Say “good-bye” to April, fools!

The roadsides have developed a rash of blue flowers that I can’t identify. I didn’t even manage to take a picture because I noticed them while walking the dogs. A leash in each hand isn’t conducive to good photos. I’ll do some checking in field guides later today but I don’t need to know a name to enjoy the beauty of a flower.

The Red Wheelbarrow, WiIliam Carlos Williams

Photo by J. Harrington

It’s been amost a decade since I drove by the barn outside Osceola, WI where the picture above was taken. It seems like a good way to close out the month of April and National Poetry month.

Back home, the year round effort to keep this place minimally decluttered was (re)engaged today. Christmas greens made it into the burn pit and the trailer we use to haul the tractor had the air pressure in its tires checked. The coupler needs some lubrication, and the hitch ball needs polishing. It’s covered in rust and may even need to be replaced. Back in the days when I was a practicing planner, from time to time I was known to observe that the problem with building infrastructure is that, once built it needs maintenance and politicians never held ribbon cutting ceremonies for resurfacing etc. At a personal level, I note that the more stuff we have, the more stuff we have to take care of. That’s not a complaint as much as it is an observation.

Tomorrow, April's showers turn into May flowers. National Poetry month will end for another year but we can, and should, make every day a poetry day. If you’ve not read the works of Heidi Barr, a local poet, I suggest you check them out. The last time I looked, a few weeks ago, Prairie Restorations in Scandia had copies on their bookshelves. She’s the source of today’s poem and if you follow the poem’s title link, you can check out two more.

RAINY DAYS IN SPRING

Rainy days in spring

are for walking quietly

through gently falling water

are for well-thumbed books

read in early afternoon

are for tea steeping

while drops drum the roof

are for land and sky

working together

through mess and necessity

to keep the world turning

ice and mud eventually coming

to an agreement that’s green

with potential for growing

with potential for blooming

with potential for feeding

weary souls wandering

on rainy days in spring.

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