…late spring… p XXIV nd 6.7

June 7, 2024 Jules5 Comments

Issho ni kaita retrans

…late spring…

fae tree lights
hotaru twinkle
between rain

There up in the silver maples, pines and cottonwoods like fallen stars.

(The name Hotaru is of Japanese origin and holds a symbolic meaning of a firefly. In Japanese culture, fireflies have long been associated with beauty, mystery, and the transient nature of life.)
~
spring stitches
darning needles sew
up the dread…

Have you ever heard of this myth to scare children who have misbehaved?

youth behave
or sealed in your sleep
eyes, ears, mouth

To bed for being rude, nasty and disruptive, wake blind, deaf and dumb!

(Dragonflies are sometimes colloquially called devil’s darning needles, thus no differences exist between the two as they’re one and the same.// The term devil’s darning needle is derived from a superstition that dragonflies may sew up the eyes, ears, or mouth of a sleeping child, especially one who has misbehaved. In reality, dragonflies present no danger to humans.//Dragonflies and damsel flies (also called darning needles) belong to the insect order Odonata. Over 300 species of dragonflies…)

Prompt(s) Season Words Week 23 Praying mantises hatch

For info on books that I am in and books from my friends please go to the page “Friends Launched Books…”// Please remember visiting through the Reader (or not)- I can’t see ‘Likes’, not right away – unless I hunt them down.// Pop in a 🙂 or even just an “i” for I stopped by.

Good for Start of Its’ Twentieth Year XXIV nd 6.6

June 6, 2024 Jules6 Comments

verse haibun

Good for Start of Its’ Twentieth Year

Car inspection time
The family’s second car
Doesn’t get driven all that much
The oil change goes by miles –
So that didn’t need to be done…
However some parts fail
And that new muffler and
Catalytic converter replacements
Emptied the wallet today.

replacement parts can
keep an older car healthy
the service gent said

Note; A muffler is designed to dampen the sound your engine makes while in operation, and the catalytic converter is designed to lower the harmful emissions your vehicle creates. // While the bill created some sticker shock… It was a whole lot better than even thinking about a brand new car and the increased insurance. Letting the ‘shop’ do it also saved a bunch of grief for the ‘guy’ who might have attempted a home repair.

Welcoming David Neil Gorm 2 p XXIV nd 6.5

June 5, 2024June 5, 2024 Jules8 Comments

Fiction story verse
What do you see? & Moonwashed Prompts

Welcoming David Neil Gorm

Those gorgeous peepers shades of blue
Neither parent had them…
But all was well since Pappy and Mam
Carried that stunning shade

Would little Davey’s wavey strawberry locks
Turn a deeper auburn, or even fiery red?
Maimeó and Daideó would certainly approve,
Their hazel eyes mischievously gleam

Since Mother and Father did not reveal early
Whether the ‘expected’ would be a boy or a girly
It wasn’t until later the clothing and gifts arrived
For the little champ in various shades of blue hues.

Notes; Marlais – Welsh, means “blue.” Mavi – Turkish, means “blue.” Nabhas – Sanskrit, this one means “celestial”, like the moon against a deep blue night. Neel – Latin, Irish, Gaelic, this name derives as an alternative to Cornelius, Neal, and Niel, and begins its own journey meaning “bluish color of the sky.”

Her dad’s side (from the net) is British so she calls those grandparents Gran and Granddad but my aunt and uncle go by the Irish terms, Maimeó (Mommo) and Daideó (Daddo).

Based on a family tree, you are always genealogically related, but you may not be genetically related. After about 8 generations, you have genetic material from fewer and fewer of your ancestors. After 16 generations, you only have DNA from about 2% of your ancestors, and it keeps decreasing. I actually learned once that heritage can go back 17 generations… maybe that’s the 1% factor?

The Celtic word for blue; Gorm (pronounced gorr-um) is a term which is usually translated into English as ‘blue’.

Just for fun; The colours of the rainbow in Irish are the following: dearg (red), oráiste (orange), buí (yellow), glas (green), gorm (blue), plúirineach (indigo), corcairghorm (violet). And How many Different Shades of Blue (?): A List With Color Names and Codes – Drawing Blog. This is the largest list of different blue shades, hues and tints on the web with 225 blue colors, together with their names and appropriate HEX (HTML) codes.

Prompt(s) Moonwashed prompt shades of blue and What do you see? 241 Image credit; ColinMaynard @ Unsplash For the visually challenged reader, this image shows a Caucasian baby around one year old, staring into the camera with (his) her big blue-grey eyes. In (his) her hands, (he’s) she’s holding a wooden block that (he) she is trying to eat.

Bussokuseki// Bussokusekika Quad 1p XXIV nd 6.4

June 4, 2024 Jules14 Comments

Bussokuseki //Bussokusekika
Tanka Tuesday 37 part 1

Bussokuseki// Bussokusekika Quad

purple mulberries
late spring delight now ready
gophers munch what fell
Birds enjoy what is too high
I harvest what I can reach –
Though a toil, berries’ll boil

purple mulberries
stain fingers when pulling stems
barely made a dent
in the four washed ounces, there
might whir them up and strain ‘em
through wire with a mashing tool

purple mulberries
I’ll have to pluck ‘half pound more
a simple recipe
sugar’ll simmers with berries
then you add the lemon juice
and wait for it to thicken

purple mulberries
cooked, cooled and in a glass jar
gift for a great aunt
a nonagenarian
birthday celebration with
nieces, a nephew and friends

Nonagenarian; someone celebrating ninety plus years.

Prompt(s) Tanka Tuesday #36 part 1 I used the The Bussokuseki- this style is an archaic poetic device in which six lines are written in a 5-7-5-7-7-7 mora pattern. This is an ancient form of waka (tanka). I used my fruit; Mulberries… Bussokusekika apparently there is another spelling; Apr 28, 2014 — Bussokusekika is a rare form of Japanese poetry that consists of six lines written in a 5-7-5-7-7-7 mora pattern.

Twining Fruit Vines… XXIV nd 6.3

June 3, 2024 Jules14 Comments

Issho ni kaita retrans

Twining Fruit Vines…

grapevine gift
transplanted – hope it
does survive

There are other wild grape vines that might do well, also gifted from birds.

supportive
trellis of bamboo
up for grapes

Beauregard Solstice Summer Soiree 1p XXIV nd 6.2

June 2, 2024 Jules18 Comments

haibun with verse
OLWG 36

Beauregard Solstice Summer Soiree

In their old southern manse nursery Maxwell and Jasmine stood on their beds to look out the window to see all the fancy carriages pulling up to the porte-cochère while Nanny Foster told them to pray for precipitation. The children knew what that word meant. As Mama and Papa strove to teach them all the words concerning the recent drought.

The spring had been brutally dry. Even the kitchen garden that was watered daily from the deep well, was suffering. That fact of this season’s dismal weather had not stopped Mama and Papa from attempting to lighten the mood with an early solstice soiree. Mama had enlisted the children and the whole household to make simple paper masks that were braced by trimmed willow sticks. The Solstice Soiree was to be a masquerade, but simple costumes had been requested. Mama had carefully versed the invitation.

Beauregard Solstice Summer Soiree

Come without cravates or stays
Enjoy the night into dawn
Out upon the lawn
Or into the ballroom partners sway

Let simplicity be your guiding light
No hoop skirts or false wigs
No masks with snouts of pigs
Enjoy the cool comfort in the night

Ladies allow your breath to flow
Gentlemen leave your jackets home
Come casual to freely roam
Under the stars the sky shall hang low

We gather to celebrate each other
Simple fare will be presented, trust
That good kind words should be a must
For all loving sisters and every brother

At our humble estate, remain, plain
We wish all to laugh and too, to pray
May our united voices sway
The Almighty above to grant rain

~~~

Masks will be provided at the door if you so choose to have one.
We are gathering to enjoy each other’s company
There will be breads and light fare of the garden
Along with lemonades plain and spiked
May laughter and dance add up to a joyous sum

Cordially yours Madame and Monsieur
Beauregard

porte-cochère;NORTH AMERICAN; a porch where vehicles stop to discharge passengers.
Beauregard is of English origin and means ‘beautiful view’.

Prompt(s) OLWG 368 This week’s prompts are: pray for rain// stood in bed// soiree (noun; an evening party or gathering, typically in a private house, for conversation or music.)

Price Burn XXIV nd 6.1

June 1, 2024June 1, 2024 Jules19 Comments

Issho ni kaita retrans

Price Burn

on the hunt
for new appliance
sim pickens for
a two slice toaster

Two replacements had to be returned and refunded, they did not work.

made overseas
came with a
limited three year
warranty, oh joy

Last toaster gave up the ghost when we attempted to clean out the crumbs.

ten years plus old
perhaps some of
the toasty filaments
got dislodged

Note; A simple two slice toaster… spent more than we wanted, but I guess some of the cost was due to having been shipped into the country. We did get a sale price, and a discount for joining the store’s free membership program. So that gave us a tad less than half off…

…summer colors… 1p XXIV nd 5.21

May 31, 2024 Jules16 Comments

Issho ni kaita retrans
Season Words

…summer colors…

summer vale
ripe strawberries wait
to be picked

Local farm, will pick for you or you can pick yourself by pint or quart.
~
safflower seeds
an alternative for
the black oil
sunflower ones

Squirrels prefer black oil sunflower seeds… maybe switch up now and then?

(note; Squirrels will not eat Safflower seed, even if the feeder is hanging right outside their front door or placed on the ground. But caution! Do not mix other seeds with it or they will sift through the feeder picking out the other products.//Safflower is a small, white seed that is high in protein and fat. Sunflower-eating birds love Safflower; squirrels and blackbirds – not so much.)

~
color them
with happiness and
much good luck

Carthamin dyed the silk wedding clothing of the lucky bride and groom.

(Notes;Safflowers symbolize “good luck and happiness”.//Safflower can be used to dye wool, silk, and cotton. The dried flowers produce red and yellow dyes derived from a compound called carthamin. Carthamin, however, is light-sensitive and prone to fading.// Carthamin is used to give cherry-red color for dyeing silk and cotton. The red carthamin present in abundance (26–36%) is oxidized to carthamone. Carthamone imparts different shades of colors (cherry-red, rose-pink, crimson or scarlet) to cotton and silk. It is also employed for coloring cakes and biscuits.// In some Asian traditions both the bride and groom wear red. //… red is considered lucky in Japan and is often worn at special events. It’s also a symbol of happiness and good fortune. In the Japanese flag, the red circle represents the sun, and the flag is known as the hinomaru, which means “circle of the sun”.)

Prompt(s) Season Words week 22 Safflowers Bloom

…flitter fight… XXIV nd 5.30

May 30, 2024 Jules11 Comments

haiku
(yesterday actually…)

…flitter fight…

single monarch flew
around the mailbox milkweed
first generation?

Etymology; The name “monarch” is believed to have been given in honor of King William iii of England as the butterfly’s main color is that of the king’s secondary title, Prince of Orange…

Monarch butterflies typically have four generations each year, but the time it takes for a generation to develop can vary depending on temperature and other factors. I think I also read that it is the fifth generation of Monarchs that fly back to Mexico….During the fall migration, monarchs cover thousands of miles, with a corresponding multigenerational return north in spring.

Summary 1p XXIV nd 5.29

May 29, 2024 Jules20 Comments

Acrostic plus/ Moonwashed promt

Summary

Sun merry
Undulating rays
Mustering seeds
Making hay
Ebbing season
Rejoicing birdsong
Yawning dawns
~

The addition of the position
Of the circuit of the sun
About a month before the solstice
Yet for some, summer has begun…

… ‘Summery’ describes something that is refreshing, sunny and bright, while, ‘summary’ is a short reference to the main points of a text. So, they cannot be used interchangeably.

Prompt(s) Moonwashed Prompt Summery

Jules Pens Some Gems…

Bits of sparkles to entertain***** No ads, no spam, no awards – Thanks

…late spring… p XXIV nd 6.7

Good for Start of Its’ Twentieth Year XXIV nd 6.6

Welcoming David Neil Gorm 2 p XXIV nd 6.5

Bussokuseki// Bussokusekika Quad 1p XXIV nd 6.4

Twining Fruit Vines… XXIV nd 6.3

Beauregard Solstice Summer Soiree 1p XXIV nd 6.2

Price Burn XXIV nd 6.1

…summer colors… 1p XXIV nd 5.21

…flitter fight… XXIV nd 5.30

Summary 1p XXIV nd 5.29