Belties

Away in a manger

two Belties*

ate hay 

. . .

*These are Belted Galloways, otherwise known as Belties, or as Oreo Cows.

They live locally

and we love them.

xx

Snowbirch

This:

to stop you in your tracks

and 

remind you of:

Birches

by Robert Frost

When I see birches bend to left and right

Across the lines of straighter darker trees,

I like to think some boy's been swinging them.

But swinging doesn't bend them down to stay

As ice-storms do. Often you must have seen them

Loaded with ice a sunny winter morning

After a rain. . . 

(partial poem. . .)

Winter Vignettes

Here's that red wheelbarrow again

now toting ice

and

two red kayaks

hunkered down

and

old woodpiles

slumbering

and

pond

glazed with ice

and

brook a-gurgling

ahhhh

winterlove

xx

Simmering

Second draft zooooooms

and now

it has to simmer

shhhh

do not rattle and roll

tiptoe away.

Maybe when you return

to the draft

it will have developed

multiple reflective layers

and lead you

gently

on to the 

next

one.

xx

Second Draft

Sono in giardino

means

I'm in the garden.

It's a sign I often saw

hung on doors 

in spring and summer

in Montagnola, Switzerland.

I'm deep now into a second draft

of the newest book

doing a lot of planting and weeding

of words.

Sono in giardino

hangs on the office door.

xx

(P. S. If you click on 'giardino' in the column at far right, you'll see a similar post with this sign from 2010, but in that instance, it meant I was taking a break! )

A Salad of Names

In today's mail

a stunning array

of names

and spellings:

Abby, Aidan, Alan, Alina, Amya, Artakous, Ashanti, Aubrie, Averie

Bobby, Branderius, Branquarus, Brian, Brock, Brooke

Caden, Cairi, Cameron, Camron, Chandler, Christian, Colby Conner

Dakota, Dalaysia, Dalton, David, Denton, Dhara, Diana, Donovan

Elizabeth, Ella, Emily, Emma, Ethan

Garret, Gavin

Hailey, Haley, Hanna, Hannah, Harley

Isaac

Jacob, Jadarius, Jade, Jamiricale, Jarred, Jerius, Jill, Johnny, Joseph, Joshua, Justin

Karen, Kayla, Kelsie, Keresten, Kloie, Kyla

Landon, Logan

Madelyn, Madison, Makayla, Makenna, Markese, Maya, McKenzie, Meg, Megan, Monique

Natalie, Nathan, Noah

Paige, Parker, Peyton

Quienyelta

R.J., Rachel, Ragen, Reid, Rodquavius, Ryan

Sabrina, Samantha, Shakia, Sophie, Sydney

Taylor, Trent, Tyler, Ty'quan, Tyrah

Vanessa

Yasmine, Yesenia

and

Zack, Zane, Zoe

Say them aloud: tongue-twisting poetry!

xx

Transitions

So one day it was like this

(above)

all dozy mesmerizing autumn

and

two days later 

giant nor'easter

blows into town

lashing power lines

and blasting trees

and yet

amid the

no heat

no water

no power

these candles

allowed me to 

write

straight through

to the

ending

of a first draft

oh yeah

that felt soooo good.

You writers out there

will know the feeling,

mm?

xx

Setting

I am writing more slowly lately

because I am hypnotized

by this autumn bonanza

this dazzling 

treegold

waterpink

splendor

. . . 

xx

Contemplation

(Click to enlarge)

See that lone figure

in the distance

along the uneven breakwall?

Miss your step

and down slips 

your foot

your ankle

your leg

crrrrrrack.

But see that lone figure?

She is sure-footed

wise

and 

careful.

She will not

fall.

That's

my

editor:

Joanna Cotler.

The

best.

xx

Simplify . . .

Simplify, simplify, simplify:

this is what I seem to be aiming for lately

in writing

in art

in life.

To pare down to harmonious elements

in size

color

sound

emotion

texture.

If I could write a novel

as perfect as this small

flower arrangement

well, then,

that would be

something

!!

xx

International Dot Day

Have you heard of

International Dot Day?

September 15 

Check it out here:

Dot Day

Make your mark?

It's fun.

Here's my dot for 2014:

lar-de-dar

xx

Away and home and garden bounty . . .

My husband and I have been away for a few days

returning to a place where we'd worked and lived for eight years

and although it was pure joy to be there

and be among so many old friends

I came away feeling dizzy

from such immersion

in a former life.

