A Split Second

I  caught sixteen squirrels, two chipmunks, a brown thrasher, and a Carolina Wren!  The squirrels that raid my bird feeders are gradually being relocated to new homes a few miles away. The trap you see in the photo operates on a split second action. When the squirrel goes in and nibbles on the peanut butter and sunflower seed combo I pasted on the trigger, it releases two doors that snap shut locking them in the trap. It worked well until a couple of squirrels started keeping their tails up and catching the lid before they slide into the catch. Then they simply back out and go there way laughing at me as they go! But, I too am persistent! Now I am down from having six or more at a time to only seeing one. I will get him too!! He cannot resist my enticements!

A Split Second

Electron microscopes, X-rays, and Cat Scans

None can see a split second

Is it like splitting wood with an ax

Cutting with a knife

Or splitting the atom

No it is much more simple than that

A split second is obvious to all

One Mississippi, two Mississippi, three Mississippi…

Tick tock, tick tock, tick tock…

One, and two, and three, and four…

Or the snap of a trap

A split second is very simple indeed

As simple as a Mississippi, a tock, an and or a snap

Perhaps not as quick as one might think

Gotcha!!!

Photos: Dwight L. Roth

Pennsylvania Amish Country

Over the weekend I went back to the home of my ancestors in Pennsylvania’s beautiful Kishacoquillas Valley for a funeral of a cousin who died. I was only there for a short time, but I did get some shots of the lush farm land and some Amish buggies. While there I went to an Amish Bakery where I purchased homemade moon pies that are made with apple schnitz (dried apples). They are similar to an apple turnover. I am going to let you enjoy the beauty of the photos and the poetry of motion and growth they show. I shot a lot of these from inside the car as we traveled around. No words needed…

Photos: Dwight L. Roth

Note: The Amish are a branch of the Anabaptist Mennonites who,  broke away when they felt the church was becoming too much like the world around them. They wanted to maintain their agrarian roots and their conservative way of life and their German roots. There are several different Amish groups. In this valley there are yellow top buggies and black buggies each representing the particular group to which they belong. They are wonderful farmers as you can see.

Wikipedia: “The history of the Amish church began with a schism in Switzerland within a group of Swiss and Alsatian Anabaptists in 1693 led by Jakob Ammann. Those who followed Ammann became known as Amish.”

 

 

 

 

700 Followers Today

 

As of today, my blog now has 700 followers! I want to thank each one who reads my daily blogs. Each time I get to a new milestone in blogging I think, wow how great to be able to connect with folks from all over the world. Some seek fame and fortune in the public eye. For me it is my friends that count.

Famous only Among Friends  

It’s nice to be famous only among friends

Among friends is all that counts

Famous enough for this lifetime

It avoids a lot of unwanted baggage

Never ending expectations and tabloid garbage

No tours to make no books to sign

Just appreciation and love and that’s just fine

I still remember where I came from

And I am always home when the day is done

No paparazzi, flash bulbs, or sensational news

Only my friends care about my views

Yes, being famous is really great

The rewards are never late

My appreciation has no end

As long as being famous is only among friends

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Photo: Dwight L. Roth

Making Choices

Squirrels are famous for getting hit while crossing the street. I have driven down the street and seen one start to run out across. But before he is a third of the way across he stops and freezes. Trying to decide whether to go on or turn back.  If he had simply kept going he would easily have made it across. Sometimes his indecision keeps him there too long and he meets his demise. A good lesson for all of us. Indecision gets us nowhere. It is important to keep moving forward in life.

Indecision

Indecision is the cancer of the soul

The stealer of joy in life

The weight that becomes unbearable

Indecision races through the mind

Veering wildly around sharp turns

Looking over steep heart-stopping cliffs

Indecision distorts perception

Assumes answers yet to be given

Like quicksand sucking us down

Indecision all-consuming anxiety

Fear of the inevitable choice

Knowing it must be made

Indecision leaves us chained

Stealing our freedom to be

Stuck in the swamp of worry and woe

Indecision leaves us impotent

Lacking will to move on

Leaving us hollow and empty

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Photo: Dwight L. Roth

Limericks to make you smile!

There was a young boy named Aidan,

Who loved video games and raisins.

He played as he nibbled

With his games he did fiddle,

’til his eyes fell upon a fair maiden

Sweet Molly loved cookies and candy.

She ate on them weekdays and Sunday.

Her dentist said friend

Your teeth have no ends.

So they’ll all need filled by next Monday.

*

My favorite artist is Ashley

Who’s earrings are very costly

She charged me so much

I choked on my lunch

And never an earring did I see..

*

There was a sweet boy from Seoul,

Who ate his rice from a bowl.

Until he came here

And burgers brought cheer.

Now he eats his lunch on a roll!

Photo: Dwight L. Roth

 

A Walk in the Woods

 

Simply walking through the woods is an experience of natural poetry. Essentially all of creation is a poetry of sorts. I love seeing the different flowers and the cycle of life in the growth and decay all around me as I walk. See if you also can feel the poetry of rhyming perfection that nature brings as you view these photos of my walk at Cain Creek Park in Union County, North Carolina.

