Summer Kickoff

Over at the Spin Cycle Ginny Marie has asked how we will be kicking off our summer.  Being a lady of leisure in retirement summer is not a lot different than any other time of the year.  If we want to go someplace we only check the calendar for doctor appointments.  Or grandchild commitments.

That probably is the thing that defines summer at this point in life,  Instead of soccer, basketball or football we now sit at a swimming pool watching the grandsons compete.  We cheer them and their friends.  We visit with the parents of the grandsons friends.  We are among the few grandparents that are near enough to make just about every meet.

It is beginning of summer that our son is the primary caregiver of his sons.  We help with the shuttle and care needs during the daytime as the dad goes to work.  Unsupervised playtime with the grandsons.  This year will include trampoline duty....  that will be interesting.

This is how we will kick off the summer that has two trips included.  First will be my 50th high school reunion.  Five Ooooooh Yes.  Next will be an extended roadtrip for a family reunion.  We will then leave from there to go check off one of the last two state we have not visited.  And maybe visit a little more of Canada.

Oh, and of course the other thing I do to kick off summer is turn on the air conditioner....... in April.  I live in Texas.  Summer starts early.

Make sure you visti The Spin Cycle and get a few ideas for kicking off your summer.  Or better yet, write how you are kicking off summer...

Thanks to The Spin Cycle Host Ginny Marie

for the star festival

Carpe Diem Tan Renga Challenge #87, Basho's "for the Star Festival"

for the Star Festival

even when hearts cannot meet

rainy-rapture

(Basho)

in the billowing waters

running bear and little white bird

(Janice)

Okay, not the best but some more memories, 13 the year this was popular. 

Thanks to Chèvrefeuille for daily prompts on 

CARPE DIEM HAIKU KAI

a river breeze

Carpe Diem #744 a river breeze

a river breeze

with laughter on its waves

persimmon robes flutter

the old frog croaks

as the glasses are raised

jubilation!

©  Janice Adcock

Thursday Challenge

Thanks to host Dale of spunwithtears

Thanks to Chèvrefeuille for daily prompts on 

CARPE DIEM HAIKU KAI

from all directions

Carpe Diem #743 from all directions

a toddler smiles

kisses from all directions

sweet puppy licks

©  Janice Adcock

A portion of the inspiration for today's haiku:

"..our haiku for today from all directions. This haiku was a greeting verse for Hamada Chinseki, a physician, at his home, Sharaku Do, which had majestic views of Lake Biwa and its surroundings. There is a wordplay on nio, which can mean "a grebe" (Podiceps ruficollis) or "a plentiful water bird on the lake". It is also an abbreviation for the lake.

shiho yori hana fuki rete nio no nami

from all directions

blossoms blow into

waves of Lake Lute

© Basho (Tr. Jane Reichhold)

Lake Biwa is a very well known fresh water lake in the Northeastern region of Honshu (the Southern Island of Japan) and Basho has written a lot of haiku with Lake Biwa as theme. Here are a few examples:

open the lock

let the moon shine in -

Floating Temple

© Basho (Tr. David Landis Barnhill)

All wonderful haiku by Basho about Lake Biwa .... imagine that this lake would be destroyed? Than we only had the inheritance of Basho to "see" how beautiful Lake Biwa was.

full moon

reflecting her beauty in the water

of Lake Biwa

© Chèvrefeuille

Another one a baransu styled haiku:

moonlight reflects

spring breeze scatters her beauty

I bow and pray

© Chèvrefeuille

Thanks to Chèvrefeuille for daily prompts on 

CARPE DIEM HAIKU KAI

under the tree

Carpe Diem #742 under the trees (an example of the karumi-style)

The nearby small town of Wimberley is home to about 2700 folks.  It sits on the banks of a lazy stream, the Blanco River.   It is a bit of a resort type area.  Quaint little shops made for a fun visit a few years back.  Sitting on a screened porch overlooking the stream eating a luscious lunch.  A pleasant memory.

After a six year drought in this area, the rains have begun .. in earnest.  One fair sized reservoir lake has risen 23 feet in 7 days.  That leaves Lake Travis still 35% below its normal level.  We are grateful for the rain.  But...... you knew that was coming ..... just a few days ago, the rains filled and overflowed the Blanco River.  It was almost a wall of water that created a flash flood.  Between 350 and 400 homes in Wimberley were either completely swept away or destroyed.  Another 1000 homes and businesses are damaged in varying degrees.  There are still 12 missing persons, several from one family.

Yesterday afternoon the torrential rains began again.  Wimberley was spared yet another flood.  But other communities were not.  Today businesses in Austin are shoveling mud out of their businesses.  More bridges are being closed due to stress damage from all the debris and high waters.  An earthen dam breached flooding surrounding areas.  This is a very first world area.  Pain and loss feels the same no matter the world....

a toy ...
under the tree
.... waiting

©  Janice Adcock

Thanks to Chèvrefeuille for daily prompts on 

CARPE DIEM HAIKU KAI

between

Carpe Diem #740 a clam

©  Janice Adcock

at twilight

briefly held in between

past and future

©  Janice Adcock

Thanks to Chèvrefeuille for daily prompts on 

CARPE DIEM HAIKU KAI

in hushed silence

Carpe Diem #741 wrapped in a straw mat

Man, the world is full of mixed messages.  Are we writing about Basho's 'straw mat' or  Moritake's 'a fallen blossom'?  Is one to speak of winter's bleakness covering the hope of spring blooms?  Or is there to be a twist or joke in the haiku?  Some days nothing makes sense.  Nothing comes together.  The bath tub will not drain.  Or the battery is dead.  The brain is functioning more like a mouse lacking olfactory function looking for cheese in a maze.  One begins to feel as if sanity is leaking out of the corners of one's eyes.  To keep writing, one just lets the words tumble onto the keyboard....

in hushed silence
standing on the rubble heap
a dusty dove preens

©  Janice Adcock

Thanks to Chèvrefeuille for daily prompts on 

CARPE DIEM HAIKU KAI

Wimberley

As they wait for the waters to recede you can see the emptiness in their eyes.  Homes - lives destroyed in a matter of minutes.  The much needed moisture came in amounts too heavy for the creeks and rivers to handle.  The bank level waters rose from 7 feet to higher than the 39 foot gauge could register.  It took less than 3 hours.  Not enough time to save much except yourself and a few belongings.

Today the lakes are up several feet.  That is feet, not inches.  Up 13 feet in 7 days.  Seven of those feet in 12 hours.  The soil is soaked.  The damage is scattered over several areas in several states.  But it comes down to this.  That person looking at the ruins of their home still covered in water.  And the look in those eyes as the thunder once again rumbles across the soggy landscape.

Just a little, quaint Texas town.  Known for the cute shops, small bed and breakfast lodging and a miles long Lions Club Market Days.  The type of 1950's small town written about in a John Grisham novel.  Now today there are 350 to 400 less homes and businesses.  And there are dead to be buried in the too soggy ground.

http://www.mozaaf.com/post/1203874

People Watching

Ever just sit in a park and smell the scents.  Then watch the people.  Each person has their own purpose of being there.  Parents with children.  Teens doing teen things.  Dog walking their owners.  Workers mowing, weeding, etc.  And then there is the exercise group.  With their fitbits or vivofit or other devices to tell them they are exercising. Because in this age everything has to be measured.  The sweat and tired muscles no longer seem quite .... enough.

doves smooth stride
old gander waddles along
a pup's playful jump
©  Janice Adcock

©  Janice Adcock

a lovely name

Carpe Diem #739 a lovely name

shiorashiki na ya komatsu fuku hagi susuki

a lovely name

at Little Pines blows

bush clover and thatch reeds

© Basho (Tr. Jane Reichhold)

scent of pines

on the lips of a breeze -

whispered names

© Janice Adcock

Full inspiration post is here.

