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Summer's Arrival

5/14/2024

34 Comments

 
Hello, blog friends!

I hope you've had a wonderful week. In the high desert of Northern Arizona where I live, radiant signs of summer abound. The trails are busy with large and little creatures. I spotted a wolf running across the path, but he was gone before I could pull out my cell phone. Instead, I've included a lizard. He waited patiently for me to take my photo. 😊

Colleen Chesebro invites us to reflect on our local experience of the season through poetry. I've created two tanka with pictures of some of the sights along my daily hike. And I've used expressions such as 'the desert's awakening' and 'a summer's feast' to capture the change of season. I hope you enjoy them. 
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Have a wonderful week, dear friends! 
34 Comments
Rall link
5/14/2024 20:37:41

Lovely summer haiku....like the lizard one especially.

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Gwen M. Plano
5/15/2024 06:30:17

Thank you, Rall. Mid-summer, lizards are everywhere in my locale. This one surprised me.

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Balroop Singh link
5/14/2024 22:12:48

Thanks for sharing the summer of desert through your beautiful poetry Gwen, it is so different!

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Gwen M. Plano
5/15/2024 06:31:45

So true, Balroop. I spent 30 years back East and the terrain is very different. But the desert has its own beauty.

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Liz Gauffreau link
5/15/2024 04:46:01

I love both poems, particularly the first one. For some reason, the word "cholla" makes the poem for me. Anyway, here's to summer!!

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Gwen M. Plan
5/15/2024 06:32:32

Yes. . . 'here's to summer.' We've needed the sunshine, right?

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Priscilla Bettis link
5/15/2024 05:03:02

Two wonderful poems. Aw, cute lizard photo!

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Gwen M. Plano
5/15/2024 06:33:44

Thank you, Priscilla. Soon lizards will be everywhere. Last summer they'd scurry in and out of my raised beds - often surprising me!

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Tim Dittmer link
5/15/2024 06:18:41

Marvelous poetry and fantastic pictures, Gwen!

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Gwen M. Plano
5/15/2024 06:34:38

Thanks so much, Tim. I wish I had a good camera, but my Cell will have to do. Nature is beautiful, no matter the lens.

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D. Wallace Peach link
5/15/2024 07:48:38

Beautiful poems for the start of summer in the high desert, Gwen. Things were just starting to bloom when I was there, and it was so gorgeous to be hiking around those magnificent rocks. Thanks for sharing your world. :-)

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Gwen M. Plano
5/15/2024 15:55:35

It is a lovely time of the year, isn't it? The mountains surround us, and every day is a visual treat. Thanks so much for visiting.

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Jan Sikes
5/15/2024 12:33:21

Fantastic poems, Gwen. I love them both!

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Gwen M. Plano
5/15/2024 15:56:01

Thank you, Jan. I'm so glad you enjoyed them.

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Annette Aben
5/15/2024 13:03:26

Lizards can be pretty chill, so I hear

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Gwen M. Plano
5/15/2024 15:57:07

In another few months, they will be everywhere -- and as you mentioned, they can be pretty chill. LOL.

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Teagan Riordain Geneviene link
5/15/2024 14:36:04

Thanks for including us in this lovely stroll, Gwen. Hugs.

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Gwen M. Plano
5/15/2024 15:57:38

Thank you, Teagan, for walking with me. 😊

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Dan Antion link
5/15/2024 17:12:50

Beautiful poetry Gwen. I love seeing the lizard. We don't have those around here. Those are sure signs of summer.

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Gwen M. Plano
5/15/2024 20:32:34

Thank you, Dan. You are so right - these little critters are sure signs of summer. 😊

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JadeLi link
5/15/2024 21:19:32

Gwen, inspiring photos and verse of the desert terrain.

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Gwen M. Plano
5/17/2024 13:49:23

Thanks so much, Jade. 😊

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msjadeli link
5/20/2024 20:10:20

You're very welcome, Gwen.

Pat
5/17/2024 18:42:00

These are beautiful! Especially liked the first one.

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Gwen M. Plano
5/18/2024 11:29:20

Thanks so much, Pat. It's a beautiful time of the year.

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Colleen link
5/20/2024 09:07:14

Hi Gwen! I finally made it here. There must have been a glitch in my Avast virus protection. I love both of your tanka poems. They show the change of the seasons, so well! 💖

Reply
Gwen M. Plano
5/20/2024 13:47:33

Thanks so much, Colleen. Technology is both a blessing and a headache. I'm so glad things worked out. ❤️

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Robbie Cheadle
5/21/2024 00:06:18

Hi Gwen, both of these poems are lovely. I enjoy lizards very much.

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Gwen M. Plano
5/21/2024 07:11:39

They are a curious creature, aren't they? I love them too.

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sally cronin link
5/21/2024 01:00:37

Both lovely Gwen and how accommodating of that lizard to sit for a photo ♥♥

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Gwen M. Plano
5/21/2024 07:14:02

Thank you, Sally. He was very patient with me. 😊

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Jules link
5/26/2024 09:07:34

Not too many lizards my way. But I startle a few frogs now and again...
Soon your little friend will be seeking shade!

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smitha link
5/27/2024 04:46:47

I like 'the desert's awakening' in the first. It encompasses the spirit of a new season and life again. So, does the lizard coming out of dormancy. Lovely poems, Gwen.

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Lauren Scott link
5/27/2024 08:23:27

Your photos and poems are beautiful and show the true beauty of the desert, Gwen. Lovely! 💕

Reply



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Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms—to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way. ―Viktor E. Frankl, Man’s Search for Meaning


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