Wednesday, March 21, 2007

SPRING IS HERE


Happy Spring to all of you. I am still unclear about it being yesterday or today. Oh well.


The plum and cherry trees are in bloom and i was going to take some photos of them yesterday, but it was a cool, cloudy day. The wonderful scented blue hyacinth is now out also. It sents my whole house. It also fulfils my love of the many shades of blue with a touch of purple in them.


The first of many guests to the island will start to arrive latter this week. Who can blame them and i am happy they will be on this wonderful island and escape their cities jobs and stress. My Mother, son and i enjoy our role of hosts for our own private B&B. We serve a wonderful breakfast and leave our guests free to do whatever they wish during the day. Some are excellent cooks and the enjoy the fresh fish and produce here. I am looking forward to the meals and wines they conjour up daily. There goes my strict diet, again.


Well, Spring is also in the air in Finland. My Finnish cousin Kim was in the mood to sing a few songs for me first thing this moring. He has a deep voice, just the thing to help me wake up in a hurry.


Yesterday my Pakistani cousin, Muddy in Lahore felt like singing also. Must be in the air world-wide.


This island has deep voices we do not want though. We have an influx of unwanted voracious Americna bullfrogos, an invasive species that can grow to be the size of a dinner plate and even small house pets!!! They are hunted down and zapped with electricity. They

were brough onto the island in the 1930s by a man who wnated to breed them

for their legs!!


Speaking of coffee. I read that heavy caffeine users are almost twice as liklely to exhibit panic disorder, generalized anxiety disorder and major depression. Starbucks has no interest in supporting further research on this. I will not give up my Kona, which reminds me that Hawaiian cousin Sam needs to sen dme a few more pounds soon.


If anyone knows how i can merge my 4 blogs into one, please let me know.


A few Spring haiku and tanka (lazy style--free form)


Houseboat in Kashmir

his black eyes seem almost blue

she hides her feelings very well

the lake sill and silent

this Spring morning


The lake in Finland

finally free of ice now

his eyes just as blue


Spring morning

the first bird call

to awaken me


New green grass

many small black birds

this Spring day


Float planes land

ferries pass the island

she waits for him






Monday, March 19, 2007

LAST DAY OF SPRING


My church had a St. Pat's Day tea. It is so nice to have these traditions. The elderly ;ladies did a wonderful job of setting up the tea, baking and also had crafts for sale.


It is my friend from Rhode Islands" birthday. So my thought go to him and our time on Maui and the fun we had. Especially the Friday night Art Walk. All the art galleries on Front St. have open house with artists in attendance. Kerry and i were much impressed with some pieces of Arte we saw. It was close to Christmas and we were both missing our Northern European Christmas rituals. He is part Irish and very sentimental, so we were both a bit sad this our first Christmas without our families. He di not have his own guitar and would not use another person's, so i could not listen to him playing the music he played when he formed his group in Rhode island when he was younger. One regret i have is that the peg-legged old man at Pioneer Inn promised to send the photos he took of us....they never came. I had top leave the island for a family emergency and we did not even exchange last names. But we had a nice time and i am sure he thinks of us every December too. His last words to me were, " say yes to life."


Wonderful advice for all of us.


A few free-form tanka for Kerry


On this tropical island

we were both so far from home

on Christmas eve, feeling sad

about both of our Nordic rituals

tears from your Irish eyes


In the art gallery

the amazing works of Arte

that i was afraid to touch

you told me you would buy it for me

one day when you were flush again


Maui stars

so clear in the winter night

you so much younger than I

but knowing more of life


A man in jean shirt and jeans

a dark night on Maui

telling me about your music

and your love of guitar


Today is your birthday

i can still see a pair of emerald eyes

with black thick lashes

so many years ago

why do men have better lashes

than most girls


On this your birthday

i have no photo of you

pushing your dark hair

out of your emerald eyes

memories come one by one


New rice paper

i draw eyes of green with black lashes

Maui mountains and

light green sea

this Spring day


Monday, March 12, 2007

OTTMAR LIBERT'S VIDEOS


Well, first thin i did was do this blog and then i lost it somehow. I think it is all this grey and misty weather the last few weeks, i can't recall the last time the sun was out. The best thing is that the weather comes from Hawai'i. I sweat i can smell Plumeria in the air.


One of the nice things i found on this new pc in the video capabilities. I checked Ottmar's site and found his video's. I enjoyed them very much. I was amazed to find that his head was now shaved. A lot of my male friends of all ages now have bald heads or very short hair. I quess it is the fashion?


I have been very lazy for a number of weeks. I quess it is the weather. I am writing 13 short stories. I found that i am confusing names, dates, places, locations as i write them all. Well, i am making a mess of them. BUt, i get an idea and i just add to them. In one i am walking down a street in Vancouver and then in the next paragraph i am in Honolulu with another main character. Perhaps i should try and stick to one story at a time. The first one is still wioth Hugh in Cambridge waiting for him to finish editing it.


Next week is Spring. I need to do some haiku for Asahi in Tokyo this week. We do have flowers and trees out already, so it will not be too hard to write a few, even though the mist is caught in the cedars all day here. All i see is grey and green. No touch of my favourite blue anywhere except in Mischi's wonderful eyes.


Here are a few free form haiku and tanka, poems i did watching Ottmar's vidos this morning.

I hope my "Chinse Cousin" forgives me, once again, lol.


This early Spring day

the trees as bare as

your bald head


Closed eyes

open his heart

so the music flows

into his fingers

the guitar sings


His long fingers

on the strings

this Spring night

the music invades

my determined isolation

on my mist filled

cedar island


"i refuse to answer hair questions"

now he has none

unlike Samson of Old

the power still flows

in his magical fingers