jpallen – Page 4 – Joe Pallen

#406 – October 2024

jpallen Nature Life October 24, 2024October 23, 2024autumn, haiku, october 10 Comments

We are driving along I-84 heading to the Oregon Coast, leaving the Columbia Plateau heading into the Gorge. Evergreen trees, more cars, more water and boats, I begin to think about walking on the beach.

1.

Photograph from the inside of a car looking out the front and passenger window being passed on the right by a semi truck with a reflection of the semi in the review mirror.

thoughts of ocean waves/passed by semi -we swerve/toward the shoulder

2.

Photographs of stones on a beach in a diagonal pattern, sunk in the sand after receding ocean wave.

planning to stop/at the dam fish ladder…/stuck in traffic

3.

Photograph of wispy clouds from the beach at Sunset over the ocean waves and two large rocks, one with an arch, on the left out in the ocean.

above the roar/of ocean wave/lapping clouds

#405 – October 2024

jpallen Nature Life October 20, 2024October 20, 2024autumn, haiku, october 3 Comments

Photograph of wild teasels on a hillside in autumn with yellow fall foliage, blurred in the background. — Wild teasel (*Dipsacus sylvestris*)

Hillside sky…/evening clouds rimmed/in golden light

#404 – October 2024

jpallen Nature Life October 17, 2024October 16, 2024autumn, haiku, october 3 Comments

Photograph of a small autumn, leaf, red and gold in the autumn sun on a sidewalk.

Autumn raindrops…/leaf dances with its shadow/in a cloudless breeze

#403 – October 2024

jpallen Nature Life October 13, 2024October 13, 2024autumn, haiku, october 2 Comments

Photograph of a rose in full bloom over summer weather leaves, in front of an air unit, a brick wall, and under a metal staircase, in the back of a hospital.

a single red rose/at the back entrance/of the hospital

#402 – October 2024

jpallen Nature Life October 10, 2024October 10, 2024autumn, haiku, october 2 Comments

Photograph of a garden hose coiled against the house and a nuthatch on the water sprayer looking up and about to fly.

Garden hose/ready for winter storage…/a nuthatch song

#401 – October 2024

jpallen Nature Life October 6, 2024October 10, 2024autumn, haiku, october 3 Comments

Photograph of a praying mantis climbing black deer knitting crawling towards a daddy long leg spider in the background.

mantis stalks it’s prey/above frosted leaves…/I pick a red tomato

#400 – October 2024

jpallen Nature Life October 3, 2024October 2, 2024autumn, haiku, october 3 Comments

Photograph an old Douglas fir tree’s bark where an underwing moth has landed, blending into.

Her flutters fade/into the furrows/of the fir

#399 – September 2024

jpallen Nature Life September 29, 2024September 29, 2024autumn, haiku, september 4 Comments

Photograph of the leaf of a western red cedar, brown at the tips and green in the middle, lying on a scratched and stained work table in the sunlight and the shadows of the cedar tree. — Western red cedar (*Thuja plicata*)

on the work table/faint shadow of the cedar/after the storm

#398 – September 2024

jpallen Nature Life September 26, 2024September 25, 2024autumn, haiku, september 6 Comments

Photograph of a red tail hawk and a crow flying under the clouds with patches of blue sky.

crow circles a hawk/brittle grasses poke/my ankles

#397 – September 2024

jpallen Nature Life September 22, 2024September 22, 2024autumn, haibun, september 3 Comments

I am guessing it is Friday. Since I retired I’ve lost track of the days. I think it is Friday because of the activity after a few quiet evenings. There is the sound of children laughing and crying. The scent of an outdoor grill. Suddenly a crowd cheers and there is a big “boom” indicating the local football team has scored. For a moment there is a silent shudder through the harvested Palouse hills. I think to myself, it is time to prepare the garden bed to plant garlic in the coming weeks.

A night photograph the full moon rising over the silhouette of harvested Palouse hills.

Pulling over/on a gravel road… autumn/only the moon knows