A Frost Poem

 I don't know about your weather, but yesterday here in New Jersey showered us with a wintry mix, and gave me license to paraphrase that curmudgeonly old phrase: Not a fit day for man or beast.  Where did it come from?  Find the answer HERE. 

I did go out for a quick walk, but aside from that, it was an indoor day. (A cookie baking day. I can't complain.) Nonetheless, I came across this poem that I had stored up for just such a day, and now I will share it with you. 

Dust of Snow

The way a crow

Shook down on me

The dust of snow

From a hemlock tree

Has given my heart

A change of mood

And saved some part

Of a day I had rued.

  --Robert Frost  

this poem is in the public domain

Many thanks to Karen Edmiston for hosting today's Poetry Friday. She shares a poem and thoughts about kindness.  You can find her post HERE>

Have a good week, everyone!  

Thanksgiving 2022

For the Beauty of the Earth --

"One is constantly reminded of the lavishness and fertility of nature..."  - John Muir

Thanksgiving on the Farm

O, the farm was bright, Thanksgiving morn 

With its stacks of hay and shocks of corn, 

Its pumpkin heaps in the rambling shed, 

And its apples brown and green and red; 

And in the cellar, the winter store, 

In bins that were filled and running o’er 

With all the things that a farm could keep / 

In barrel and bin and goodly heap, 

Hung to the rafters and hid away— 

O the farm was a pleasant place to stay!

And here and there was the Jersey stock, 

The sheep and horses, old Prince and Jock— 

The turkeys and geese and awkward calf 

And the goat that made the children laugh, 

A pair of mules that a friend had sent 

Out to the farm for experiment, 

Pigeons and fowls and a guinea pig, 

Dogs that were small and dogs that were big, 

Chickens that were white and black and gray— 

O the farm was a jolly sight that day.

-- shared from Bernardsville News Nov 23,1922 p 3

Wishing you all a Happy Thanksgiving.

It is a special Thanksgiving Poetry Friday, thanks to our host, Jama Rattigan. She serves up some wonderful Thanksgiving food photos and one hilarious Thanksgiving poem. Be sure to click HERE!

Glimpses of Holiness

Thanks to Fran for hosting our Spiritual Thursday group today, and for providing the prompt. She asks us to write about what is holy.

I believe we all experience glimpses of holiness.  I have written about one holy moment for me, you can find it if you click here.

Frederick Buechner writes about a holy moment:

Two apple branches struck against each other with the limber clack of wood on wood. That was all -- a tick-tock rattle of branches -- but then a fierce lurch of excitement at what was only daybreak, only the smell of summer coming, only starting back again for home, but oh Jesus, he thought, with a great lump in his throat and a crazy grin, it was an agony of gladness and beauty falling wild and soft like rain. Just clack-clack, but praise him, he thought. Praise him.

Perhaps holy moments, like angels, are all around us, if only we could see them. Or perhaps they come just a few times in a lifetime. In any case, they give us a glimpse into another life, a deeper connection. I have felt this "agony of gladness" upon holding a newborn, at the innocence in a child's face, walking in the woods with my husband, while singing in choir, to name a few. 

One of my strongest experiences was during a guided prayer. I was guided to a dry place, and a well, and then silence. In the silence Jesus approached me and put his hand on my shoulder and just stood next to me. I felt a deep sense of connection, of understanding. An agony of peace. Like a brother, he knew me. He accepted me. He stood with me. Praise him.

Photo thanks to my brother, Don Evenson

"Holy, Holy, Holy" was one of my dad's favorite hymns. We sang it often in the Lutheran church as I grew up, and I often think of him when I sing it. And thinking of my childhood and the three holies, a funny thing happened when I was a young child in church. An altar cloth had fancy scrolled lettering embroidered in green, and one Sunday I took the little pencil from the pew pocket and copied them onto a bulletin. It was meant to say Holy Holy Holy, but because of the fancy scroll, and because I was in the fog of childhood, I mistook the H for an R, so I wrote Roly, Roly, Roly. I was pretty proud of myself until I showed my mother. I couldn't figure out why she shook her head and looked away.  The memory still makes me laugh. Surely laughter can be included in holy moments.

Here are some words from that good old hymn, and a list of words that I connect with the idea of holiness.

Holy, Holy, Holy

Only Thou art Holy

Words and feelings

that I connect with 

Holy:

Peaceful

Cleansed

A new creation

Overflowing

Fizzing

Warm

Aglow

Joyful

Blissful

Calm

Unhurried

Loved

Buoyant

Fulfilled

Bubbly

Healthy

Unblemished

Set down right

Assured

Connected

Forgiven

At home

Accepted

At one

Serene

Laughter

I invite you to add to this list.

May your heart be filled with the spirit of holiness.

 If we weren't blind as bats, we might see that life itself is sacramental.

   - Frederick Buechner in Wishful Thinking

Autumn Joy

 Autumn is my favorite time of year. The scorching sun settles down, each day becomes a little easier, and the crisp nights are refreshing. So here, without further ado, is some autumn joy for you!

The poem below came to me via The Writer's Almanac. Barbara Crooker is new to me, but I will surely be looking for more of her poetry. 

