Goose Lake evenings

Hi everyone,

Many thanks for your kind words of support about AND THE BULLFROGS SING. With the return of warmer weather we’ve been sitting on the patio in the evenings and among the strongest voices in the Goose Lake choir are the bullfrogs thrumming away along the far banks. The past few nights have brought the first fireflies of the season. At twilight we occasionally watch bats darting overhead going about their bug reduction industry, and just at dusk the geese start their nightly promenade swimming slowly in single file up and down the lake. Last night I counted five strings of 5 to 20 birds. Only one made a sound. Their silent parades add a touch of serenity at the close of day.

Goose Lake in bloom

Hi everyone,

Many thanks to all who signed my guest book yesterday on my website. I read and appreciated each one.

Like so many others, our yard is ablaze with color these days. I took these quick shot on an overcast day. I know I should have waited for more sun but around here we never know when the next hard wind and rain will come along and knock off the blossoms. Hope you enjoy these.

There are lots more.

Today’s the day

Hi everyone,

Today’s the day I celebrate AND THE BULLFROGS SING at two schools (Harrison and McBride) and conclude with a program this evening at The Library Center. I look forward to it all.

I’m also happy to report that we appear to have a self appointed watch-goose keeping an eye on things around the lake. It’s only the second time in almost thirty years of living here that I’ve seen a goose land on a roof. This adventuresome spirit is facing out toward the lake. Makes me want to imagine a dialogue with him or her in the next day or so.

A New Day

Hi everyone,

This morning Goose Lake reminds me of the poem I wrote about such a morning in my one and only e-book, GOOSE LAKE, A YEAR IN THE LIFE OF A LAKE. Here’s the Amazon link if you’re interested. https://www.amazon.com/s?k=goose+lake+david+l+harrison&ref=nb_sb_noss The book is illustrated by Sladjana Vasic. The foreword was written by Sylvia Vardell and Janet Wong. GOOSE LAKE is priced at $1.99.

A NEW DAY

Some mornings know how to get it right. Across the lake treetops blush scarlet at the new dawn. Light strips black bedclothes and the new day rushes in fresh and barelegged.

A dove in a maple sings, “Who are you? Who? Who? Who?” A sparrow snatching a nervous breakfast at our feeder chirps with its mouth full. A robin captures a walnut tree and brags loudly of its conquest. Down-lake a sapsucker picks up drilling where it left off yesterday.

Hackberry trees, their new leaves curled in pale green rolls, look like they’re getting ready for a spring prom. The last dawdling skunk plods off toward the woods to sleep off the night’s foraging. Goose Lake, first thing in the morning, is at its best.

Face smooth from sleep
the lake awakens,
dabs on rouge –
a gift of the rising sun –
and opens for business.

Two ducks rippling
across the surface
begin to write the day.

(c) 2011 David L. Harrison, all rights reserved
Published GOOSE LAKE, A YEAR IN THE LIFE OF A LAKE, 2011

Found art

Hi everyone,

I love good art when I find it.

This is an accretion of last fall’s leaves, this spring’s Bradford pear petals from a neighbor’s yard, and tree pollen from a gusty day — mixed in a rich gumbo and served on the cover of our pool. Yum yum.

P.S. I have been requested to write a poem inspired by this picture, so here goes.

The Recipe

Rain water, let it set,
Hackberry leaves, wet,
Tree pollen, add to taste,
Rotting blossoms, yard waste,
Eggs of something yet unhatched,
Drowned beetles, wind dispatched,
If you have enough to spare,
Drop in spiders here and there,
Season liberally with germs,
Caterpillars, dead worms.
A masterpiece fit to sigh for,
Though truthfully, a stew to die for.

© 2019 David L. Harrison, all rights bottled and reserved