Summer is here, undeniably
flown in on the crests of so many
heavenly thunderstorms.
Eerie half-light, the air thick and moist-
my hair hangs lank and heavy down my spine
and late nights reign again:
drinking black tea and listening to
Horses over and over
“horses, horses, horses
Coming in in all directions
White shining silver studs
with their nose in flames”

This time of year means
sun so bright it burns your retinas,
turning everything blind green.
Time to take to the road,
lonely country stretches,
rest-stops, junk shops
selling old bottles,
desperation station.
A big wasp taps at the glass,
trapped in an abandoned
bait-shop.

In the end, indecision is
in itself, a decision.
We head out instead
towards Lone Grove,
ah, my ancestral home!
The fields were a riot
of flowers- coreopsis, vervain,
verbena and horsemint.
Made it there right before
the rain rolled in.

My country home is
where the wild peacocks roam
with small herds of bighorn sheep,
scorpions, spiders and snakes.

Brilliant Painted Buntings, dwell there as well-
I saw one for the very first time..

Lovely Sienna led us to a place in the sun,
to stretch our limbs, sing songs, wander..

A sweet place to scrawl and paint faces on rocks.

Amy Annelle and her hound, Arrow.
With eyes of fire and the creek high
and rushing for the first time since
I was a child, we skinny-dipped and
frolicked free as birds.

What she found there.

This is Gertie, my mama’s legacy.
She’s a 1959 Buick Electra-
Deuce and a Quarter
all the way, baby..
EDIT – Thanks for the interest, y’all-
but my dream car is not for sale.
She is not running now, but will be
one day soon- workin’ on classics
runs in the family, dontcha know!

It’s like being in a spaceship.
Inside smells like my childhood,
the best smell in the world.
My baby quilt with the rabbit on it
used to cover the dash to protect it
from cracking- when I took it out
it smelled so good for a long time.
I don’t know where my bunny
blanket is now.

Somebody painted a moon
on the side of this old Morris Minor.
A naked witch rides a broom
on the other side.
My Grampy was a mechanic,
so the back field is full of
great old wrecks.

Aunt Ruthie’s curios cabinet.
All the best things live in there.

Amy and my Uncle Jimbo
making music on gee-tar
and goat-bones.

My new friend in the kitchen.
Black datura and feather moths.

Tanglewood Apothecaries present
the first tinctures of the season-
fresh from our garden,
medicine to cure what ails you!
Scullcap, Borage, Plantain,
Hyssop and Lemon Balm.

Borage has pink and blue flowers
shaped like spiny stars.

Our little peach trees are producing
wee juicy peaches! We also have
blackberries from our bramble-
It’s amazing, I really didn’t expect
any fruit until next year or the next..

Monarch caterpillars are everywhere!
I stroked this one’s stripes until he
reared up like a pony and revealed his
frightening orange horns-
tiny osmeterium
releasing a foul odour.
Reading Tideland
by Mitch Cullin right now.
If you haven’t seen the film,
you must right away.
It made me think of The Reflecting Skin–
both masterpieces of wrongness
set in tall yellow grass
and desolate old houses.