Thanks to Chèvrefeuille for daily prompts on
CARPE DIEM HAIKU KAI

fragile twigs

On The Trail With Basho Encore (2) fragile twigs

“On The Trail With Basho Encore” episode. First I(Chèvrefeuille) will give the Japanese verse in Romanji followed by the English translation.

eda moroshi   hi toshi yaburu    aki no kaze

fragile twigs
breaking off the scarlet papers
autumn winds

© Basho (Tr. Jane Reichhold)

'Toshi' refers to a very fragile paper made in China. The idea of the poem was that even a fragile twig could tear the paper or the twigs were too fragile to hold on to the Autumn leaves.

autumn winds -
colorful leaves struggling
their end is near

© Chèvrefeuille

autumn winds -
snagged on the smallest of twigs
a paper thin robe

© Janice Adcock

Thanks to Chèvrefeuille for daily prompts on
CARPE DIEM HAIKU KAI

mute

Carpe Diem #738 not permitted to tell

untold truths

save face and reputations

mute alliance

eating at one's inner soul

accolades to villains -

(Janice Adcock)

Thanks to Chèvrefeuille for daily prompts on

CARPE DIEM HAIKU KAI

Carpe Diem #738 not permitted to tell

Carpe Diem #738 not permitted to tell

Secret handshakes  

Secret rituals

Secret stories

Secret meeting places

Four walls of power or fear

(Janice Adcock)

Inspiration:
katara re nu   yudano ni nurasu   tometo kana

not permitted to tell
how sleeves are wetted
in the bathroom

© Basho (Tr. Jane Reichhold)

Thanks to Chèvrefeuille for daily prompts on
CARPE DIEM HAIKU KAI

this autumn

Carpe Diem Tan Renga Challenge #86, Basho's "this autumn"

this autumn

why getting older is like

a bird into clouds

© Basho (Tr. Jane Reichhold)

I (Chèvrefeuille) think you all can see, feel, sense that feeling of departure, the feeling that death is closing in .... It will not be an easy task I think to complete this Tan Renga by putting the second stanza (two lines following 7-7 syllables) towards it, but .... well that's the challenge ...

this autumn

why getting older is like

a bird into clouds                  (Basho)

colorful leaves swirl

cover up an old grave           (Chèvrefeuille)

I (Chèvrefeuille) have tried to associate on the feeling of death and dying with this second stanza and I think it makes the Tan Renga complete.

this autumn

why getting older is like

a bird into clouds               (Basho)

a gray mist fills the eyes as
the veil of life falls away    (Janice Adcock)

Thanks to Chèvrefeuille for daily prompts on
CARPE DIEM HAIKU KAI

since the cherry blossoms

Carpe Diem #737 since the cherry blossoms

since the cherry blossoms

I've waited three months to see

the twin-trunk pine

© Basho (Tr. Jane Reichhold)

awaiting visits

sleep overtakes his tired eyes

cherry blossoms fall

©  Janice Adcock

The expression, "I was looking for you to stop by" was used by the older generation.  A rather amusing scene to ponder.  Was the person standing on the stoop with binoculars panning the horizon?  Were they sitting in that favorite chair by the front window jumping to attention at each passing auto?  Why would one look for a someone to come just on the notion the other person might choose to visit that day?  So many unanswered questions to ask the one that never arrives.

Thanks to Chèvrefeuille for daily prompts on 

CARPE DIEM HAIKU KAI

the childless woman

Carpe Diem Special #148, Ransetsu's "the childless woman"

No matter the culture it seems the purpose of a woman is to bear children.  Heaven forbid that she is unable to find a man to marry so she can be impregnated only in wedlock.  So what happens when the woman is physically unable to conceive or carry to term a child?  She must adopt or endure the pity and, at times, the condemnation of those around her.  What happens if no man comes along to be a mate for her?  She becomes the most unenviable of all, an old maid.  Now for just a moment consider the childless man ...... Are men met with the same stigma?

