Poem for Wednesday and Washingtonian Waterfowl

The Little Black Cormorant 

By C.J. Dennis 

By inlet and islet and wide river reaches,

  By lake and lagoon I'm at home,

Yet oft' the far forests of blue-gum and beeches

  About the broad ranges I roam,

"There's a strange, sombre bird with a hook in his beak."

'Tis the little black cormorant raiding your creek.

And woe to the fisher and woe to the fishes --

  A gourmand I freely confess

When I come a-searching for succulent dishes,

  Arrayed in my funeral dress,

Then the fishermen rave, and in anger they speak:

"There's a little black cormorant coming up creek!"

But I'm quick and I'm cunning, as many a greyling,

  A blackfish, a trout or a bream

Has known to his sorrow when down I go sailing

  To hunt him beneath the dark stream.

To my cavernous maw then they all come alike,

And 'tis death should the little black cormorant strike.

But I am an outlaw.  I'm hunted and harried,

  I'm banned from the havens of men.

And woe is to me if to long I have tarried --

  A shot o'er the waters -- and then,

There is reason indeed for my funeral dress,

For, alas, here's a little black cormorant less.

-------- 

Wednesday was a gorgeous day, low 60s in the late afternoon, blue skies with a breeze. I chatted with Kay in the morning because our other high school friends were not available, then had a yogurt bowl for lunch and watched the final two episodes of Agatha All Along with Kristen -- it's still excellent. After that, Paul and I walked to the beach and the wetlands, though we still haven't found ducklings here. 

After an atrocious day yesterday, the Orioles beat the Yankees, plus the Mariners beat the Angels so it was a good baseball day. We watched The Masked Singer's semifinals (no unmasking but Lucky Duck, nice to see Taika and Rita together), then because Sherlock and Daughter wasn't on here for some reason we watched a couple of House episodes including the one with Michael B. Jordan. Waterfowl at Washingtonian: 

Poem for Tuesday and Easter Garden

Love's Alchemy 

By John Donne 

Some that have deeper digg'd love's mine than I,

Say, where his centric happiness doth lie;

         I have lov'd, and got, and told,

But should I love, get, tell, till I were old,

I should not find that hidden mystery.

         Oh, 'tis imposture all!

And as no chemic yet th'elixir got,

         But glorifies his pregnant pot

         If by the way to him befall

Some odoriferous thing, or medicinal,

         So, lovers dream a rich and long delight,

         But get a winter-seeming summer's night.

Our ease, our thrift, our honour, and our day,

Shall we for this vain bubble's shadow pay?

         Ends love in this, that my man

Can be as happy'as I can, if he can

Endure the short scorn of a bridegroom's play?

         That loving wretch that swears

'Tis not the bodies marry, but the minds,

         Which he in her angelic finds,

         Would swear as justly that he hears,

In that day's rude hoarse minstrelsy, the spheres.

         Hope not for mind in women; at their best

         Sweetness and wit, they'are but mummy, possess'd.

-------- 

We had drizzle on and off Tuesday, so it wasn't a long leisurely walk kind of a day. I did a bunch of computer work in the morning and had lunch with Paul who then had a long dentist appointment to repair a tooth. I watched the atrocious beginning of the Orioles game (three home runs on five pitches by a returning Gibson), then went to watch DS9's "Captive Pursuit" with my regulars; even the standard early-season episodes are pretty great. 

I got my new Kindle Paperwhite delivered and spent some time moving books and docs from the old one to the new one. We watched the three new episodes of Andor, which were excellent (I wish I'd rewatched the first season), then the newest episode of Hacks (pretty good, not even pretending to be a comedy any more). The Miller Nature Preserve and Conservatory in Avon, Ohio was decorated for Easter when we visited it a few weeks ago:

Poem for Monday and Mile-Long Pier

Freedom in Ohio 

By Jennifer Chang 

on my birthday 

I want a future

making hammocks

out of figs and accidents.

Or a future quieter

than snow. The leopards

stake out the backyard

and will flee at noon.

My terror is not secret,

but necessary,

as the wild must be,

as Sandhill cranes must

thread the meadow

yet again. Thus, autumn

cautions the cold

and the wild never want

to be wild. So what

to do about the thrum

of my thinking, the dangerous

pawing at the door?

Yesterday has no harmony

with today. I bought

a wool blanket, now shredded

in the yard. I abided by

dwelling, thought nothing

of now. And now?

I’m leopard and crane,

all’s fled.

-------- 

My Monday morning was about laundry and various other chores ignored over the weekend because the weather was too good not to enjoy. Today was overcast and cooler, which made walking in the afternoon quite lovely -- no sun, so no turtles, but the eagles and frog were out -- and we saw most of the fabulous Orioles victory over the Yankees when we got back. 