And Now it's October

the golden hour of the clock of the year. Everything that can run

to fruit has already done so: round apples, oval plums, bottom-heavy

pears, black walnuts and hickory nuts annealed in their shells,

the woodchuck with his overcoat of fat. Flowers that were once bright

as a box of crayons are now seed heads and thistle down. All the feathery

grasses shine in the slanted light... 

- by Barbara Crooker from Small Rain

find the rest of this poem here.

I can't pass October without celebrating pumpkins. I find them is so compelling. 

Oh, that Jack-O!

Of all the pumpkins in the patch

This one called "Choose ME!"

Tough and bright and jaunty

Bold as it could be

As soon as I cut two eyes and mouth

Seemed Jack-O almost snickered

And I'm sure that rascal winked at me

Each time the candle flickered

© Karen Eastlund

Autumn is beautiful in New Jersey. The colors are still peaking (peeking) and each day I'm thankful for this gorgeous splash of color.

I hope this time of year is lovely where you live also.

Don't miss the Poetry Friday gathering, this week hosted by Jone Rush MacCulloch.  Click the blue link to find more poetry posts:  Jone   Thanks for hosting, Jone!

Wonderful Webs...

 It's almost Halloween, and spooky spiders come to mind. 

I'm somewhat fascinated with spiders and their webs, and I wish I could make something so beautiful overnight.  Just look at these webs.

Thanks to Petra at Pixabay

Thanks to Albrecht Fietz at Pixabay

Thanks to Michael Reichelt at Pixabay

I once found one of these webs with the zigzag pattern just outside a window. I took my entire class of 4-year-olds to see it, even though the window happened to be in the men's bathroom at our church. (Funny, I don't remember how I saw it there. Weird.) Anyway, the spider itself is cool, but the zigzags add another point of interest and mystery. 

I wrote this short poem to a spider web photo posted at Margaret Simon's blog. Thanks, Margaret!  

That moment when...

Around a corner

You snare my face

Such sticky lace

A maze in place

Around a corner

-- Karen Eastlund

Poetry Friday is hosted today by the amazing Matt Forrest Esenwine at Radio, Rhythm & Rhyme

  Check it out!

Community, Braiding Sweetgrass, and music...

 

Thanks to Maureen Ingram for joining our group and hosting this month's gathering of the Spiritual Journey, and for providing the topic of Community as our focus for the month.  You can find her post and the rest of the group here.

I'm currently reading and learning from Braiding Sweetgrass, which is full of wisdom from indigenous tribes, written by Robin Wall Kimmerer. She shares a Thanksgiving Address, a traditional way to begin meetings in the Onondaga Nation. This particular address has been widely shared, and was given by John Stokes and Kanawahientun in 1993: 

Today we have gathered and when we look upon the faces around us, we see that the cycles of life continue.  We have been given the duty to live in balance and harmony with each other and all living things. So now let us bring our minds together as one as we give greetings and thanks to each other as People.  Now our minds are one.

I'm trying to let this address sink in, with its emphasis on balance and harmony. Notice that he speaks not of hopes or dreams, but the duty to live in balance and harmony. Likewise, not only within the human community, but also balance and harmony with all living things. In a few words, John Stokes outlines huge challenges. Lifelong challenges. Still... I believe that we all yearn for balance and harmony. To me these two ideals embody community, and imply a possibility that often seems insurmountable. And yet... and yet I agree that it is our duty to work toward them. I especially admire John Stokes' sense of certainty in the final phrase that affirms community:  Now our minds are one. 

Choir has been a particular source of community for me. We gather and work hard with the goals of balance and harmony. I often come back to music as a balm. And so, today I will leave you with music. 

 Many blessings.

Ode to Cake

 In clearing out extraneous documents from my computer, I came upon this ode written by my grandson when he was 12. It warmed my heart, not to mention the heart of my husband who bakes it. Since I'm very proud of both of them, I knew I wanted to share. This cake is a speciality in our house, made from an old Danish recipe entitled Sand Cake:

Sand Cake (Sandkage)  from Danish Home Baking by Karen Berg

1 cup butter  (2 sticks)
1 1/4 cup sugar
1 2/3 cup wheaten flour
6 eggs, separated, whites beaten until stiff  ( 6 large)
Vanilla

Cream butter & sugar
Stir in egg yolks one at a time
Sift the flour and mix thoroughly
Fold in stiffly beaten egg whites
Line a cake pan with thin paper and fill with batter
Bake in a cool oven (300F) for about 1 hour 20 minutes

Baker's Notes: Not very sweet, but good with coffee. I used a tube pan, it fills about 1/3 and does not raise much at all, not that I expected it to.

This cake can be made gluten free by substituting casava flour mixed 1 to 1 with gluten free oat flour. The photo below is of the gluten free. The wheat version has a finer crumb.

Here's Paul's Poem:

Ode to Marvelous Cake

We love spending time with our grandparents

But surely, you'll have to take

That of our visit cake was the best part

Thus this ode to marvelous cake

Oh, the light, sweet, fluffy interior

The part which is hard to bake

I think you would find superior

To anything but more cake

Sure, the grandparents took us bowling

And will bring us to play in the lake

But really, how does that compare?

To the marvelous, fabulous cake?

 -- P D Eastlund, 2021

With thanks to both my grandson, Paul, and my husband, Chris!  Love you both!!!

The Friday gathering is at Leap of Dave where he's tried an etheree and blogs about finding castles and biking. Thanks for hosting, Dave, and good luck with your year ahead.