when we are thirsty.

And when we are lonely

you are there by our side. 

Open our hearts and minds

to worship you in Spirit and in Truth,

here and now and where and when ever

you might lead us. 

We pray in Jesus’ name.

Time to turn the clocks,

snowbanks shrink, gutter streams flow -

         spring is not here yet! 

Or 

Time to turn the clocks -

one hour more or one hour less -

         make a difference? 

Chick-a-dees flitting,

snow melting, grey clouds settling -

       waiting for the rain. 

Swish, swish, swish, swish, swish -

Ice crystals, waves, in the lake - 

      Swish, swish, swish, swish, swish. 

Bright golden sunrise

to pale pink and gray sunset -

        so flows my story.

Moon sparkles on lake,

moon shadows on front yard snow  -

        lunar eclipse - not.

 

Glorious full moon last night. Got up at 5:30 to check for eclipse - fully clouded over. Went back to bed; got up at 8:30; made "full moon waffles" to compensate.

Bonus factoid - Writer's Almanac says Beethovan's Moonlight Sonata was published on this day in 1802.

Ok - making brownies. See if you can guess what happened -

 

Melt one stick butter,

Six ounces chocolate chips.....rats!

       Black beans are not chips!

 

Yup  - we had a half bag of "chocolate chips". Dumped a quarter of a cup into the bowl before I realized "wait a minute, those are black beans, not chocolate chips!" Had to pick them out - they're soaking and will get made into something tomorrow!

 

Faithful God -
trusting in and living by a promise,
Abram left "his own" for "a place called Away" (1).
It leads me to ponder what promises I live by,
where I look for help,
who I trust to keep me as I go out and come back.
I would like to trust your strength more than my own,
your vision more than the popular culture's,
your grace more than fame or fortune or pensions.
I'll need your help to make it so.

(1) Gordon Lightfoot, from "The Canadian Railroad Trilogy".

 Melting then freezing

leaves ice rink roads and sidewalks -

       skiing?  I think not! 

Sun sets and temps drop

from fifty to "low of 8" -

         it was a nice day.

We skied at the Forrestville Trailhead. Still easing back into this - maybe Blueberry Ridge tomorrow. (Temps supposed to get up to 14, so we'll see.) 

Tracks in snow on the

pedestrian corridor-

       new cross country skis!

We haven't skied in 10 or 15 years. We made it from Fair to Crescent and back. Next maybe a real trail. 

Snow on the rooftops,

windows twinkle in the dark - (1)

       half moon over town.

(1) or "lights twinkle from the ski hill" 

(from the library parking lot!) 

               

St Matthias Day - he

replaced Judas as will

       spring replace winter.

 

Feb 24 in the Episcopal Church and some others. In some places his day was a sign of spring's approach.

One long power cord,

a hair dryer, two cold hands -

       and yesterday's mail.

 

The mailbox was frozen shut!  

"Yes, I received your letter yesterday

(about the time the doorknob broke)

When you asked me how I was doing,

Was that some kind of joke?"

         - Bob Dylan 

 I have come to see the stories of The Fall and The Temptations not as stories of personal testing/trial and personal success/failure, but as a word that there is evil in the world, even in Eden, still in Jesus' day, and still again in our own, and that encountering evil leads to suffering, for you and/or for others -

So -
Always and Everywhere God,
I feel badly for Adam and Eve,
exploring their world,
(testing and pushing boundaries)
encountering evil,
and experiencing the consequences.
I feel badly for our world today,
where evil is present still
and when some push past boundaries
others (we all?) experience consequences.
I am so proud of Jesus
who stayed fully in each moment and met them faithfully.
I wish I could do the same.

Glides, jumps, spins, throws, lifts -

Exhibition Gala Skate!

          That's all - till next time. 

Egg salad sandwich,

apple, root beer, and pop corn -

       lunch, movie, The Pete.

(i.e. - lunch at the movie at the Peter White Public Library. It was "Fallen Leaves" - a Finnish comedy.) 

          

 

Brownies, heart cookies,

Valentine goodies all gone -

        three weeks til pi day! 

                    Or

Watching women skate,

wanting to "haiku describe" -

         Can't even come close! 

Snow falling gently,

quietly covering all -

       frosting on our world.

 

Last chance before lent -

Laissez les bons temps roulez -

        beignets for breakfast!

 

So do you have to stop eating mest/fried/sweet/chocolate tonight, or can you keep eating until the Ash Wed service tomorrow? Inquiring minds want to know! 

The sun sets golden.

Above the clear horizon -

    a new moon, new me? 

              Or

The sun sets golden

below horizon above

      rises new moon the. 

 A prayer for evening -

Dependable God,

daylight has faded and evening dark descends,

just as the glow from Jesus' face must have faded

and he and the three descended the mountain.

But even in the darkness your love surrounds us 

and your strong arms will keep us safe.

We settle into our evening routines

thankful for your presence with us

through daylight and darkness,

through life and death and beyond. 

We rest in you tonight. 

 

Valentines arrive,

some cyber, some paper, and

       best kind - in person.

