17 May 2023 (anniversary)

anniversary—

the trillium blooming

right where it always does

21 December 2021 (solstice)

solstice moonlight . . .

silver anniversary

of our first kiss

—for Paul xx

Happy 10th Anniversary, Book of Days!

I meant to mark a couple of weeks ago the 10th anniversary of this blog, which I started on 1 November 2009, inspired by the movie “Julia & Julia” in which a woman blogs daily about her experiences cooking from Julia Child’s cookbooks—but I forgot. So here it is now!

I’ve learned a lot in the past ten years about how to write a haiku; it’s been a very long apprenticeship to the form, informed by friendly fellow poets (especially haijin Peter Newton) and many many books on the subject, as well as anthologies and haiku journals. When I started, I thought a haiku had to be 5-7-5 syllables. I don’t think it was a bad thing that I adhered to this form for so many years before learning that most contemporary English-language haiku poets are not (generally, a haiku in English is 10 - 15 syllables, or no more than 17). It helped me hone my attention to rhythm, as well as sharpen my senses for appropriate haiku moments. And it’s provided me with literally years of material to go back to and revise! In just the last couple of years I feel like I might finally be getting the hang of this haiku thing. And I’m more obsessed with the form than ever!

You can read that very first post here.

In honor of this milestone, if you send me a message about this blog through my Contact Me page, including your mailing address, I’ll send you a fun little haiku/photo card thing I had made up this summer. Hope to hear from you! Thank you for reading.

17 May 2019 (fog)

a fog bank

hiding the bay between us

anniversary

May 17: Anniversary

Anniversary--

on our walk in the woods

he finds a garter snake.

Posted with Blogsy

May 17: Anniversary

Counting birds on our walk.

Is it really thirteen years

since our wedding?

Posted with Blogsy

May 15: Anniversary

My husband and I celebrated our 12th anniversary tonight (two days early because I will be away this weekend) at Primo, one of Maine's best restaurants. One of the reasons Primo is so good is that they take farm-to-table seriously: they grow many of their own vegetables and raise their own pigs and chickens on-site. After an amazing, 2-1/2-hour meal, we stepped outside to be wowed again by the starry sky.

 

Anniversary dinner--

bright Venus hovers

over the pig pen.

Posted with Blogsy

December 20: Christmas Bird Count

My husband and I spent the day birding "our" section of the Thomaston-Rockland Christmas Bird Count, a Christmas season tradition which we've been sharing together for 17 years--14 of them in this section.

Flock of bluebirds--
of course they bring happiness
Winter Solstice eve

December 21: Winter Solstice

Participated today in the Thomaston-Rockland Christmas Bird Count. For the first time we found a Snowy Owl in our count area, on the Samoset golf course. The heavily barred bird looked like a rock until it moved. And then we found another, paler one, perched atop a church. Crows harassed it until it flew off over Rockland Harbor, a flurry of white wings and black in the bleak sky. The owl's yellow eyes shone pure and cold; the length and scimitar curve of its talons made me shiver. Such beauty, such deadly beauty. Like winter itself. 

We welcome winter

in the form of

two Snowy Owls.

One of today's owls, courtesy of Brian Willson (c), maineseasons.com

December 19: We finally go see "The Hobbit: the Desolation of Smaug"

For a few hours
we forget about snow and cold,
immersed in dragon fire.

December 18: Counting ravens

I spent all my daylight hours today with two friends, Derek and Jeannette, doing a Christmas Bird Count in Jefferson, Maine. Time spent birding with friends is always good, even when it rains all day and there are few birds to be found. Before lunch, our most exciting find was four bluebirds on a utility wire. During lunch, our most exciting find was excellent grilled cheese on homemade bread at Ollie's in Jefferson village.

After lunch, despite some setbacks that limited our walking time--like a chilly wind added to the continuing rain--we had some of our best (non-food) discoveries. At a bison and red deer farm, of all places, we followed a public trail to a small covered bridge where Derek had noticed what looked like a possible raven nest when scouting the area last week. When a pair of ravens flew out upon our arrival today, his theory was confirmed.

The pair flew a short distance as we continued on. We could hear them vocalizing in their odd, quorky way nearby. Seeing ravens always thrills me--they've long been one of my favorite birds--but seeing that pair today was especially meaningful because they were the theme of my husband's and my wedding almost ten years ago; this Winter Solstice, we celebrate the non-wedding anniversary of the day on which we first considered ourselves a couple.

(For other highlights of the afternoon, we also found a flicker at the bison/deer farm, and on Damariscotta Lake, a lingering loon and a small raft of Lesser Scaups.)

Winter rain: ravens
shelter in a covered bridge.
Thinking about pair bonds.