musings from the window… (dreaming of gingerbread houses)

musings from the window… (dreaming of gingerbread houses)

I might see the allure now, everything capped and framed in blankets of pure white, the tempest has gone out to sea, the world has settled teetering towards normalcy, the grit and dirt of the pace has not had a chance to corrupt the scene, the cold freezes the world or slows this down as much at least, enough to breathe and watch like chimneys slowly blowing smoke into the sky ceiling, there is a palpable silence to grip when the landscape has been dressed like this, when the local habitat endures the blunt instrument of winter, even the plowed remains, piled up against the curb seem like majestic sculpted berms, foot prints are deep and mark the paths, a distinct record of those who have passed just before you, you size up your shoe against theirs, like a game, filling the gaps with your own gate as you go, gingerbread houses, just make sense to me now, in this moment, covering flaws, making uniform the houses on the street regardless of style and year, I suppose I am dreaming, streaming in the land of rockwell, of sleds and mittens, of hot cocoa, piles of boots scattered in the front hall, sure, the world bounces back swift and the race is back on, shortly, but for a moment, transformed, a neighborhood of warm gingerbread houses is mine to adore…

notes… hey, we got 18 inches of snow here give or take, Edison NJ proper, well, at least to me, north Edison, just outside the donut that is Metuchen, just left of Iselin the Asian Indian capital of the region (damn I am spoiled food wise you can’t imagine, pizza and vindaloo to die for within 10 blocks)

a perfect winter morning…

a perfect winter morning…

Photo by Simon Matzinger on Pexels.com

the silk spun of a winter morn
a slight of grey
weighs –
up on over the land
a sheer coat of form
from that of man across earth herself
a pause-
the luster
of slumber frost

notes… woke up this morning (seems obvious), grabbed my cup of joe from the kcup kiosk installed in my kitchen (starbucks columbia in my uber fancy yeti travel mug – sheesh I’m a coffee dork), throwing my stuff in the car, the phone, the clipboard with all my nonesuch, and I notice it, that perfect coating, that sprayed on amazing coating of frost across the lawn and all the eyes (barely open) can take in, such perfection, sure, it’s damn cold, twenty degrees ain’t no joke, but even in the grip of all this, the little shimmering reflections all around, so I reflected on it for a moment, and this is what I found…

in front of a full glass door window, looking out on the backyard…

in front of a full glass door window, looking out on the backyard…

Photo by Julia Volk on Pexels.com

the winter wind bites
makes no sound
except through my bamboo
the only leaves left

I see limbs bend and move
I listen for their aches n groans
(as in my bones)
the grass is stopped
frozen

even the sun-
even the sun is drained
bright, illuminated on surfaces
but cold
as if the moon had a forest – once
slowly exhaling

inside, so quiet now
so many voices
but so quiet now
the isolation of flame
so gather
the few that remain,
huddle, huddle with me

carousel… {{:h;h:}}

carousel… {{:h;h:}}

Photo by James Wheeler on Pexels.com

horseshoe pattern prints
trails bend and cross
this first and freshest snow
surely, a rabbit;
and now in this midnight hour
the tracks have gone
so I wait, for my friend

notes… maybe the ocean is not my only muse, there is the weaving of the breeze through the trees picking off leaves in autumn, the cricket’s symphony on a late summer’s night, and this, silent, clean, pure snow, watching it fall, wrapped inside the comfort of a home, checking the window view as the snow builds up, on the railings, on the tree limbs, slowly covering everything with a white sheen blanket, the kid in me wants to run outside and roll around, the me of now, content to watch and reminisce…

a first snow…

a first snow…

adult beautiful christmas cold
Photo by freestocks.org on Pexels.com

there is always the ordinary, and mixed in there somewhere the not so, I was just walking outside to move my car, outside of work, to park where I am now allowed, as to not offend the local signs, vengeful as they are, the clouds are a gaggle of grey, no, more of a singular mob, one great mass of bland nothingness for as far as I can tell, I notice people walking down the side street that I do not recognize, the warehouse across the street, closed so many months ago that the near presence of life startles me a bit, why would anyone be walking down this street when there is nothing here? I suppose it does not matter, just the matter of moving my car literally fifteen feet to a more preferred spot, under a tree, which is nice in the summer, not so much now, walking back to the office, cutting through the lot where I was not supposed to park, I notice a couple, and then a couple more, slowly floating down, snow, actual flakes, the kind you dream of when thinking of it romantically, individual flakes, each with their own personality, you can read each one down as it goes by, flows and floats here and there, flakes the size of fifty cent pieces and seen just as rarely, so very few, to stand there and admire, and the background world fades for just a bit, I forget about the drab urban sprawl, the faded yellow lines in the asphalt of the local street, various plastic wrappers tumbling by my feet, a retreat, into the recess of my mind, the little spark of a child, that first time you saw snow and after, waiting for the snow to pile up, the fun, the sledding, the snowballs, falling down and not getting a hurt or a scrape, snow angels, running around until your outfit is soaked to the bone, peeling off layers, hot cocoa with those little marshmallows, all in this moment, just the trigger, these little flakes in slow motion all around, no sound to them, a little kid still bound to those early experiences, and then, a honking madman at the local left turn signal, apparently the cretin in front of them has not turned in sufficient speed for them, there are honks of courtesy and then those of unbridled rage, these were the later, my trance broken, I soak in one more moment of this perfect snow globe, and then, back to my desk, my daily home.

a simple thought on winter…

a simple thought on winter…

cat lying on cloth
Photo by Jenna Hamra on Pexels.com

“summer the lover has left my bed
phases pass as the world groans colder
sheets witness to warmth now transform
a shelter for the winter come
once spring fling now just an austere dream
so here I lay, sleep, now dormant beast”

 

notes: just something that appeared in my noggin, then I lost it, forgot where the heck I jotted it down, man that is annoying, then I had to read (translate) my awful handwriting…. yay !