Gosh, that is a rather grumpy way of looking at childless people.  More and more humans are choosing to not procreate.  And that is a choice made possible by various birth control methods.  In a world where natural resources like water and clean air can be in short supply there is a lot to be said for opting out of procreation.  As for those people that truly desire a child but are unable to conceive or adopt, the emptiness can be numbing.

sitting, alone

listening to the silence

of no future

©  Janice Adcock

Thanks to Chèvrefeuille for daily prompts on 

CARPE DIEM HAIKU KAI

one patch of a rice field

Carpe Diem #736 one patch of a rice field

Family vacations are a mixed bag.  All the preparations and anticipations.  The excitement to finally pull onto the highway out of town.  There is the fun of discovering new places.  There is the fun of being with a favorite aunt on the trip.  Getting to eat out almost every day at places with a waitress.  There are souvenirs.  There are the miles and miles of miles and miles when travelling in the desert southwestern USA via auto.  A non air conditioned auto in July.  In the desert....  with 4 other people.  And the favorite aunt does keep teasing you, incessantly about that dirty kid at school.  Why do we need to look at a treeeeeee?!?

ancient giants

shading passing pilgrims

for millenniums

©  Janice Adcock

Click here for the full inspiration post.

Thanks to Chèvrefeuille for daily prompts on 

CARPE DIEM HAIKU KAI

even woodpeckers

Carpe Diem #735 even woodpeckers

The grey, windblown hair is brushed from her eyes.  In time to see the snowy egret split the sky.  Leaving the clouds to become just wispy curly cues.  The sounds of the redwing black bird warn others this is his lily pond.  Mockingbirds and cardinals ignore as do the swallows. The whistling duck smugly swoops by the black bird.  Still the redwing sits on the highest branch.  Shouting to all and riding the windblown bush like a tilt a whirl at the county fair.

tornado winds!

even woodpeckers are gone

within the harsh path

only shelter found is in 

five square feet within the earth

©  Janice Adcock

Inspirational haiku:
less than
five foot square
grass shelter
not needed
unless there is rain

© Butcho (Tr. Jane Reichhold)

 even woodpeckers
do not damage this hut
a summer grove

© Basho (Tr. Jane Reichhold)

Full post is here.

Remembering many tense days and nights in Missouri.  And, no, our home was never hit directly by any of the tornadoes, some as close as 1/4 mile from us.  There was just damage from the hail.  This spring is being challenging for my sister and her family in Oklahoma,  Tornadoes have been dancing around the kids and grandkids homes for the last week.  The price that is paid to have droughts broken....

Thanks to Chèvrefeuille for daily prompts on 

CARPE DIEM HAIKU KAI

a summer mountain

Carpe Diem #734 a summer mountain

The inspirational post has so much information.  You are really encouraged to visit and read the entire post by clicking here.

The much needed rains have taken a day off here at our home.  The break in the rains allow the opportunity to do a couple of chores on the little patio.  The wooden clogs purchased sixteen summers ago are rehung for display.  Looking a little worse for wear these days but still great to bring back good memories.  Vines are trimmed back from the smoker, Buddha and angel.  With the lack of rain in previous years, the landscaping has a few bare areas.  With the help of the worms composting our kitchen waste there is good soil to add to the bare spots.  Some seeds, a little moisture and a summer garden may be born.  



clop clop echoes
from the passing wayfarer
a bow and nod

©  Janice Adcock





A portion of the inspiration post:

Of course it wasn't easy to walk on these tengu ("one barred" wooden clogs) certainly not in the mountains, but En no Goja used them always. So it's not a strange idea that Basho prays to the wooden clogs, the tengu (one barred), because he needed the strength for his journey.

natsu yama ni ashida o ogamu kadode kana

a summer mountain
I pray to the wooden clogs
at departure


© Basho (Tr. Jane Reichhold) 

Thanks to Chèvrefeuille for daily prompts on 

CARPE DIEM HAIKU KAI

Sunday Relaxation

You would probably wonder how a couple of retired people need relaxation.  We do little other than follow our grandchildren from sports field to sports field.  Or from swim meet to swim meet.  With the much needed rain and the cold of the past winter we have stayed in our apartment more than usual.