. . .

As soon as I got home

I went to the garden

to pick the newly-ripened produce

so crisp and green and red and new.

. . .

I needed to do that

I don't know why

but

 it steadied me.

. . .

Hmm.

xx

Into the Woods

(Click to enlarge and step in . . .)

What is it about the woods

that is so resonant?

Trees: 

you'll find them in most of my books.

Paths and roads and rivers:

also in most of my books.

Always the lure

of 

natural images.

"I'm going for a walk . . .

You come, too . . ." *

Mm?

(*From Robert Frost's "The Pasture")

xx

Refilling the Well

Sometimes

you empty your well

and

need to refill it

so

you find a lake

and a kayak

and you set off

and all is quiet

and

the sky so blue

the clouds so white

above

and

below

and

you stop

and let the well

refill

ahhhhhh

you say

ahhhhhh

xx

The Not-so-brisk Walk

I'm going out to take a brisk walk

but

barely out the door

there is this:

(click to enlarge all photos)

(it helps)

Helloooo, cone flower

hellooooo, bee

Two more steps

and then:

I touch its wilted neighbor

and it dissolves

blood red

in my hand

Onward

going to walk

going to walk briskly

but

then

Hellooo, black-eyed Susan

and

giant hippo boulder

. . . 

Walk on, walk on

and then

Oh, mannnn!

Oh, mannnn!

Look at that!

That's it.

I wave the white flag.

I call a truce.

I'm not walking anywhere.

I'm just going to sit here

and 

drool.

xx

The Beauty of a Weed

Click to enlarge. 

 Put your face right in there.

  

Stunning, right?

Queen Anne's Lace

(species Daucus carota)

 is considered a 'noxious weed.'  

huh.

xx

Very Maine-y Day

(Click to enlarge all photos)

Today a visit

to a very Maine-y beach

on a midcoast bay.

Didn't get close-ups 

of enormous smooth boulders

but they're there

at the base of the pines.

You can clamber over them

and hang your legs

over the sides

and 

let the cold ocean water

splash

up around your ankles.

Cropped out of the photo

on the right, above,

is another favorite

beach endeavor:

Husband is hunkering down

doing a crossword

right there

on the beach

in the sun

and the clean air.

xx

Names

The beautiful names in today's batch

of fan mail:

Aaliyah, Aidan, Alex, Armani, Asira, Asia

Caroline, Chris

Danielle, Dionel, Declan

Emmali, Ian

Julia, Jadon

Kemiya, Katrina

Lily

Maneya, Michaela

Nikhil

Ruthie, Robert
Sebastian
and
Sophie.

If you say them aloud

they form a 

poem

of

sorts

xx

Radio Interview

Being interviewed is not easy for me, but Dana Sheridan at Princeton University, put me at ease:

http://www.princeton.edu/cotsen/gallery-programs/bibliofiles/#comp000053c0f5a500000018157e41

xx

Contrast

I am still 

swooning

in the garden

in this riot

of color

and fragrance

and texture:

rock and lichen

and moss and petals

and leaves

each offsets 

the other

as in a story

the smooth softens the rough

the muted balances the bold

the fragile offsets the strong

humor tames the serious

mm?

xx

Bookbinder

Last week I met
bookbinder and book conservator

Alison Kuller

generous with her time

and studio

and now I am hooked

and want to know more

so 

I'm taking a course

at Maine Media Workshops

in August.

A little more about Alison Kuller here.

More about Maine Media Workshops here.

xx

Maine is Busting Out All Over

Four weeks ago

this was a leafless, bare, brown landscape

and now

what an explosion

of greenery

and flowery

so dense and lush

it knocks out

your eyeballs

you can't take it all in

at once

you have to focus

on small pieces

and even then

you can hardly believe

such bounty exists

so casually

so delicately

you could lie down here

and say

'ahhh. . .'

xx

Story Focus, II

In the last post, I tried to compare shaping a story to focusing a camera, beginning, say, close up to a person or place and then pulling back to show the context or wider setting.

You could also do the reverse, as above: there's a stone patio, a stone wall and dense trees beyond.  What sort of place is this? What might happen here? Then move in a little closer:

The wall is carefully crafted, hand-built, hmm . . . who built it? Why is it important?  And if you go closer:

Well, well, well . . . look what was there amid those stones all along. Is that critter the subject of the story or a sign of . . . what?

Guess you've got to write the story to find out . . .

Mm?

xx