After dinner we caught up on Watson, which is finally making the Moriarty arc relevant, then we started watching this season of Hacks, whose return we missed while we were traveling and catching up from that. Speaking of traveling, here are some photos from the Mile-Long Pier in Lorain Ohio (not really a continuous mile, but it has a lighthouse, herons, and lovely views):

Greetings from Kirkland Marina Park

Sunday was cooler and more overcast than Saturday but still a perfect day to be outdoors, and since it wasn't too warm, I got to wear my Hocus Pocus velvet cape that goes with my Hocus Pocus velour shirt to the Beltane PNW Witches' Market, this time at the marina beach park in Kirkland. This was a big market, lots of tents; I had worn a felt bycocket hat that the wind kept trying to blow off, and one of the first craftspeople I visited was Dainty Jane's Handmades, who had a heavier suede bycocket (with a matching belt pouch made from scraps that she sold me for $10). So I had an adorable outfit as I looked at crystals and walked along the waterfront to see the boats and waterfowl.

 

We went to Redmond Town Center in the late afternoon so I could catch Vanillites for Pokemon Community Day, sitting in Starbucks drinking hot chocolate and listening to teenagers gossip at the table next to us, plus we stopped at Safeway for food for the week. When we got home, we went out on the dock to look for the frog (spotted) and raccoon (had appeared earlier in one of the trees, but moved on) as well as the eagles (hiding in leaves). The Orioles had lost and Mariners won earlier, but we saw the end of the Phillies-Cubs long game before Suits L.A. (really just another mediocre lawyer show, I'm about done with it) and House (better than the former even in its not-great final season).

Greetings from Bellevue

Saturday was a gorgeous day. We had intended an early brunch then a visit to Kelsey Creek Farm Park, which was having a sheep shearing event, but the parking lots and shuttle buses were so packed that we decided it wasn't worth the long wait just to get into the farm and went to nearby Bellevue Botanical Garden instead. The azaleas and rhododendrons there are beautiful and we saw lots of other flowers.

 

We stopped at Crossroads Mall, where I got my manicure refreshed and we visited Daiso, the Japanese household store, as well as QFC. When we got home, we went to see the eagles and turtles (and found a frog), then watched Doctor Who (I like the actors but the stories feel derivative) and the glorious Mariners 14, Marlins 10 game (the Orioles game once again didn't end well). Now, more final season House.

Greetings from T-Mobile Park

Very quickly, just back from the Mariners-Marlins game, which unfortunately the home team lost 8-4, but it was a beautiful evening to be at the ballpark (temperatures in the high 60s, spectacular sunset over the Olympic Range) and they were giving out captain's hats to the first 10,000 fans, so it was well worth going. We left in the middle of the afternoon to make sure we got the hats, ate dinner in the stadium, briefly met the Moose who was supervising a stuffed salmon fishing contest, saw the actual salmon race, and generally had a lovely evening though some fans were so frustrated that they went to watch the NBA finals on a screen by the food deck. More tomorrow!

Poem for Thursday and Brandywine Falls

Water Falls 

By Jim Jarmusch 

Water falls from the bright air

It falls like hair

Falling across a young girl’s shoulders

Water falls

Making pools in the asphalt

Dirty mirrors with clouds and buildings inside

It falls on the roof of my house

It falls on my mother and on my hair

Most people call it rain

-------- 

We had spectacular weather here on Thursday. I had a somewhat ridiculous morning trying on and photographing potential dresses for older son's wedding, then we had acai bowls for lunch and I did some computer work before we took a walk to a beach suddenly busy with swimmers and kayakers. Behind our apartment, we saw jumping frogs and what we think was a diving otter though it moved so fast that it was hard to be sure. 

We switched between the Orioles (who finally beat the Nationals) and the first round of the NFL Draft before my Thursday night chat (who did not agree with the Facebook consensus on dresses for the wedding). Then we watched this week's Ghosts before finally starting the eighth season of House in prison, which I'm not loving but at this point will stick out till the end. Some angles of the Brandywine Falls in Cuyahoga Valley:

Poem for Wednesday and Ohio Birds

Tarot Readings Daily 

By Joy Ladin 

They’re reading Tarot cards right now,

in the little pink house with the sign in the yard.

Shadows spider across still-green lawn

whose fate, so far, defies the frosts.

Someone asks the right question,

draws the right card.

Many cups in the immediate future;

radiance pouring down.

They know the future,

the creatures in the yard:

night, thirst, frost.

Only the sapiens in the house believe

fire, water, air, and earth

would bother to reveal

when to fear and love.

The one who’s paying

draws another card.

Outside, in the yard,

a squirrel noses seed that fell

like radiance, from above.

-------- 

I had a fairly typical Wednesday, which is always enjoyable. My high school friends all made it to chat in the morning, then I had yogurt bowls with Paul for lunch, then Kristen and I watched my favorite two episodes of Agatha All Along: the one that starts with William's Bar Mitzvah and gives us Billy's history, and the one with the witch costumes, the Tarot reading, and Lilia's backstory. The Orioles lost to the Nationals again. 

We watched the first two Doctor Who episodes of the season long distance with Cheryl; I liked "Lux" better than "The Robot Revolution" because it was creative visually and fun. My neighbors stopped by to see us and the cats, then we watched tonight's Masked Singer, which had nostalgic songs, and Sherlock and Daughter, in which I like Amelia better than Sherlock. From Ohio, Carlisle Reservation Nature Center birds: