Spring Is

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SPRING IS

Spring is not allegory. It is weighed
in density of sound from drunken bees,
intensity of sky, contrast of shade
and glinting leaf, the whisper brush of breeze

against my sleeveless skin; and it is seen
in swooping jay’s blue stitchery that sews
pure cherry blossom white to tender green.
Spring is the sun-baked boards beneath bare toes,

strawberries tart on tongue, the first warm night
that lilac scent, as thick as honey pours
through opened windows, moths around the light
and filmy dust of pollen on the floors.

Don’t try to find a meaning or define,
For spring is real
and here
and now
and mine!

Spring is here!

cherry blossoms in neighbor's yard

It's official! This is the first full day of spring! Actually it arrived yesterday when we weren't looking, just sort of sneaked in last evening. But these flowers were already blooming in my neighbors' gardens when I walked a few houses down the street from our house, camera in hand.

blue primrose

yellow primrose

golden primrose

pink and white primula

This must have been several small plants
clumped together and planted. ???

I always think that whatever season is current is my favorite season. Spring is special, though, because it is the season of JOY. I don't mean simple happiness, but that rare flash of radiant emotion that makes one want to sing, shout and dance, kick up one's heels like the gamboling lambs and calves on the green hills.

This following poem I pull from my files every spring, and I have posted it once - last April, I think. I was in that that rare joyous state when I wrote it several years ago.

SPRING IS
Spring is not allegory. It is weighed
in density of sound from drunken bees,
intensity of sky, contrast of shade
and glinting leaf, the whisper brush of breeze
against my sleeveless skin; and it is seen
in swooping jay’s blue stitchery that sews
pure cherry blossom white to tender green.
Spring is the sun-baked boards beneath bare toes,
strawberries tart on tongue, the first warm night
that lilac scent, as thick as honey pours
through opened windows, moths around the light
and filmy dust of pollen on the floors.
Don’t try to find a meaning or define,
For spring is real
and here
and now
and mine!

Have a happy springtime in whatever manner you celebrate it!

Best Blogging Buddies Award

Jen at My Humble Opinion gave me this Best Blogging Buddies award. Thank you, Jen for the nice things you said about me.

Jen didn't say how many awards I could pass along. I'm going to limit my list to a special few, my reason being that if I went beyond that I'd have to choose among all my other dear blogging friends by playing eeny-miney-mo!
1. Mary Ann, at Peacock Blue, my first-found blogging friend, very dear to me and a joy to turn to daily.
2. Marianne, whose constant comments, humorous, quirky or flattering, brighten my day.
3. Tumblewords, poet and artist.
4. Inland Empire Girl at Gathering Around the Table, whose gracious invitation always draws me in.

Spring has been with us for several weeks, and is a joy for me to get out in it even though I still have to be very careful with my back. The pink-flowering plum along the streets has already dropped its petals and has tender new burgundy-clored leaves. Many yards are lush right now with Japanese Magnolia blossoms, and I had Otto stop the car a couple of times so that I could snap these photos (we were on our way to the grocery store - one of my first shopping trips in a long time!).

Warm weather

It isn't spring, but more like summer today. This has been a great year for California poppies. They have been flourishing in road dividers as well as gardens and vacant lots. It's an abundance that almost rivals that of my childhood years when we thoughtlessly picked them by the armload. Only once since then have I seen as many. In the year after the great Oakland fire, poppy seeds, that had been dormant ever since houses were built above them, sprang forth in the ashes of said houses.
Otto and I have been searching our files and printing photos to try to convince the world's most suspicious IRS auditor, that, yes, we really are a business, and that, yes, we did actually take those business trips that we deducted. And yes, we did pay for tests of our equipment at certified laboratories. We have been audited every year for the past 2 decades. This particular audit is of the year 2003. Our tax lawyer is himself an ex-IRS employee, and he can't believe what is happening. If anyone reading this wonders what our business is, here is the link to Otto's website, PhaseAble .

I was in a panic yesterday when I accessed this site and found that all of my pictures - every single one except my own ID one at the right - had gone missing, leaviing a blank space. I fussed with all sorts of potential on-line help, found that others were having the same problem, finally joined the "blogger help group" and found that the problem was temporary. What a relief!
I forgot to give credit to the two photographers of my great-grandchildren in the Easter and spring pictures below.. Summer and Baxter's photo was lifted from Daria's Day blog (with permission).The photographer was Daria Bishop, their mother, who is a professional photographer. Jon's picture was taken by another granddaughter, Josie Andersen, and is from her blog, Jonster's Days .
Recently I discovered another blog that I find cleverly written and illustrated, Peacock Blue . She posts many striking photos, but two recent ones, one is of a sunset, another of an egret that she spotted nearby, inspired me to post the following urban landscapes.

This is an early morning shot of San Francisco taken from my bedroom window. It was taken with telephoto and trimmed. Clouds obscure the background hills. The large black building is the Bank of America building, the spire is the Trans-America pyramid.

This capture of a rainbow was made by my son-in-law, Clinton Shock, who was out for an early morning jog. It is taken from a viewpoint about halfway down our block where several lots are too steep for building, thus opening this view to the west, of Berkely, Albany, the Bay and the Golden Gate. Our hills rise steeply behind him, still shading the lower branches of the trees and the rising sun behind him touches their tops. Squally March weather with misty showers probably explains the rainbow.

.California poppies. What else better expresses a California spring?

Here is my own poetic expression of spring:

Spring Is...

Spring is not allegory. It is weighed
in density of sound from drunken bees,
intensity of sky, contrast of shade
and glinting leaf, the whisper brush of breeze
against my sleeveless skin; and it is seen
in swooping jay's blue stitchery that sews
pure cherry blossom white to tender green.
Spring is the sun-baked boards between my toes,
strawberries tart on tongue, the first warm night
that lilac scent, as thick as honey, pours
through open windows, moths around the light
and filmy dust of pollen on the floors.
Don't try to find a meaning or define,
for spring is real, and here, and now, and mine.

I'm not sure exactly what I have just done on this blog. I had tried to install one of my animated gifs (of Dramock, my favorite dragon - my own drawing), published it to see if it continued to be animated, found that Dramock remained stationary, sought to revise the blog and inadvertently caused even stationary Dramock to disappear. I seem to have a compulsion to try things...

Since I feel sorry for Dramock, I posted a different picture of him.at left. Should you wish to know more about Dramock, go to my website, Dragonhaven, and access the dragon page.

Spring has been loitering around Berkeley for several months causing trees to flower, bulbs to sprout, and leaves to take on every shade of green. Today, however, is the first day I have ventured outdoors without sweater or windbreaker.

.