colors reveal secret

 how the colors reveal secret

dew or rain just absorbed

so, unfelt as wetness

but leaving darkness

within the tarmac

and a freshness to newly

undusted rosebush leaves

giving lighthearted spirit to our world

as it faces another day of heat

and humans

wander quiet paths

wander quiet paths

know what you are a part of

hear life around you

Norwegian coast and fjords

scoop-gouged by pebbles

entrapped by ice, dragged by gravity

granite mountains carved

into sharp-edged bowl fragments

enshrine stark glacial time 

flatten that notion

privileged to watch the sun wander

across the horizon, going south

for the winter and north in spring

as well as overhead to mark the day

but i understand the concept

of earth wobble to crate the seasons

i twist my left fist toward my right

to grasp earth rotating on its axis

mental pictures help comprehend

when bare sight tells me the earth is flat

cq no longer reluctant

california quail no longer reluctant

to flutter up to feeding bowl

and large enough to not worry

about competition as she

fills it with her bulk and warns

off by the frantic flutter of her

question mark headpiece

awkward spring

  a few days of sun

warm enough to stay outdoors

to replant seedlings and sprinkle

seeds over disturbed slopes

in hopes of roots to hold the hills

and grace with flowers

but this morning heavy dew

and promise of rain

even hint of scattered thunder

spring’s awkward finding balance                                  

tackle tall tufts

the weeds and grass

grow gleefully

in the rain

gyrate in gusts of wind

while my mower

mummifies in the shed

awaiting a day of sun

to tackle tall tufts

choking, coughing, conquered

doe watching sunrise with me

doe watching sunrise with me

elder doe watching sunrise with me

she shuffled into the yard, sat heavily

then curled and sank to lie, head up

looking east over the valley floor

content to keep vigil on the pale

gold seeping between purple blue

clouds, resting

welcome in as near sanctuary

as i can afford her

blue promise

blue promise

of the twisting earth

as it gives rise to the sun

and the light of day

imitation flattery

snow piles remain from roof-fall

or where the shadows of pine

denied sun’s warming

but on our slope of foothills

of the coastal range

many piles stand as rugged models

of the low mountains themselves

masterful orchestration

hark! nature’s mastery

of the blend of sound

of all the calls, chirps, growls

grunts and roars in a wilds

few if any overlap in pitch, tone, timing

each communication can be heard

by its others

ah! that humans could learn

their true part

mist whispers

 mist whispers

to each blade of grass

as it lifts

from their caress

young’un?

rugged osprey nest near top of utility pole

empty now with summer gone

still, i look up as i drive by

startle as slender black and white

feathered head and neck peek above the rim

                           mjNordgren  9/21/2022  N

phases of the mist

mist resting, languid, between the hills

the few pre-dawn lamps twinkling

among shadows as mists lift and stretch

anticipating the rosy warmth of sunrise

will lift them to evaporation

to continue in their rounds

of water cycle on which our unheeding

lives depend

what food? where?

what food? where?

 yellow grass tinted green

after three nights last week of misted dew

grown inches to create a flexible maze for curious

hungry california quail chicks to scramble through

heads bobbing up, to see; down, to eat

those question mark brow adornments wobbling as the dozen or so

willy-nilly take over my yard and conquer my sense of delight

rain in darkness

heart-drumming rain

confides the terror

of its fall

to the metal roof

oddly comforting

the sleepy people below