Sunday, December 13, 2009

Freshened





I walked up a little hill yesterday, rain pattering on my favorite umbrella with suns and moons all bright yellow on dark blue. I bought it in a downpour years ago in Toronto.


On this walk I saw lots of pretty foliage freshened by the gift from the sky.


Besides sharing the photos, I'm giving you a little haiku.







after the rain,


muffled crunch of soggy leaves,


air spiced and still





Today's post is short. I know we are all up to our chins in holiday doings. I found a perfect fir tree that fit in the front seat of my Miata, and now it is filling my living room with the memory of forests. I will post its picture soon.





A huge thank you to Liza Carens Salerno at Middle Passages for this One Lovely Blog Award. It is always an honor to be selected by another blogger.
Liza absolved her honorees from following the award rules, so I am taking her up on that. But since the challenge was to share new blog links, I'm going to do that some time in the near future. It's always nice to get recs from friends.
Hope everyone had a super weekend, productive but not stressed, happy and not hysterical. If you need to vent, though, feel free. My comments are always open and I love to chat.


30 comments:

Tess said...

Love this haiku -- especially the 'air spiced and still' line. Something about the spiced and still is really, really beautiful.

Sharon K. Mayhew said...

Lovely Hiaku and super photographs!

* said...

Lovely haiku. I think the world needs more poets, and definitely more haiku.

PS: No hysterics here, just a messy house, happy kids, and healthy doses of egg nog all around.

V. S said...

Beautiful haiku and photos. I love haiku's.

Congrats on your award! You deserve it.

Stephanie Thornton said...

Walks in the woods are the best for inspiration and renewal. I prefer them in the summer and fall, but I'll take them anytime!

I guess that might be why I love living in Alaska so much, eh? :)

Tricia J. O'Brien said...

Tess: Oh, I'm so pleased. I rewrote that line a few ways and then decided I really liked that, too.

Sharon: Thanks!

Terresa: I'm such a haiku nut. I love reading the old masters--Basho, Issa, Buson.
Glad to hear your house is well in-hand.

V: Thank you thrice. :D

Stephanie: I love woods of all kinds. Alaska is one place I've never been. It appears to be a beauty of stunning proportion. But how do you stand the cold and long dark of winter? I think I'm a wimp.

Bish Denham said...

Beautiful pictures and lovely haiku. Congrats on the award, it is well deserved.

Linda Kage said...

Congrats on the word. And I loved the Haiku!

Liza said...

Tricia, when I read your haiku, I smelled cinnamon. Scuffing through fallen leaves works perfectly with hot cider mulled with cloves and orange peel. Your simple words brought me there.

Tricia J. O'Brien said...

Bish: *smiles* Big thanks.

Linda: Oh, thank you so much, too.

Liza: That is a wonderful comment. I'm honored to evoke a sense memory. *smiles more*

Robyn Campbell said...

Muffled crunch of soggy leaves. Beautiful words. To start a new week on. I needed them. Thank you. It reminds me of years past with my dad, hunting Christmas trees and smelling the apple cider as we searched for THE perfect tree. I always thought it smelled much better than it tasted. :-)

And congrats on the award. You deserve it my friend.

XiXi said...

Your haiku is beautiful! I was confused for a second because over here, all of the leaves are already gone from the trees and we've gotten our first snow. But I love the picture. Autumn is my favorite season.

Shannon O'Donnell said...

I miss Fall's spiced air and the crunch of soggy leaves. We got six inches of snow this weekend - Fall is officially over. I love the colors and texture contrast of the top photo - do I see the Big Dipper in there?! ;-)

Great Haiku! :)

Tricia J. O'Brien said...

Robyn: I'd love to read a memoir about your father and the tree hunt. Maybe you can treat us on your blog to that warm, spice-filled memory. :)

XiXi: Thank you. I love haiku--reading and writing it. I know from your blog you are in snow country. Lucky me, I'm currently snow-free, unless I want to go to it.

Shannon: You have a great eye! Yes, I see the Big Dipper now, too, since you pointed it out. Fall is one of my favorite times. Since I'm in Southern California, we don't get winter like you. But I can travel to it, when I wish.

Yat-Yee said...

I love your photographs and your descriptions of your walks and hikes, bringing us to the calm and vastness of nature.

lisa and laura said...

Can't wait to see a picture of your tree! Again your blog is a moment of zen in my otherwise crazy day. Love it.

PJ Hoover said...

Gerat Haiku! And, yes, what a busy time of year! But I love the excitement of it all.

Tricia J. O'Brien said...

Yat-Yee: Nature brings me that calm and a sense of my place in the bigger picture. I'm pleased to hear it comes through.

LiLa: A moment of Zen--I'm good with that!
I'm decorating that tree today. I love my ornaments, which come from my journey through life.

PJ: Thanks! And, I agree, it's a good kind of busy.

J.B. Chicoine said...

I love how a rain intensifies color, especially in autumn. Thanks for sharing that, and congrats on the award!

storyqueen said...

I am glad you got your tree! I bet a certain seashell would make a great ornament......

Shelley

Tricia J. O'Brien said...

JB: Hi and thanks! I agree, color really pops after a rain.

Shelley: What a great idea! I put on my "bought" ornaments of sea themes (fish, seahorse and shell) but didn't think of my found shells. Yay, I'm going to add them. How exciting.

Donna said...

Lovely leaves and haiku.

Yvonne Osborne said...

Good haiku. I love the challenge of structured poetry....much more difficult than free form.

p.s. like your new profile photo!

Laurel Garver said...

Tricia: I loved this line: "filling my living room with the memory of forests."

My husband's evergreen allergy means I can't experience this directly, but you're captured beautifully what I love about real Christmas trees. Thanks for the vicarious sensation.

Abby Annis said...

Tag! You're it!

http://abbyannis.blogspot.com/2009/12/ive-been-hit.html

Tricia J. O'Brien said...

Thanks Donna!

Yvonne: I enjoy structure, as well, because of the rhythm, the cadence. And thanks for noticing the profile picture.

Laurel: Welcome to my blog. I enjoyed visiting yours, as well. Oh, I'm sorry you can't have real trees anymore. The scent is what I think I love most. I have such a need for nature in my life.

Abby: You bad! Okay, I'm tagged, I'll try to be witty and play nice. *chews pencil*

Elana Johnson said...

I simply love the "air spiced and still"

That is beautiful and brings so many senses to mind. Well done!

Tricia J. O'Brien said...

Elana: Yay, thank you!

Nora MacFarlane said...

Loved the haiku and the photos!

Tricia J. O'Brien said...

Welcome, Nora, and thanks so much!