Photos from Cain Creek Park: Dwight L. Roth

John Mayer’s Store

When I was twelve I had a paper route. The roll of papers were dropped off at John Mayer’s store, where I picked them up and started my deliveries. Some of my money was spent there on soda’s and candy. We did not buy sodas when I was at home, so getting one here was really a treat. Yesterday, as I was writing this poem I thought, wouldn’t it be great if I had a picture of John Mayer’s store. Since I had no photo from the past, I decided to paint it using my memory and imagination to recall how it looked.  Everything is probably not exactly to scale, but the painting depicts how I remember it.

John Mayers Store    (Childhood Details Collection)
Shotgun store long and narrow
Screen door self-closing hinges squeaking
Like street car wheels sliding on steel
Sitting in the sandy bottom at the edge of town
Whiffs of burning garbage float in
From the town dump beyond the creek
Across the road Albaini’s Beer Garten
Where coal miners stop and tip one
On their way home from work

*
Levered cash register sits on the plain wood counter
Holding my quarters nickles and dimes
Boxes with chocolate bars all in a row
Bread loaves on a rack stacked inside the door
Best of all a Red Coca Cola water cooler

Filled with Cokes Orange Crush and RC Colas
Green six-ounce bottles up to their necks
Like synchronized swimmers all in position
Bathed in ice cold water only 10 cents
Cold quarts on the other end only 25 cents
Those I could tip and guzzle in five minutes
When I was twelve
I loved the cherry ones
A bottle opener on the side half full of caps
Wooden cases stacked on the floor
Collecting empty bottles turning sweetly sour
Along with coal dust and flies that buzzed around

*
Refreshed I picked up my roll of seventeen papers
Headed across the road to Albaini’s Beer Garten
Placed a paper on the bar and exited out the back door

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Painting: Dwight L. Roth

Coca Cola Water Cooler: screenpop.com

Listen

 

Silent Words

The ocean speaks silent words to me

As it crashes and rolls across the sand

Words of hope beyond this noise

Of crashing and pounding and roaring blows

 

Words that speak cleansing to my soul

Smoothing out the rough places in my mind

Letting go the sandcastles of expectation built in sand

Refreshed once again by the receding tide

Only foundation stones remain

I Listen alone to the silent words

Amid the rolling ebb and flow

Words spoken only to me

So I write my troubles in the sand

And watch

And listen

For the unspoken word

Photos: Dwight L. Roth

I Married a Cat… She Married a Dog!

When two people  commit themselves to a lifetime together, rather shocking personality traits begin to show up. We have all heard that opposites attract and I have found this to be true in my own marriage. But to me a better description is to see it in animal images. This poem describes the differences in our personalities. These differences present a lot of challenges in our life. Understanding these differences helps us overcome and survive these challenges.

I Married a Cat… She Married a Dog

I married a cat

Sleek and beautiful

Strong and independent

Yet likes to come and be close when

She is ready and feeling loved

Claiming the house as her space

Demanding attention when things get neglected

Purring when things go right

Scratching when things go wrong

Loving and caring and always there

I married a cat

She married a dog

A co-dependent creature

Full of noise and excitement

Always barking about something

Demanding attention

Not to be denied

Protective and possessive

Tail wagging and drooling for love

Always wanting more

Assuming and thoughtless

Taking everything for granted

Leaving sheadings everywhere he goes

Always there when things get tough

Full of love and compassion

A wife’s best friend

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Photos: Dwight L. Roth

Reposted from a year ago…

 

 

Seeds of Hope

Seeds are amazing! There are millions and millions of them all around us. We depend on them for food. Animals and birds eat and transport them to other places. Many seeds lie dormant in the ground until the moisture and sunlight are right to sprout.  Some have husks like the black walnut. Seeds have been found in the Egyptian tombs that are thousands of years old, but when planted they still sprout! Some seeds will not grow until a forest fire has passed through and allowed their shells to break open and sprout. The seeds around us are like hope in our life, always there waiting for a time to come forth bringing renewed hope and beauty.

Seeds of Hope

Seeds of hope and beauty

Lay embedded in every soul

Waiting for the right moment

The right conditions

To germinate and grow

They are always there

Planted by our creator

Springing forth as the fire passes

Or the storm levels

Or layers are scraped away

Just as a forest comes back

From the ashes fireweed and beauty

From burnt bark sprouts green shoots

Losses soon covered

With renewed hope and beauty

*

Seeds of hope and beauty

Lay buried in your soul

Waiting for their time

Don’t wallow in the ashes left behind

Or the destruction you experienced

Or negative words meant to level you

Bask in the sunlight of God’s love and grace

Water your soul with the joy of service

Renew your hope and inner beauty

Always there waiting patiently

For its time to come forth in your life

Beauty from ashes the oil of gladness

Bring hope and beauty to others

Renewing your soul

Reviving your spirit

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Photos: Dwight L. Roth