Today, Hubby wanted  to put the top up on the Jeep so he could drive it with all the rainy weather.  As luck would have it there was a break in the rain.  Using my waning feminine wiles, he was convinced to leave the top down and just head out of the city.  We did not even have the GPS turned on so for a while we just wandered westward.  Some of streets we turned on were full of upscale homes.  They appeared to have been built in the period of time when we were building our life together.

It was interesting the emotions evoked by the home styles.  The pitch of the roof lines.  Spanish courtyards and half-timber Tudor styles with the ultra straight line contemporary homes strewn along the winding streets.  For a moment or two I thought how pleasant it would be to be twenty something.  To be starting the journey for the first time.

To be planning to go to the Plan Shoppe to look at home plans.  The sign the contract with a builder.  To be young, flexible.  To have endurance and muscles.  To have more future than past.  The emotions surprised me a little.  Not usually one to look back and wish for that time.  Partly because of the pain of the journey traveled.  Not horrible pain but enough.  No desire to stand by as friends lose children.  Or marriages dissolve.  Or businesses fail.  The struggles through caring for aging parents.

And then the Jeep turned onto a different street that led out of the area.  Into an area with few homes.  An area of a two lane road with cedar covered hills on each side.  The recent rains have allowed the wildflowers to go crazy.  Fields orange, red, pink and some white.  Flower names reflect the old and diverse cultures of the Hill Country.  Mexican Hat, Indian Blanket, Indian Paint brush, bluebonnets, Drummond phlox, verbena, wine cup and evening primrose to name what we saw.

On Nameless Road twisting and turning through the hills balance was regained.  An appreciation for the life lived thus far.  The appreciation of the past with a nod to the last part of life.  One last long trip in the Jeep taking us to a family reunion and a little beyond.   One last unsupervised adventure with the man of my dreams.  Now that is relaxing.....

for a while ....

Carpe Diem #733 for a while

The parent just wants a moment of quiet.  But with youngsters in the home it is seldom achievable.  By the time all homework is done.  By the time the last load of wash is put into the dryer.  By the time the last book is read and last head is kissed.  The parent is too tired to enjoy the quiet, falling asleep on the divan.  The half drank beer on the table grows warm.  Only the cat is left to enjoy the quiet.

across the meadow

the storm waters rush onward

for quite a while 

©  Janice Adcock

Click here for the inspiration post.

Thanks to Chèvrefeuille for daily prompts on 

CARPE DIEM HAIKU KAI

bell at sunset

Carpe Diem #732 "A bell at sunset"

Did you hear that?  Neither did I.  Isn't it grand to be in a location of nothing but quite. Sure there might be a bird, trickling water or a gentle breeze.  But that is not noise. That is joy.  The cedar trees are emitting the glorious aroma that only they can emit.  The wild flowers are in a silent riot of blossoms swaying in the breeze.  And one just sitting, lost in the space between here and there ...

unseen twig falls

softly striking the leaves

announcing sunset

©  Janice Adcock

The full text of the inspirational challenge is found here.

Today I've (Bastet) visited  Jane Reichhold's Bare Bones School of Haiku trying to understand and therefore explain to you something about today's haiku by Basho:

(spring 1689)

Spending a lonely spring evening in a country cottage

bell at sunset

also was not heard

a spring evening  

© Basho (trans. Jane Reichhold)

no poplar seeds

are falling like snow

under the rainfall

the cuckoo's call

unheard on the plains

on a spring morning

© G.s.k. '15

Thanks to Chèvrefeuille for daily prompts and Georgia for this weekend's prompt on 

CARPE DIEM HAIKU KAI

  

all about mom's

In the mammal world, a mom suckles her young for a period of time.  Alligators protect the nest and young alligators.  Birds will feed their young.  Bear teach their young to hunt for food.  Almost no fish provide food for the young, most just drop the eggs and leave or die.

