seven summer series

 

farmer mowing grass

nesting killdeer scold and swoop

wild roses blush pink

 *   *   *

humidity soars

spirals of corn reaching up

thunder rumbles rain

*   *   *

smell of fresh cut hay

cattle swishing tails at flies

farm wife hoes garden

*   *   *

camping in state park

birdsong floats on morning breeze

cotton flies from trees

*   *   *

biking lakefront trail

past fishermen on pier

slow goose crosses path

*   *   *

evening slowly fades

lamps illuminate old bridge

reflect on river

*   *   *

daylight awakens

glad summer sunday morning

voices raise in praise

foreboding

 

How are we wandering Americans to know it’s Canada’s provincial parks camping weekend?  Of course, all campgrounds from Jasper to Banff are overflowing so we drive on. Sun is setting low over the pass when we find a lonely parking lot near trailhead where we can park our pickup camper for the night. Tired of riding, we decide to check out the trail as dusk settles on forest.

Light fades fast in the high country, exaggerating shapes and shadows.  Full skirts of fir trees appear as dark illustrations straight from the Brothers Grimm.  My apprehension only serves to amplify the crunch of pine needles and sounds of skittering.  We meet last pair of hikers coming back down trail and I note they have walking sticks equipped with bear bells.

 

night envelops trees

alpine woods bathed in shadow

autumn falls early

 


Poets at dVerse are writing haibuns and “forest bathing” this week!

pitter~patter

Theme at Carpe Diem Haiku Kai is “power of words”: let the rain kiss you

 

“Let the rain kiss you. Let the rain beat upon your head with silver liquid drops. Let the rain sing you a lullaby.”   ~Langston Hughes

 

pack to go camping

forecast predicts rain showers

great sleeping weather

 

coddiwompler’s song

Coddiwomple (v.): to travel in a purposeful manner towards a vague destination.

Linking to dVerse tangled traveler’s heart prompt


 
oh, camping is the life for me!

drive to the mountains, woods or sea

go anywhere you’d rather be
 

set up campsite, then go biking

find a new trailhead for hiking

before dark, a campfire striking
 

to eat outdoors whets appetite

pancakes in morning, fish at night

roast a marshmallow (toast just right)
 

mosquitoes bite so do beware

and never argue with a bear;

don’t follow cougar prints to lair
 

go south for winter, north in spring

migrate with birds to hear them sing

wanderlust is seasonal fling
 

no matter how far one may roam

you’ll always find the way back home

(with GPS on “smart” cellphone)
 

take photos of each memory

living in tents (or big RV)

yes, camping is the life for me!