Thoughts… from the porch… (bomb cyclone edition)

Thoughts… from the porch… (bomb cyclone edition)

water drops
Photo by Ali Hassan on Pexels.com

the rain has gone but the song of the storm still plays a heavy dirge upon theses lands (as I observe), there is always these storms this time of year, where the sky is utterly gray and unforgiving, not pockets of lightning, not roving cloud wombs birthing thunder, rains that once quenched the glorious hot pavement of summer, so distant now but from just weeks ago, all the demons and reasons creeping back in, in this season, the summer light kept them hidden, locked in their quarters, but now as the trees are being undressed, their hiding places no longer needed, they are coming out, to stalk the night as it grows longer and longer, chewing, gnawing at the edges of the day morsel by mouthful, a crescendo descends upon the devil’s night, as candy and subtle mayhem ignite imaginations, shadows and flickering candles dancing in jack smiles, the world is retelling the ancient story, one it knows well, sending emissaries and portents to further the tale, and should we pay mind, or pay strict attention, details and devils may rise, all in the slight of hand concealed by an autumn storm as it rages in from the ocean on familiar northeastern tract, we bustle about under all this happening almost unaware, this transforming, but yet it dictates our path, changes trajectories whether we perceive them or not, from one leaf down to the whole lot, soon, soon a blanket will come, not of comfort but stillness cold, as the world prepares and truth be told, not mere whispers but whipping winds, change is coming and has already been.

music... Badlands – Winter’s Call

notes…  thanks to all who read my words, all thoughts, comments, recipes, music recommendations and everything else is appreciated, I write this blog for me but if it helps anyone else? I’m cool with that, thanks.

and they come in pairs…

and they come in pairs…

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(this is related to my previous post, quite by accident, or circumstance, or the whimsy of the muse) Oddly enough, as I woke this morning (better than the alternative), when I walked outside to observe my ‘get in the car go to work ritual’, there was a mad amount of noise afoot… crows, in trees on both sides of my street, so this wrote itself (I suppose I can take credit, the pen was in my hand, but sometimes it feels I am just a cosmic means to an end…)

a gathering of crows
in twin mirror treetops
bookend my block
angular shadows
pasted up against naked limbs
screaming, toasting, celebrating
I think of an irish wake
and then on a wink, on a wing
unison, sync, they fly away
on to the next barker’s perch

Thoughts from the porch…

Thoughts from the porch…

(an ongoing series, kind of like a picture a week but of my thoughts when I step outside and take the world in, stream of my consciousness I suppose, so I invite you to check it out)


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Taking out the garbage, a sunday ritual with no holiday pending extending the weekend, a ritual, a comfort just as much as ordering out from the local, quite average, chinese restaurant, well, it is local, this day (well early night to be exact) does not seem to know what to make of itself, a cool breeze but not a cold one, no ice in sight to pronounce the season, i’m in no rush to rush back indoors, I stop to pause, to observe the world in it’s natural orderly.
I can almost taste the faint of hope in the air, or maybe it is just the slight relent of the choke-hold of cold that has settled into common trend these past months, the tides of spring are surely rising, somewhere out there, past the horizon, but yet, I am quite sure winter has not shed all of her teeth.
there is a great deal more sound out on the town tonight, to my left the semi-distant whizzing din of a busy road, up and to the left the low rumble roar of a jumbo-liner on to a destination, more immediately left (two houses down across the street) children squabbling getting into the car after a night at their grandparent’s house, “stop it L-a-c-e-y!!” pierces the block, me, dumping my recyclables into the recycle bin with a clangy avalanche of metal and glass, my neighbor’s dog Cookie barking at every little thing (I wonder how old she is now?), such a contemplative difference a little slice of time makes, we might just get of this thing alive, I think…


and I would be remiss if I did not say thanks to anyone who reads this, I appreciate all comments and thoughts, I can only process my own after all, how it affects others is a different animal, that I would like to wrestle some understanding from. (oh, and that last line is a doors thing, I am not going to link to it, to easy)

The NJ Frozen Tundra…

The NJ Frozen Tundra…

‘chill and cold takes pace
eyes span the frozen lake
life still finds a place’

one of my usual haunts (not too far from my office)… Franklin Lakes Reservoir, Franklin Lakes NJ

I uploaded a couple of short videos to my Youtube account as well.  Even in the frozen lock of winter the swans still gather, this particular pair must be used to humans (feeding them I suppose) as they drifted toward me immediately as I approached, then I backed off a little, no need to fall into the icy water, granted I wanted to get some “cooler” shots but the idea of even crashing into the ice a little was enough to keep me just far enough from the shore, I did walk out onto the boat launch (which is eerie hearing all the creaking and cracking) but those particular photos wound up sucking… oh well.  There is always tomorrow, well, until there isn’t one, so with that in mind I am trying to do more and exit my safe space life, the blog helps, it makes me want to venture out a bit more, I am sure I will never be Evel K or Survivorman or maybe not even the chocolate rain guy, but I will certainly be…. me.

Thoughts, pairs of eyes, your time, this time is always appreciated, so I bow and exit stage left for tonight.

‘walk upon a pond
came across a pair of swans
as in summer calm’