In therapy with abused children the counselor may guide the person to think of a person or persons that treat them in an appropriate manner.  The person chosen may never have any idea the impact they have had on a child's life. That person or persons can then be used as an example for the child when the child becomes the parent.

There are all sorts of mom's in a person's life.  There is the birth mom.  There is the grand moms.  Aunt moms, friend moms.  Classmate moms.  Mentor moms.  Teacher moms. Sometimes sister moms.  In the movie, "The Birdcage", the nurturing mother figure was not even a woman.  A mom can be whoever nurtures that part of a person that lives within one's body. That part that is the essence of one's being.

Thanks, Ginny for taking time to host another week of prompts for us bloggers over at The Spin Cycle.

how enticing

Carpe Diem #731 - "How enticing"

©  Janice Adcock

Spring and fall have proven to be a favorite time for vacations.  The cooler weather fits Mr. Heater in a body's needs, especially if tent camping.  To see the flush of spring flowers sometimes amid snowfall is an enthralling sight.  Well worth the challenges of the occasionally rain soaked tent.  

journey surprises!

outside, heavy breathing

a stray steed runs

©  Janice Adcock

Inspiration:

Omoshiro ya/ kotoshi no haru mo/ tabi no sora

[literal translation: exciting!/ this year’s spring also/ journey’s sky]

how enticing

in the spring of this year

again on a journey

© Basho (trans. Jane Reichhold)

(spring 1689)

Thanks to Chèvrefeuille for daily prompts on 

CARPE DIEM HAIKU KAI

the ancient woman

Carpe Diem Tan Renga Challenge #85, "the ancient woman"

The goal of the TRC is two write a second stanza towards the first, say a kind of "answer". For this week's TRC I (Chèvrefeuille) have chosen a wonderful haiku by Basho which he wrote in his younger years. This haiku he wrote at the age of 21.

Credits: Cherry tree view

The cherry tree is thought be personified, but the verse could be simply a play of words on another name of the higan-zakura cherry tree, the uba - old woman or nanny, zakura = cherry tree. There is also the thought that to see a very old cherry tree covered with the youth of new blossoms looks like an old woman wearing an abundance of powder and rouge.

uba-zakura saku ya rogo no omoi ide

the ancient woman

cherry tree blooms in old age

an event to remember                © Basho (at the age of 21)

like a young girl she stands

strong in the wind, the old sakura               (Chèvrefeuille, age around 50)

I (Chèvrefeuille) like this completion a lot ... how immodest ... (smiles) and now it's up to you, my dear Haijin, to complete this Tan Renga by adding your second stanza. Have fun!

Now for my, Janice, take on this challenge

the ancient woman

cherry tree blooms in old age

an event to remember                © Basho (at the age of 21)

each blossom a reminder

of her loves first tender kiss     ©  Janice Adcock (age 68)

As the days draw nearer to another anniversary, minds turn to those first giddy days.  Opening the door to carry the sack of trash to the dumpster and seeing Him for the first time.  Tall, handsome and smiling.  Standing with his friend with an uplifted hand preparing to knock on the door.  The plan was just to meet each other and have a beer or two....  And God smiles at the plans of men.

Thanks to Chèvrefeuille for daily prompts on 

CARPE DIEM HAIKU KAI

a grass pillow

On the Trail with Basho Encore (01), a grass pillow

lying in the grass
beneath the blooming tree
mossy pillow dreams

©  Janice Adcock

Thanks to Chèvrefeuille for daily prompts on 

CARPE DIEM HAIKU KAI

fireflies

Carpe Diem Haiku Special #147 - "Those Fireflies" by Yosa Buson

Playing

Hide and seek

with fireflies

©  Janice Adcock

Thanks to Chèvrefeuille for daily prompts on 

CARPE DIEM HAIKU KAI

shaded by blossoms 2

Carpe Diem #730 shaded by blossoms

silky umbrella
covered in cherry blossoms
dainty beauty shade

©  Janice Adcock

Thanks to Chèvrefeuille for daily prompts on 

CARPE DIEM HAIKU KAI

shaded by blossoms

Carpe Diem #730 shaded by blossoms

Chèvrefeuille inspirational comments:  "... our episode of today. As I wrote earlier above Basho traveled in Yamato Province and during that travel he wrote the following haiku (with preface):

