Roots lying unseen
Giving strength to what is seen
The same with our Faith
Photo: Dwight L. Roth
My Blood Runs Red…
Today I stopped to visit a big red Farmall M sitting along the road. It brings back so many memories of driving one in the summer during my teen years many years ago. I thought I would share some photos and memories with you.
My blood runs Farmall red
Filling my mind with memories
of days gone by so long ago
Back when fields were plowed
With three bottom plows
Turning over thick rich soil
Farmall red is a color full of life
Of roaring engines full of power
Days on the farm combining wheat
Shoveling it into the granary bins
Of lumbering Holstein cows
Coming down the lane udders full
Ready to be milked morning and night
Barn filled with the smell of hay
Silos filled with chopped corn fermenting
Big red Farmall tractors helping it happen
Yes, my memories run red… Farmall Red.
Click on the thumbnails to enlarge:
Posting for d’Verse open link night.
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For more great farm stories check out my book Farm Stories on Amazon Kindle. You can read it free if you have Kindle Unlimited.
Bully Rodents
Onery rodents
Squirreling their way to (my) feeder
Finches bullied away
Ferreting the feeder cage
Just can’t worm their way through wire
Makes my day!
Photo: Dwight L. Roth
Posting for d’Verse prompt using animal names as verbs!
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O
You Know it has to be Good!
This recipe is tried and true
Favorite of mine just for you
Sausage and pineapple
in beef broth stew
Onions and green peppers
And celery too
A little black pepper
and some garlic for you
Spooned over rice
too be good to be true
***
Photo: Dwight L. Roth
Posting for Punam’s pepper prompt at d’Verse. A 44 word Quadrille. This is a favorite recipe of mine that is delicious. It is best served with All-Bran Muffins fresh out of the oven.
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Fledgling
Grumpy little bird
Left its cozy nest too soon
Sits alone begging
***
Mama bird watches from tree
As we slowly pass on by
Full Moon Rising (a Quatern)
As the moon silently rises
Gently cradled in mountain peaks
Fields glow in the dark light of night
Shadows hide under tall oak trees
*
Barn roof turns a light shade blue
As the moon silently rises
Swallows sleep in mud nests on beams
Young must wait till morning for food
*
Moon light plays on mountain ridges
Highlights give off a ghostly glow
As the moon silently rises
And night creatures are on the prowl
*
Like a pearl set in bluestone
Beauty radiates from her orb
Capturing the minds of lovers
As the moon silently rises
***
Watercolor painting done today: Dwight L. Roth
Today at d’Verse, Grace introduced an interesting prompt called a Quatern. It is set of four quatrains in which the first line refrain becomes the second, third, and fourth lines in each of the following verses. It also has only eight syllables in each line.
Since I was experimenting with watercolors today, I decided to use my painting and do an ekphrastic poem describing the painting.
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Cataracts or Cubist Vision
“Portrait of Eivind Eckbo” painted in 1914: Thorvald Hellesen
When I was very young seventy years ago, my grandmother was suffering from blurred vision from cataracts. She was not able to get surgery to get them replaced like I was and spent her final years unable to see clearly. It is amazing how far medical surgery has come.
Grandma’s eyes grew dim
Figures blend like cubist art
Winter of her life
***
So much we take for granted
in our self-centered lives
Grandma with my oldest brother
Photo: Dwight L. Roth
Today at d’Verse, Lillian asked us to choose one of five paintings by Norwegian painter, Thorvald Hellesen, and write a poem in any form that inspires us.
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Reading Fun
I started my teaching career in the early 1970s at a small-town elementary school in Bridgewater, Virginia. From the start my goal was to try to make learning fun for my students. In the photo above are two of my fourth-grade students putting their paper cars on the wall for Evil Knievel to jump over on his motorcycle. Some of you might remember when he tried to jump the Grand Canyon!
We had a reading program called SSR Silent Sustained Reading that the students were to read the last twenty minutes of the day. You can see they really got into reading as a result. Those were good days to remember.
Cars stacked for the jump
Students got into reading
when learning was fun
Photo: Dwight L. Roth
Today at d’Verse, Frank asked us to write a Haibun that speaks to a memory. This was one of the fun projects I did with my students. I still have connections with a few of those early students on Facebook.
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For more stories check out my book on Amazon Kindle:
Attitude Adjustments
Attitude
Back in the 90s when I was still teaching school, I was feeling burned out and disillusioned with my job. I did an assessment and looked at what it would take to get another job that would pay me what I was earning as a teacher. With my boys starting college it was not the time to bail out on my job. The only other option was to work on me! I finally came to this conclusion:
It is easier to change my attitude
Than to change my job
I found this to also be true in my marriage relationship.
It is easier to change my attitude
Than to change my spouse
I am sure there are other situations in life where this is applicable as well.
Muttart Conservatory Photo: Dwight L Roth
Re-Create and Celebrate (Book Review)
Finding out what makes your heart sing…
When Cindy contacted me about doing a review for her book, she did not realize that I had just committed to re-creating myself, by losing weight. Her book was a great compliment to this endeavor. It was full of helpful ways to take a look inward to find the fortitude to make it happen.
Her book delves into who we are and why we succeed or fail. This quote sums it up very well:
“The first question to ask yourself when you come to your want and why is, “who is this for?” Is it truly for yourself, or is it for someone else? Is it really your dream, or is it a dream someone else has for you? Rarely does it succeed if it’s for someone else.”
When I turned 76 a few weeks ago, I realized that I cannot just gradually keep getting bigger and bigger. I decided I wanted this change for me. It is going to be a difficult journey because I really love food. Her book reminded me that the change in attitude must come from within myself.
Cindy’s book is much more than a weight-loss book. It goes into what has shaped us and made us who we are today. She shares a number of personal stories from her own life and the journey she has been on since childhood. She takes us on an inward journey of self-discovery.
We grow up pleasing others and doing what they think we should do. But as adults we must chose what we want in life. It is not an easy choice because we have been programmed to please everyone but ourselves.
“We often live out someone else’s dream for them, instead of finding out what makes our heart sing…”
“The key to life is being open to receive what is already there waiting for you to hear and understand.”
“Remember, processing feelings is the inroad to the soul, and by clearing the debris you are opening a pathway to reaching your goals and living the life you envisioned.”
“We cannot control the circumstances around us, but only our reactions to them.”
These are just a few of the quotes from her book that spoke to me as I read it. I found her story and vulnerability something I could connect with and learn from.
Her book comes out on Amazon today. If you want to know more on how to re-create your life go and check out Cindy’s book. You will find it helpful and enlightening.
Here is the link:
You can check out her wonderful blog at: https://uniquelyfitblog.com/
Roth Poetry 