 

 Happy Valentines Day to you!

       

 Hot dogs in a jar, (1)

jar in the solar oven -

      sure enough - cooked 'em.

 

(1) "jar" or "pan" 

Ok - you put stuff in a canning jar with hand tightened lid in the solar over and it acts like a pressure cooker.  So we have 3-4 more sunny or partly sunny days. Then we'll move on to something else besides the contents of the solar oven!

 

Pint jar of pinto

beans in the solar oven -

        sure enough - cooked them! 

 Or -

        sure 'nough -  it cooked em!

 

First time we've had the solar oven out since last fall. Nov - Jan the sun isn't really high enough in the sky to heat it up. It got up to 300 from 10am to 1pm today.

Partly sunny days,

 temps to high thirties (or more!) -

          Spring is coming - no? 

Men's short program, then

Men's ski slopestyle final, then -

       take out the garbage. 

Two eyes scan, ears twitch,
a nose sniffs, then hops away -
    outside my window.

God of this day and every day,

+when life is dull and bland as one day follows another, 

may any salt in my life bring out the delightful flavor in the life of each person I meet;

+when days turn dark and people are stumbling and bumping into things, 

may any light in my life shine to help others on their way;

+when days are cold and cloudy and all hope is gone, 

may my life somehow mirror yours enough to revive and encourage those around me;

until we come to the time of your peace in all it's wonderful and glory.

This is my prayer today.

And may I be called the repairer of the breach, the restorer of streets to live in.

 

And Isaiah (and Gretchen) said - "Fix the damn roads"! 

 

Pancakes, eggs, muffins,

granola, toast, jam, waffles -

     breakfast tomorrow?

 

"choose from" not "one of each" - but which?  And maple syrup? 

WInd blowing light snow

and no reason to go out -

       lazy day for me.

 

Other ideas I was toying with -

+multi car crash in blowing snow on M-28 

+"course hold" due to cloud/fog visibility issues at Olympics 

+"2 6 inch subs for 2 bucks" for 2/6/26. Only not in our location! 

 Thursday Olympics -

Curling plus Big Air Snowboard.

      Big Air Curling?  Nope.

 

Ok, I said some of them would just be dopey! 

Sun climbs above trees,

as moon sinks beneath roof-lines,

      in between - it's me!

 

And a new day dawning. 

Improvement on yesterday's -

   Sky candles twinkle,

    lunar lantern glows to light

        the world's living room. 

 

Now for today - 

   Groundhog Day came, went -

   Still spring does not feel closer.

      Waiting, waiting, wait....... 

Giovanni Bellini, Presentation at the Temple, tempera on panel, c. 1469. 

(Today is  The Feast/Festival of the Presentation of Jesus in the Temple, also observed as Candlemas - the day when people would bring their candles to the church to have them blessed.  A nice article about it here  https://www.plough.com/en/topics/culture/holidays/a-light-to-lighten-the-gentiles)

 

Sky-candles twinkle,
full lantern moon glows to light 
      the world's living room.
 

 

 La presentación de Cristo en el templo by Kelly Lattimore

I'll be honest, God,

I'm not sure where I fit into all this -

  +doing justice, loving kindness, walking humbly,

   +walking blameless, speaking truth from my heart,

   +being poor in spirit, and meek, and hungering  

       and thirsting for righteousness, and all the rest.

I do know that sometimes I feel foolish 

  or useless

  or just afraid.

I do know I want things to be better for all people 

  and for all of your Creation

So I'll take you at your word today -

  "Blessed are..... 

  "Blessed are.....

  "Blessed are.....

And try my best with all the rest.

I'm going to need your help. 

 

A ringed full moon casts

soft shadows on fresh snow as

         January ends. 

 

A peaceful image to end a rough month. 

Lights down, curtain up,

and "Hello, I'm Johnny Cash" -

        music and dance - Wow!

 

NMU's co/lab dance performance. 

It was amazing and more.         

Sunlight sliding down

the roofs across the courtyard -

      a new day drops in. 

 

Ok - we don't really have a "courtyard", we have a greenspace with a pond that is snow-covered. Or you could use "commons" I guess.

Fried rice, chicken legs:

tasted too good, ate too much -

      community meal!

Afternoon shadows

stretch across snow covered yard -

         twilight approaches. 

 Robert Burns Supper -

Grace, Haggis, Toasts, Auld Lang Syne -

      missed it again - Rats!

(It was last night. Maybe next year. I always think you could do it with a pasty instead of a haggis!) There was a professor in the geology department where I went to college that used to do a Robert W Service dinner each year.  My roommate was a geology major and would go.  "There are strange things done in the midnight sun by the men who moil for gold...."

 

Sweet Jesus -

I think I know what you had in mind when you said -

"I will send you out to fish for people."

I think you meant find all kinds of people -

  +the rich and the poor,

  +the littlest and the lost,

  +the strangers among us, whoever they are,

  +Moms and Dads, Grandmas and Grandpas, and children, 

  +the young (5 year olds) and the elders,

  +the discouraged and the enthusiastic,

  +the hungry and those who are well fed,

  +those in warm houses and those on cold (freezing) streets,

and gather them into the community/congregation/family of your grace

and wrap them securely in your loving arms

and shelter them under your holy wings. 

I don't think that is what we are doing today. 

 

And I love this picture by Peter Koenig -

Sunrise through the pines,

clear, but extreme cold lingers -

        good day to "clean house".

 

Or "bake bread", or "wash clothes", or "read books", or ?????

 

 Sims and/or eSims,

Voice over Internet calls -

     another day shot.

(i.e. - I can't figure this stuff out, let alone get it to work!  But I can use Google Pay to buy my coffee!) 

Extreme cold warning
stay inside tonight despite -
      silver sliver moon.

I have a feeling I used that "silver sliver" image before.

A grand old building,

One "teller", no customers -

    So how much longer?

 

Flagstar Bank downtown branch! Not sure if "teller" is still the appropriate term.

Sunshine, clear blue sky,

fresh white snow, and six degrees -

         take a walk, or no..... 

 By the sunlit bush,

 I dream of summer warmth, but -

      "Quothe the chick-a-dee......"

 

Not for a while yet!

Recognizing Edgar Allen Poe's birthday! 

 

And reprising this one from a year ago -

Earth folk together

Diverse, equal, included -

   Martin had a dream.

 

Heavenly Father, Mother, Parent, Friend -

I am trying to wait patiently for you to walk by, to take away the sin of the world,

but it still seems to me that the wicked prosper and the good die young.

Help me spot you among all those passing by, find where you are staying in our world and rest my heart there. 

Snow streaming off roofs,

Snow lining pine tree branches -

        Two figures walking.

 

My first attempt at a Japanese print!  Second attempt - 

 

Snow streaming off roofs

outlining pine tree branches -

      hunched figures walking.

Don't forget the key -

newspaper, ads, no letters -

       trip to the mailbox.

Tomato basil

soup, drunken pasty pot pie,

       chocolate chip cookie.

 

Lunch with friends at The Peace Pie. 

Wind gusts to forty,

blowing snow and falling temps -

         stay in, make waffles! 

Soo locks are closing,

Great Lakes shipping shutting down (1) -

         lighthouse keeps blinking. (2)

(1) at least Lake Superior shipping. Not sure exactly when.

 (2) every 7 seconds!

Sun rises (1) and sets (2);

Breakfast and lunch and dinner -

        Monday, a new week.

(1) earlier!

(2) later! 

Jesus comes to the Jordan alone -

  no Mary and Joseph with protecting arms 

  no shepherds telling wondrous tidings,

  no Kings bringing gifts,

  no disciples tagging along.

 Jesus starts his day as we do - alone,

     in a crowd but alone,

  looking for meaning,

  looking for direction,

  looking for security,

  looking for reassurance, 

  looking for friends.

Thank you God, for meeting us here

and for going with us through this day. 

Christmas tree is gone,

The Packers playing the Bears -

        Snow falling softly.

The tree is still up;

One last neighborhood event - 

          Christmas lingering? 

The wise men - gone home (1) -

The shepherds - back with their sheep (2) -

           Mary, Joseph, Child? 

                    or

           Family - on the run! 

(1) by a different route

(2) after telling everyone what was really happening

           

Plans, hopes, fears, dreams, goals;

resolutions on my part -

        what will this year bring? 

Snow turning to slush, 

Temps climbing to 30's  but -

           sunshine would be nice. 

By the parking lot

Christmas trees are piling up -

      "les bon temps rouler"!

So I am finding it increasingly hard to keep "Israel" as the people of God separate in my mind from "Israel" as the contemporary political entity. I am going to try to m use "the people of God" or even the Anishinaabe term "all my relations". The reality is that humans cannot just be at peace with each other without being at peace with the creation around them. So -

They shall come and sing aloud on the height of Zion, and they shall be radiant over the goodness of the LORD, over the grain, the wine, and the oil, and over the young of the flock and the herd; their life shall become like a watered garden, and they shall never languish again. Then shall the young women rejoice in the dance, and the young men and the old shall be merry. I will turn their mourning into joy; I will comfort them and give them gladness for sorrow. Jeremiah 31

They are on their way, Lord -

practicing their songs,

bringing grain, wine, and oil.

The women are practicing their dance,

the men (young and old) are making merry.

They have mourned for too long -

 loss of their land, loss of their children,

 their homes and villages destroyed, 

their olive trees uprooted.

 Now is the time to turn their mourning into joy,

 now is the time to give them gladness for sorrow.

 Comfort your people, Lord, whoever, wherever they are....

 

 

 

 

 

January 3,

As for my resolutions -

      Haven't made them yet! 

"Thank you" the voice said;

"I enjoyed it" the card read -

         a call or a card?

 

or an email or a text... I guess I still go with a card.

And ok, no "New Years Reflection". Maybe tomorrow?

Shoveled out the car (1),

10 degrees, socks for mittens -

     home to a new year. (2)

 

(1) parked at the airport through the blizzard

(2) will try to have more of a "starting a new year" sense tomorrow! This is what I got for now.