Traveling in Yamato Province, I stayed overnight in a farmer's house. The master of the house was very kind and hospitable.

shaded by blossoms

it is like song in a play

resting on a journey

© Basho (Tr. Jane Reichhold)"

scent of Jasmine

the sound of a gurgling brook

peace of mind

© Chèvrefeuille

fence row trees

cotton field full of blossoms

shady break

©  Janice Adcock

Thanks to Chèvrefeuille for daily prompts on 

CARPE DIEM HAIKU KAI

And The Winner Is

Sitting with tears in my eyes while watching a movie set in the 1950's, The Prize Winner Of Defiance, Ohio.  The desperation of the mother to provide for her children was heartwarming.  It was, also, a reminder of my parents hard work to provide for our family.  My family were farmers.  Well, my Mom was a farmer.  My Dad was an uncommitted farmer that could repair anything.  He spent more of his days repairing neighbors broken machines than working his crops.

Mom was disappointed about everything but mostly that Dad was not a farmer.  A very successful farmer.  She died regretting his 'failure'.  Of course Dad was not a failure. Any more than Mom was a failure.  We were not rich.  We were actually rather poor, living from paycheck to paycheck.  No, there was no paycheck when they farmed.  It was money from the bank till the crops were harvested.  We did have a home filled with laughter more often than tears.  We had a home filled with friends, relatives and even strangers.

Which brings me to the New York Boys.  Three late teen, early twenty aged boys/men that had left their homes in New York State on an adventure.  I do not really remember how on earth they landed in the cotton fields on the Nealy place forty miles north of Dallas, Texas.  But that is exactly what happened.  Three Long Islanders living in the 'hands' house on the place my folks rented.  My folks made sure the boys/men let their parents know they were safe.

The New York Boys stayed for a season, helping with the crops.  Seems like now I remember Dad had found them in McKinney on the jockey lot looking for a way to make some money.  Sure, that was what Mom told me during one of those early morning calls in her last years.  Still hear the sound of the New York accents as I think of those young men with the pompadour hairstyles.  Working the cotton fields, eating at our table and going to church on Sunday with us.

Maybe we had to draw water from wells.  We did use the Sears catalog in the outhouse. We kids would go barefoot in the summer so the folks did not have to spend money on shoes. Barefoot was fun.  The way my Mom and Dad lived is why there were over 500 people at the 50th wedding celebration.  And each parent, though outliving most of their contemporaries, still had between 250 and 300 people at their funerals.

Wiping my eyes with tissues that will be thrown away.  Sitting with a closet full of clothing and shoes for all occasions.  Watching a 55 inch state of the art TV.  Remembering the struggles of honest, hard working folks.  Putting food on the table by whatever means necessary. Hoeing the fields in hot summer heat, working three jobs and praying all the while.  I sit here knowing who the winner is ...


watermelon feast
spitting seeds into the yard
cool, red goodness

©  Janice Adcock

Thanks to Chèvrefeuille for daily prompts on 

CARPE DIEM HAIKU KAI

summer robe

Carpe Diem #728, summer robe

hot summer night

the sprawling lovers rest

robed only in smiles

©  Janice Adcock

A short version of our host's inspiration:

From Basho's "Weather beaten Diary",  At the end of the Fourth Month, I returned to my cottage, and while I rest from the weariness of the journey ... (I wrote):

summer robe

I've not yet finished

removing the lice

© Basho (Tr. Jane Reichhold)

As I look at this haiku and read it a few times aloud than I consider this poem a metaphor for Basho's revisions of poems and travel notes, but ... at the other hand ... maybe he was busy with removing the lice as he was writing this haiku ... no one knows it for sure I think. Both ideas could be true.

