A hot-weather haiku

English: Young woman at the beach. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Seaside and sunshine…

The lady chooses to roast;

the lobster does not.

Ashley Loves Lobsters (Photo credit: srcurran)

In praise of modern eye-surgery

Wow, those colours! This is like seeing them through the wondrous eyes of a child again. Rejuvenation.

Three weeks ago, a twenty-minute, painless, cataract operation under local anaesthetic transformed my world. When I removed my eye-patch the next day, vibrant colours had replaced all the fuzzy greyness; I could see every blade of grass, every leaf, and all the nuances of light and shade. And the day after that, during a walk in the woods, the green brilliance of the trees and the splendour of the bluebells nearly blew me away.

Today, I’m wearing my old crazy multi-coloured straw sun hat that’s been languishing in a drawer for years. And I’ve decided to take up painting again, so my next venture will be a children’s novel for 8-11 year-olds, complete with illustrations.     

For the Love of Haiku

Unicorn disguised:

too risky to ride the seas

white-coated and horned.

Join this month’s brilliant haiku fun at http://allaboutlemon.com/2012/05/21/for-the-love-of-haiku-and-haiku-lovers-say/

Inspiring Blog Award

The rules:

Thank the person who nominated you.

Warmest thanks too http://auroramorealist.wordpress.com/2012/05/18/blog-award-may-2012/ for nominating me for this award. I also wish to say thank you for her blog, which is truly inspirational in the way she bares her soul with honesty and bravery.

Tell 7 things about you that will not come up in your blog entries:

1. Back in the old days, after leaving my daughter at primary school, on three consecutive mornings I got together with my friend from next door to watch the ‘Planet of the Apes’ films on my 14″ black and white telly. During each session, the pair of us ate our way through an entire treacle tart.
2. I get really angry if anyone mentions insects whilst I’m eating.
3. I share the same birthday as my husband, although he was born ten years before me.
4. porcelain dolls and mannequin dolls give me the creeps.
5. I’m allergic to make-up and only use organic beauty products.
6. Cats make me itch and sneeze, but they always want to sit on my lap in other people’s houses.
7. Nordic crime books, films, and telly series fascinate me.

Pass the award on to seven other bloggers that inspire you.

http://naomibaltuck.wordpress.com

http://shiftingshades.wordpress.com

http://fivereflections.wordpress.com

http://crowingcrone.wordpress.com

http://fourwindshaiga.wordpress.com

http://davidkanigan.wordpress.com

http://alarmingman.wordpress.com

And another great big thank you to Aurora, for nominating me for this award.

A Nocturnal Haiku

moonlit rabbits leap

a fairy ring of mushrooms

by an ancient tor

Music Passion

Vaga luna, che inargenti is a charming song by the early nineteenth century Italian composer Vincenzo Bellini. It is part of my own musical repertoire, but as I haven’t yet made a recording of me singing it, you can enjoy Cecilia Bartoli‘s beautiful rendition instead.

The English translation of its lyrics are…

Lovely moon, you who shed silver light on these shores and on these flowers, and breathe the language of love to the elements. You are now the sole witness of my ardent longing, and can recount my throbs and sighs to her who fills me with love. Tell her too that distance cannot assuage my grief. That if I cherish a hope, it is only for the future. Tell her that, day and night, I count the hours of sorrow. That a flattering hope comforts me in my love.

To get in on the lunar action, check out  http://allaboutlemon.com/music-passion/  

May’s moon theme was selected by last month’s ‘Music Passion’ winner at http://up2randomthoughts.wordpress.com/

The Versatile Blogger Award for a Potter of Plain Muggle Stock

A big thank you to the lovely, talented NaomiBaltuck for bestowing upon me the Versatile Blogger Award.

She and I belong to a mutual admiration society. I love Naomi’s blog ‘Writing Between the Lines’ as it’s packed full of fascinating descriptions of places she visits, people she encounters, and snippets about her family, all of which she illustrates with her awesome photography.

The rules for the Versatile Blogger Award:

If you are nominated, you’ve been awarded the Versatile Blogger Award.

1. Thank the person who gave you the award.
2. Include a link to their blog.
3. Select (if you can) 15 other blogs/bloggers that you recently discovered or are following.
4. Nominate those blogs for the Versatile Blogger Award.
5. Tell the person who nominated you 7 things about yourself.

My eyes are a little squiffy at the moment, following a cataract op, which limits my time on the computer just now, so please excuse me if I just nominate the following eight blogs for the Versatile Blogger Award, as selecting fifteen would send me cross-eyed.

ClownPonders (Clown Rhymes) for great poetry and song lyrics, and a regular interblog Poetry Challenge.

davidkanigan (Lead.Learn.Live) – Inspiration, ideas, and information, conveyed in  most entertaining and innovative ways.

marchsteinman (Anansi the Poet) – For transportation to weird places.

allaboutlemon – Accessible art and culture, plus various interblog challenges of a musical, photographic, or poetic kind.

roboticrhetoric (Robotic Rhetoric) – The author calls it a cheeky little blog. What more can I say?

graphitebunny (Graphite Bunny) – Poetry, flash, absurdist snapshots and humorous fiction.

marilynkaydennis (Splatter) – The author describes her blog as drips and drops of everyday life. I think they’re fascinating historical accounts of not-so-everyday life.

davefarmersblog (Dave Farmer) – Brilliant creative writing (a particular liking for zombies), interesting writing info/tips, and great photos.

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Now for seven things about myself.

1. Aged 3, I could read all of Angela Banner’s ‘Ant and Bee’ books.
2. Aged 15, I got expelled from boarding school for carrying out a dare which was considered outrageous then, but nowadays would be viewed as fairly tame.
3. My mother (now retired) was a top breeder of Basset Hounds and an international judge at dog shows, including Crufts.
4. I used to be the only woman player in an otherwise male cricket team.
5. Aged 19, I walked the South Downs Way – 100 miles from Winchester to Eastbourne – in a record two days, with just a three-hour sleepover in a haystack en route. The same year, in one day and one night, I completed the 44-mile Lyke Wake Walk across the Yorkshire Moors.
6. My son was born one week early after a twenty-five minute labour involving four contractions and no pain.
7. I once broke a window singing a high note in a piece by Benjamin Britten.

An Ecological Haiku

Vapour clouds up high…

We scribble the world’s future

with metal crayons.

PB030006 Tracks of doom (Photo credit: northdevonfarmer)

A Sea Haiku

Wind from the southeast…

Wild white horses crest the waves;

surfers race the clouds.

Surf (Photo credit: chausinho)

For the Love of Haiku

The silly season…

Buddha just sees still water

in a world gone mad.

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Every third Saturday of the month, adollyciousirony posts an image from her Art Game and invites folk, who feel so inspired, to write a Haiku based on what they see on the image. The above picture is number three in this wonderful game.

To join in the fun, go to http://allaboutlemon.com/for-the-love-of-haiku