Yesterday, we went to a few places and noted work on ash tree removal in our area. Good to see, so the dying and dead trees do not fall on power lines, roads, and properties. We saw crocuses in bloom. Soon there will be more green in the landscape. I love when the trees first begin to have leaves, and later tiny rows of corn growing perfectly in many fields. The landscape will heal from the loss of the trees, because of the Emerald Ash Borer.
WordPrompt: Green
November Wisconsin countryside
Bare trees elegant against the sky
Colors in the landscape muted now
October’s glory is gone
And love grows eternally
SMILE, Fall/Winter 2008 – 09
The picture is from November 30, 2011. I wrote “We bought this beautiful poinsettia at Mentink’s Piggly Wiggly Market here in Oostburg last Saturday. Photo by Karl on this blue sky sunny day.”
Creative Note: SMILE, a large print poetry journal, was edited and published by Joyce M. Johnson for years.
new leaves
on the birch tree
study window in Spring
The Birch Tree Landscape Drawing by Rex Vicat Cole is courtesy of Reusable Art – Breathing New Life Into Old Art.
Yesterday afternoon, Karl and I went for a drive. We have a few drives we enjoy over the seasons. We watch the lake levels of Lake Michigan. And how the landscape has changed with the loss of ash trees. The snow on fallen trees in a forest creates a different kind of winter image, with its own beauty.
Holiday lights are gone, and how beautiful they were in the towns. Everyone seemed to make an extra effort to add some joy to the holidays. When we returned home around 4 PM, there was still daylight. And we will keep our low energy lights, with their bright colors, in the house for a time.
We thought of the people who keep the power lines clear and watch the trees to care for them before they fall. Thank you.
the snow falls
and the sun rises
I see the sun reflected
in a neighbor’s window
the snow falls
on everything
evergreen branches
picnic tables, rocks, grass
planters left untouched
for just this reason
the snow falls
on everything
also the graves
the fields that were
parched
this gentle healing
snowfall
An old poem, and new again this morning.
spruce tree branches
by the windows
each day a painting
Ellen Grace Olinger
I viewed several images in the Landscape Images category at Reusable Art. There are art and research notes there.
Fall Landscape is by William James Neatby.
Winter Bird Landscape is by Theodor Severin Kittelsen.
country roads
signs of change
in the landscape
and sky
yard overgrown
with plants
for bees
and butterflies
so much can wait
one step at a time
so much gets done
Image: wpclipart
Ellen Grace Olinger
Poems From Oostburg, Wisconsin 