A Purple Carpet

Purple and bright 

the ornamental plum trees 

release them to the sidewalk 

unless a bird or squirrel 

samples nature’s wares. 

As I walk I am graced 

above and below 

with the offerings. 

Not always pleased by 

those little purple plums 

on the sidewalk, squished 

by the many passers by, 

I can’t avoid contributing to

the purple nubbly carpet.

“I think of trees and how simply they let go.”

~ May Sarton, 

novelist, poet and memoirist

(1912 ~ 1995)

Out of the Dailiness

Entertainment for us comes in all forms 

  ~ a walk in the park on a gentle evening 

        to flickering characters on a screen, 

 time travel between the covers of a book

  the slap and cheer of hockey or soccer

fingers caressing the octaves of a piano, 

 or the swirl and twirl of a waltz……

Each of them directing us 

  out of the dailiness of life 

and into joy, release and fun.

“Once a person has all the things they need to live, 

everything else is entertainment.”

~ Neal Stephenson, author

Prairie Flowers

 

In late afternoon 

summer heat 

tough prairie flowers 

cheered my walk.

“Flowers are for our souls to enjoy.”

~ Sioux proverb

"Tides" ~ CHANGE Theme for February 2026

Come with me…….

Hurry into the……

A walk into……

Nicely done!

Getting on with…….

Easing my heart……..

“February is the uncertain month, neither black nor white 

but  all shades between by turns, nothing is sure.”

~ Gladys Hasty Carroll, novelist

(1904 ~ 1999)

Afternoon Moon

Look up! 

When I walk 

I stop to look to the sky

blue and decorated 

with the lace of trees. 

More intriguing is

a cloud white moon 

riding high in the afternoon

shaded with dark moon craters

~ I greet this celestial body 

with a smile, a nod and a click of my camera

and if shining silver when I turn out my light, 

I’ll say ‘goodnight moon’. 

with no science to prove 

the steady, insistent pull 

of the moon on earth 

but I have felt and 

seen those tides.

“It is a beautiful and delightful sight to behold the body of the moon.”

~ Galileo Galilei, astronomer

(1564 - 1642)

Seeking Shade

When I walked in the sun this afternoon, I felt it’s heated warmth 

and sought the filtered shade of even the thinnest branch. The 

shade of a building, a large rectangle that spilled onto the 

street, was an improvement,

but to cross walk on the pavement 

there was not even a sliver of shade. 

A warm wind ruffled my hair and 

cooled my skin. Riding the bus in air-conditioned comfort 

my quick errand was accomplished. 

Returning home, I repeated the dance of 

seeking shade that ended with a cold drink of water.

“Ah, summer, what power you have to make us suffer and like it.”

~ Russell Baker, writer

A Wondering, Wandering Mind

At a bus stop, cars, trucks buses, and one bicycle pushed aside muggy afternoon air. My mind wandered to ~ 'tires'. 

A sentence fragment scrolled through my mind: “I spend a lot of time spinning my tires over the slippery ground of ‘what if’…

Barely had I made a note of it when my bus rolled up, my mind trying to stretch that fragment to ‘why me and why not me?’.

‘What if…..’ gives my imagination 

a boost into story and poetry

‘Why me or why not me’

only rates a parental ‘just because’.

For each time these questions are posed 

by my wondering, wandering mind I feel 

free to get on a bus and ride, 

or walk down a sidewalk, 

always to stay where my feet are.

“A mind not agitated by good questions cannot 

appreciate the significance if even the best answers.”

~ Mortimer Adler, philosopher, educator and author

(Dec1902 - Jun2001)

Beckoning

The old school yard beckoned.

I’ve walked that street many times 

but never saw the place 

where my feet would take me. 

A woman sat at one 

of the picnic tables reading

On the far side of the school yard, 

children played on the swings

Hand in hand, a couple walked in with their dogs.

The old school yard beckoned.

“When a thing beckons you to explore it without 

telling you why or how, this is not a red herring; it’s a map.”

~ Gina Greenlee, Postcards and Pearls: 

Life Lessons from Solo Moments on the Road

At the Park

My first park walk of the year on a day so warm, brought joy to my heart and pepped up my steps. I didn’t skip and run like the tag-a-long child in me wanted me to. 

Any attempt to skip and run 

would have brought my walk 

to an abrupt and inglorious end. I do like to present myself as a mature adult. So I took my time, stopping to revel in the sun and new growth of a tree here and a bush there. 

At the lake the ganders, their necks 

stretched long, strutted 

and called loudly to potential mates that showed little interest. Ducks bobbed, swam and kept distant from kayakers. Joggers and walkers traced the broad path around the lake ~ broad shoulders wet with perspiration; groups of three of four deep in conversation, families with strollers, cyclists of all ages followed at their own pace. 

The wind accompanied us all. 

“Nature surrounds us, from parks and backyards to streets and alleyways. Next time you go out for a walk, tread gently 

and remember that we are but inhabitants 

and stewards of nature in our neighbourhoods.”

~ David Suzuki