Bethesda Cemetery with Jessica

 Today Jessica and I went to Bethesda Cemetery to walk around and take some pictures. Here are six pictures I took and one that Jessica took (it should be obvious which one Jessica took):

Wishes, just ten cents: A Haiku

Wishes, just ten cents

But to have your wish granted--

That's a whole quarter!

(I don't know if all of these little poems I've been posting here lately really count as haiku--they don't all strongly engage nature, there's not necessarily a seasonal reference, and they sometimes work too hard to achieve a specific line and syllable count, which is not actually what haiku is all about--but I have fun creating them, and that counts for a lot! I'm going to keep calling them haiku, however, for lack of a better term.)

I know this door leads: A Tanka

I know this door leads

Someplace wonderful, joyful--

Where light does not blind,

Nor do differences divide--

If only we had the key.

When I notice them: A Haiku

When I notice them

I'm delighted they're up there--

When I notice them.

Walking 'round the lake: A Haiku

Walking 'round the lake

Avoiding other walkers

Walking 'round the lake

Haiku and tanka: A Tanka

Haiku and tanka

Give us peeks into nature,

And I think this counts:

Since the dang lawn mower quit,

The grass can be wild a while.

New games at the park: A Haiku

New games at the park:

Hopscotch court; tic-tac-toe board--

But no one to play! 

Ten degrees cooler: A Haiku

Ten degrees cooler

In the shade: the humble tree, 

Just doing its job. 

Across the park's lake: A Tanka

Across the park's lake

The dinosaur is drinking

Until a twig snaps

Prompting her to turn and flee

Leaving me to stare in awe. 

Yellow-fringed flowers: A Tanka

Yellow-fringed flowers:

Continue looking skyward,

And pay me no mind.

(I need not have told them that;

It's what they do anyway.)

Sure sign of Summer: A Tanka

Sure sign of Summer:
Christmas at Hobby Lobby!
Tacky? Sure. But I
Prize this confidence we'll still
Be around come December.

(I hope that months or years from now when I re-read this, COVID-19 will be so far behind us that I have to put in a special effort to remember, "Now, why was it again I wrote that stuff about still being around in December?")

Modest pumpkin patch: A Tanka

Modest pumpkin patch:
It pleases us so to see
Your first summer blooms!
We pray you survive the heat
From now until Halloween.

Avoiding the sun: A Haiku

Avoiding the sun
After a leisurely walk:
Sweaty summer day.

Yellow River Wildlife Sanctuary

Today we went to the Yellow River Wildlife Sanctuary, the recently-opened and much-improved (and under-new-ownership) version of what used to be called the Yellow River Game Ranch. The family who bought the property two years ago after the DNR shut it down has done a great job of improving it. Much of it is the same, but the improvements and additions are significant and much-needed; it feels better maintained, and the animals seem well-cared-for.

Here are a few of the pictures I took while we were there:

(It isn't all a petting zoo, as you might assume from these pictures; I just didn't get any good pictures of the parts that aren't.)

Here's Elyse taking a selfie among the bamboo:

One of my favorite parts of any such place is the gift shop, and theirs is pretty good. I didn't buy a T-shirt or coffee cup, but I plan to on a future visit; we did buy a unicorn cookie for Elyse (also some rock candy for Jessica, but I didn't take a picture of that).

Gwinnett Environmental and Heritage Center Redux

I came back to the Gwinnett Environmental and Heritage Center for a walk while Elyse is at Granny and Pa's and Anna and Jessica are having a Harry Potter movie marathon. When you approach the pond, the fish and turtles all swim over expectantly and look up at you with open mouths and make you feel guilty, even though there is a sign saying not to feed them, which I believe proves (1) fish and turtles can't read, and (2) a lot of people who come here ignore the sign.

Happy Anniversary to Us!

Today, Anna and I have been married for nineteen years!

The Gwinnett Environmental and Heritage Center

Today I went out for a little drive. At about 1:00 I sent Anna this picture and text:

I'm at the Gwinnett Environmental and Heritage Center. Man, this place is great! Why have I never come here before?

A few minutes later I sent her this:

There's a dinosaur on the roof! 

The Snellville Historical Cemetery with Jessica

Today Jessica and I went to the Snellville Historical Cemetery to take pictures. Here are some of the ones I took:

This is a cropped version of the above picture:

When we go to cemeteries like this, Jessica spends a lot of her time putting flowers back in vases and righting fallen statuary and otherwise putting things back in order:

This picture I edited pretty heavily in both Picasa and Photoshop Elements to make it atmospheric:

Thirty Years Ago

Today is an important anniversary for me: It was exactly thirty years ago, on June 4, 1990, that I started working as an Associate Course Developer at ExecuTrain Corporation, my first "real" job out of college.

This is me back then (not actually on my first day, but after I'd worked there about five months--the Far Side calendar behind me is on the November 1990 page), sitting in my office by my IBM PS/2 computer:

I worked there for ten and a half years, from the time I was 23 until I was 33, and loved...well, not actually every minute, but many of them. In a lot of ways it was the best job I ever had.

The side of our yard: A Tanka

The side of our yard

Is buzzing with springtime life

And I am grateful

For these bees, and for this tree;

For all this wonderful world.