aloha means . . .

. . . that for the time being I will start putting my photos on facebook, since it appears I have devolved into only occasional pictures and little to say. When I have something more substantial I'll return to the blog, but in the meantime, if you're not my facebook friend and want to be, I'm easy.

So to mark this hiatus, here's a picture of my cigar box ukulele, looking better than it sounds:

prickly pair

Actually, this is a prickly trio of mostly unrelated and gratuitous photos. The first two were taken near Inks Lake on daytrip. We will call them "flower one" and "flower two."

This was taken in my backyard while I was experimenting with different camera settings. It's as if flapping is sometimes too much trouble.

wildlife wednesday

Despite the title of the post, this won't become a regular feature. Unless . . .

I vow that by the end of the summer I will have figured out how to take a sharp picture of a hummingbird. I don't, however, need any practice coaxing a smile from a lizard.

hummer

No, not the sports utility vehicle. I'm talking about the usually hyperactive little bird, shown here in a moment of repose, possibly preparing to dive-bomb some unsuspecting bald head.

a poem (in case it's hard to tell)

Hard Boiled

In the distance an agitated grackle
screams at a would-be foe,
sounding much like a Smith-Corona
XL1000 typewriter circa 1986
with auto-return and easy worderaser.
Could this be an angry poem the bird beats out,
with lines like “I’ve known the hardened taste of seed?”
Or maybe we’ve walked into the middle of a saga,
right at the tension building stand-off.
Will the curious cat at the base of the tree
get its just reward? And what of the twitching squirrel,
fretting over the dangers facing his nuts?
We’ll have to tune in at another time,
for the sprinklers have started
and the story’s author has traded
typing out a decent ending
for a cliffhanger and flapping wings.