barbed wire

 this maple has embraced

a keeper of cows.

 (and horses, i suppose,)

and anyway, one march day

i found this uncle

and said hello

and looked closely at that wire.

barbed wire, once stapled into a young tree's truck

and for some reason

this uncle welcomed cold steel

and said, " i shall hold tight to you.

i shall help keep the cattle in" (or the horses, i suppose)

and still, today, it tries to keep the vow

though the rest of that fenceline is long lost.

and each spring

this old man

weeps maple sap 

for a returning songbird to sip.

i shall tootle over to maine tomorrow,

and return late sunday,

wishing you a happy weekend,

stories, and good friends.

tidbits

in my mail,

a record of experiments with wax and dye

by carol at warwick press

 carol loves birds

and color

see the beautiful layout on this sampler!

the tiny knots

someone is traveling through, again,

my backyard

another porcupine?

cat?

raccoon?

i couldn't tell, actually.

and a grandfather maple

who will not be tapped this spring

waits.