Better Than Gold

This sign was left on my worktable where I volunteer at the Habitat for Humanity Restore. The sentiments on it are great, so I hung it up. I have always loved to tinker and fix things. Sometimes people roll their eyes when they see me collecting things that look like they have no use, but when they need something, they come asking and I usually have it. It gives me great pleasure to fix things that others would throw out!

Years of collecting

Pop’s Fix-it Shop is open

No money required

***

Photo: Dwight L. Roth

Pokeberry Stains

Pokeberries turn from

green to purple, birds leave stains

on my car windshield

***

Photos: Dwight L. Roth

UPS Man Hitches a Ride

There are no brown UPS trucks driving around on Mackinac Island, Michigan. In fact, there are no trucks at all, nor cars, nor gas powered vehicles of any kind allowed. The mode of transportation is horse and wagon. There are also lots of bicycles everywhere; both regular and E-bikes. Some bikes have tow-carts to put their children in as they bike around the island. There is a paved road that is an eight-mile circle.

Delivery time slows

UPS man hitches ride

Horses poop on the street!

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Pooper-scoopers follow behind

Brightly colored flowers bloom

***

It still stinks!

Photos: Dwight L. Roth

Shattered

Three of my windows were getting streaked and foggy in between the glass. Since they were new when we moved into our house, the life-time warranty was still in effect. I contacted the manufacturer and sent them pictures of the three windows. They agreed to send me three replacement double glass panes, but I had to pay $40 each for shipping.

I sent them a check and a couple of weeks later three large cartons arrived on my doorstep. When I picked them up to take them inside, one of the boxes had a rattling sound inside. I knew that meant the window paned was broken.  Examining the box, I could see there was a definite crease in the middle that looked like something heavy had dropped on it. I contacted the company again and explained the situation. They are going to send me a replacement.

Double-pane/pain window

Shattered with broken pieces

Glass, Handle with Care

Photo: Dwight l. Roth

A Nest in My Hat

“You cannot keep birds from flying over your head, but you can keep them from building a nest in your hair”/hat ― Martin Luther

I have an old straw hat that I wear on hot sunny days as I mow the yard.  When I am done, I hang it upside down between two shelf braces in my garage. My garage door is often open as I am in and out of the house. Seems my little wren wondered into the garage and found my hat a perfect place to make a nest. Last week when I decided I needed it to mow the yard, I took my hat down and this is what I found. This is the second time I found a nest being made in my hat.

Straw hat inviting

little wren, “Come build your nest!”

Squatter evicted

***

Photo: Dwight L. Roth

Posting this one on the Open Link Night for d’Verse Poets Pub.

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Summer Squall

Summer Squall – Winslow Homer

*****

Summer squalls blow through

Nature’s waves of nausea

Unstoppable force

Powerful, yet soon passing

So thankful when things calm down

***

Today at d’Verse, Merril presented up with an Ekphrastic Poetry prompt.  She gave us several paintings to choose from to write our poem.  I choose Summer Squalls by Winslow Homer.

Join us at:  https://dversepoets.com    to see all the choices.

Nature’s Gypsy

This little box turtle wandered into my yard from the back woods. He looks a little lost. After I took these photos, he slowly made his way back to the deep grass and into the woods.

“Box turtles are North American turtles of the genus Terrapene. Although box turtles are superficially similar to tortoises in terrestrial habits and overall appearance, they are actually members of the American pond turtle family (Emydidae). The 12 taxa which are distinguished in the genus are distributed over six species.”  ~bing.com

Little Box Turtle

Wandering Nomad

Nature’s Gypsy

***

Photo: Dwight L. Roth

Coach K’s Last Game at Duke

Tonight, Duke and Carolina will meet again for coach Mike Krzyzewski’s last game as head coach at Duke University in Durham, NC. His career has spanned forty-seven years, first coaching at Army and then coming to Duke in 1980.

Coach K is a coaching icon. He was offered multi-million-dollar positions with the NBA at least five times, which he turned down. Many of the players he mentored have gone on to play in the NBA. He also coached the US Olympic basketball team as well.

The game tonight as Cameron indoor stadium will be filled with mixed emotions as the two rivals meet once again. For more on Coach K, read the articles below.

Emotions run high

Duke and UNC meet again

Coach K’s sad good-bye

*

March madness is almost here

College basketball fever

Paintings: Dwight L. Roth

Duke basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski retiring after 2021-22 season (nbcnews.com)

Mike Krzyzewski – Wikipedia

Chocolate Covered Rainbows

Valentine’s Day

Our chocolate covered rainbows

Savory and sweet

*

Cherry red, tart raspberry

Lemon yellow and cream

*

Memories remembered…  love shared

Buried deep in our heartbeats

Our chocolate covered rainbows

*

Harmony Guitar Painting: Dwight L. Roth

Happy Valentine’s Day

Silver Wingspread

When I went to pull the shade on my sliding glass door, the long rays of the sun were shining through the grease smudges on the window revealing this sad, but beautiful image. Another dove took a hard hit and left this imprint on the glass. This happens from time to time. So far, they are able to fly away after the hit. They see the reflection of the woods and sky in the window and don’t seem to realize it is an illusion.

Wingspread imprinted

on sliding door’s illusion

Winter sun shows all

Photo: Dwight L. Roth

Frank Tassone at d’Verse asked us to write a Haibun of winter. Lots of birds come to my feeder in the winter months. Doves enjoy seeds scattered on the deck. Sometimes they get reckless. I am sharing this one that happened yesterday. Amazing!

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