Thanks to Chèvrefeuille for daily prompts on
CARPE DIEM HAIKU KAI

a butterfly

Carpe Diem #727 a butterfly flies

a butterfly flies
only in the field
of sunshine
© Basho (Tr. Jane Reichhold)

dancing butterflies

the scent of a sunlit meadow

ah! the summer breeze 

© Chèvrefeuille (from my archive)

in the morning mist

butterflies await the sun

at the meadow edge

©  Janice Adcock

Thanks to Chèvrefeuille for daily prompts on 

CARPE DIEM HAIKU KAI

on a mountain path

Carpe Diem #726, on a mountain path

there

in the pebble's shadow

a sprout

©  Janice Adcock

Thanks to Chèvrefeuille for daily prompts on 

CARPE DIEM HAIKU KAI

white blossoms

Carpe Diem #725, white blossoms

Gardenia blossoms have been one of my favorite flowers since I was a child.  On one of the few occasions I spent a few days with my Uncle Bud's family I slept next to an open window. Outside the window was a gardenia bush.  The scent that drifted through the window was at once sweet and fresh.  I was an immediate fan.  I was about 10 years old.  

I have always been in love intrigued by weddings and wedding gowns.  I know, I may have to tear up my liberated woman card, but I do love weddings.  As a child I would put on lace curtains and pretend they were veils.  Then I would hum or sing the wedding march.
You know the version:  Here comes the bride, big, fat and wide.  Here comes the groom, skinny as a broom.  Why did I know that tune to the wedding march?  Older sisters, I would suspect.

Once I was a flower girl for a beautiful woman.  She left her gown and veil at my mom's home as Mom had hosted the reception at our house.  I played wedding using her veil for days.  A couple of years later my older sister used that wedding gown for her wedding.  I was a junior bridesmaid in that wedding.  I was eight.

My Toni doll had a wedding gown that Mom made one year as part of the Santa gifts.  I still have the veil.  There actually came a time in my life when I was the bride.  A very 60's style gown.  Not a lot of fru-fru cause I was still a bit of a tomboy.  The veil was not long but suited my personality.  My bouquet was made of fresh beautiful, saucer sized gardenias.  The dreams of a child.

scattered white blossoms
whirled by the passing train
hobos perfume

©  Janice Adcock

Thanks to Chèvrefeuille for daily prompts on 

CARPE DIEM HAIKU KAI

covered with cherry blossoms

Carpe Diem Special #146, Etsujin's "covered with cherry blossoms"

The door was opened by the bewildered mother.  Her children were late arriving home from college.  And in the porch light there stood the local patrol officer.  She could tell by the look on his familiar face.  She slumped into her husband's familiar arms.  Together they sobbed.  They went through the actions required.  A kind neighbor planted a cherry tree in honor of the lost futures.

The loss of the two young adults left such a deep scar on the couple neither really recovered.  The pain of never again hugging the products of their union left each .... empty.  Over the years the emptiness was filled with clubs, work, hobby after hobby. Each going in a different direction, seemingly further and further apart.

But the world is round.  Life goes in circles.  By chance each looked up from the busy-ness and there they were, eye to eye.  They stopped in shock.  Who was that in the eyes' reflection?  Had the distance traveled taken them too far apart?  Was this to be a new beginning or the final end?  And the cherry tree rained down its blossoms on the old couple....

covered with cherry blossoms

if I could die right now
in this dream of mine

© Ochi Etsujin (Tr. Gabi Greve)

a smile, a freckle

the glint in a grandson's eyes

cherry blossom lips

©  Janice Adcock

Thanks to Chèvrefeuille for daily prompts on 

CARPE DIEM HAIKU KAI