Shredders

I dislike shredders. Not the actual unit/machine because they work very well. It's the reason behind their use that is so repugnant! Until a very few years ago, we could throw everything away in the trash or recycle bin without the worry of someone trying to steal one's identity. Now anything written that may or may not link to your personal stuff has to be shredded. I guess the younger generation does not give this a second thought. However, all those "of a certain age" do know a better time when it was possible to simply discard/recycle anything without shredding first. There was only one incident about 25 years ago when I caught the garbage men (forgive me for being politically incorrect even though that was what we actually called the men who picked up the garbage) rifling through my garbage. Though normally mild mannered a la Clark Kent, I flew into a rage, chased them down the road and cut them off with my VW Bug (not the latest version that comes with with the plastic dashboard flower). I demanded an explanation for this invasion of privacy, and their answer was that they suspected me of bringing in garbage from another town!!! Beside the fact that I live and work in the same town, I found their motive unacceptable and gave them a piece of my mind. The problem never reocurred- probably because they did not want to mess with a psycho woman at 6:30 AM ever again. Was that garbage collection a harbinger of the household shredder?

from where this shrill voice the color of lightning

Procrastination or Inspiration

windshield wipers

on the lowest setting

rippling pastels

Yesterday I was out early cleaning/pruning/weeding my garden while rain fell lightly. It did not feel like work at all. Afterward, I had to decide if I was going inside to pay bills, do laundry, vacuum etc. I decided to embrace the spring showers and instead took a road trip. I stopped by The Artsy Fartsy Yard Sale run by the Three Chicks. All are artists who were huddled around a firepit that was more smoke than fire. They clapped as I drove down the driveway relieved to see anyone come out in the rain. I admired their work and we chatted about their new adventures and then I was on my way. Next stop - the always superb Leonard Buck Gardens in Far Hills. So many wildflowers in bloom and new ones poking their heads through last year's debris. Dogwoods, Redbuds and native Azaleas filled the woods. It was sweet soulfood. So I call it inspiration rather than procrastination even though I put off until tomorrow what I should have done today!

Family Stone

Every garden is best enjoyed as a work in progress.
This includes garden art and garden whimsy. Each time I visit this garden I add a new "family member". Thus we have a working title: "No Birth Control". It makes me smile!

February Thaw

Temperatures rose for a few days into the 50's and 60's after weeks of teens and twenties. As it happened birdsong crested and spring became more than an apparition. Ice melted into rivulets and plants looked perky. So far so good as to the plants' health, but the true reading of winter damage begins in late April/May when temperatures hit the seventies regularly. Until that time there's little to do except clean up dead branch debris and enjoy the joyous blue sky during the day and lovely light of Venus in the evening. I've tried to write a haiku about Venus but cannot manage to do justice to the beauty of this planet's light.

I started with:

Venus sets
in the still blue sky
dripping points of light

But it's still not quite right. You will always know when a poem is right or finished unlike alot of other stuff. I'm thankful for a few more weeks of winter to work on these small gems.

A Beginning

How to begin? It starts with a wish or a dream to write and share. Why here? Why now? I'm not sure. I only know that I love my work as a landscape designer and nurserywoman (grower of plants). I also love poetry - not all poetry but those short Japanese inspired poems that can be spoken in one breath - haiku. My work inspires my poems and my poems deepen my appreciation for my work. I'd like to share this process and in doing so learn more.

It is my intention to grow my poetry and poet my garden. If I can shed any light on this symbiotic relationship I will be very very happy.

why not the June sky lingers in one star's blue light

published in Roadrunner 2008