There was a TV show
in the 1960s
about a fellow named Gomer Pyle.
It was a comedy.
The first season began with boot camp
in a fenced-in concrete compound
with rows of identical cots
for the men - all men - to sleep.
Gomer was just out of Mayberry
a little southern town
on the Andy Griffith Show.
One sheriff, one deputy,
one barber, one teacher,
one son, one aunt
and a car mechanic with a son named Gomer.

Somehow, Gomer ends up in boot camp with his own show, and he keeps flunking this and that because all he knows about life is fishing and church and home cooking and repairing tractors in an old tree shaded barn and such. His sargent now at boot camp yells at him a whole lot. 'Golly,' says Gomer and 'Shazam, shazam, shazam!' he says.

Boot camp normally doesn't last forever, but Gomer Pyle is so popular on TV that boot camp lasts year after year. The same fenced-in camp. The same sit-ups and push-ups. The same cots without a wrinkle permitted. It was just a television show, but I think as the seasons flowed by, the viewers hoped for something more for their favorite sarge and private.

brown snake

graceful
snake
slender and brown
swims the clear creek
her head above
the shallow flickering water.
she sways forward
slow and steady pulse
to a narrow tunnel
in the earthy bank.
cars rush behind me -
noises
rumbles
and trembles
we people make.
the snake is silent
breathing sunlight
within an eddy of calm

Today is November 2, 2015, and it is also All Saints Day. I don't know much about the man who was Saint Nicholas, the man we have come to know as Santa Claus. However, whatever were the saintly qualities that earned his title long ago have multiplied across many years. We often intersect in some way with his legendary kindness during the season of Christmas. He has gained reindeer and a sleigh, a wife and many elves to help him share the love of Christmas in a tangible way. Anyone who has been touched by a little (or very big) package via Saint Nicholas knows the wonder of his spirit.  We know the love of those who provide gifts in his name.

greetings, young skunk!

greetings, young skunk!
and how do you do?
what a handsome coat you have
black 
with the white stripe
running through.
everyone says
(and the doggies say)
you can make a Big Stink
if you're scared 
or harassed -
is that true?
we hear little else 
of what you do -
please tell us more,
cheerful young skunk -
who are you?

a single hornet
sits on the window glass
in my room.
his 2/3 inch body is black
intricately designed
thin transparent wings
two antennae from the center of his head.
his eyes are dark globes;
they must see everything.
does he ponder as he sits?
where is my tribe?
why am i here?
what beautiful daylight
through the crepe myrtle outside.
he is meditating.
the days pass.
the shallow china dish
glimmers with water,
remains untouched.

Regarding yesterday's post: another tasty, nutritious baby food to consider would be canned, pureed pumpkin. A bit of sugar added might make it even more appealing to a baby.

I hear there is some difficulty, given the dryness of the fields, keeping horses well-fed. They like apples and carrots - I wonder if pumpkins, which are big and abundant in the fall, might work as a supplemental food for horses. To me, pumpkins, zucchini, and blackberries are a kind of manna from heaven, the way they grow so bountifully during the poorest of conditions.

baby food

Babies usually are slowly transitioned from mother's milk and/or baby formula to solid foods. Many parents introduce their infants to solid food (using a tiny, soft spoon, and itty-bitty bites) between 6 weeks and 3 months old depending on the infant's readiness. In addition to the many foods prepared exclusively for babies, and stored in small jars, there are inexpensive, nutritious options when there is little access to foods labeled for babies, or when there is a need to be frugal. Here are some examples:

Rice cereal for infants
Tapioca
applesauce
mashed potatoes
pureed beans (such as canned refried beans)
ice cream
yogurt
cream of wheat cereal
pudding (for example rice pudding, tapioca pudding, vanilla pudding)
mashed bananas
cooked cornmeal mash