Memento Mori* (231/365)

 
“In the cicada's cry;
No sign can foretell;
How soon it must die.”

Matsuo Basho (famous poet of the Edo period in Japan. Recognized for his works in the collaborative haikai no renga form; master of brief and clear haiku, 1644-1694)

TIME:  4:43 PM
PLACE:  Front Porch
SUBJECT:  Cicada

One of the things that always reminds me of summer is the buzz of the cicadas in the trees.  They seem to be particularly loud this year.  I found this guy while I was sweeping the front steps this morning.  He stayed around all day which allowed me to take his picture this afternoon…How did this happen you may ask?  He was a dearly departed cicada – that made it really easy to take his picture.

*Memento Mori:  Latin for "Remember you are mortal", or "Remember you will die." It refers to a wide range of art whose purpose is to remind people of their own eventual death.

Night Clouds (206/365)

 
“Clouds now and again
give a soul some respite from
moon-gazing—behold.”

Matsuo Basho (1644-1694), Japanese poet. (untitled haiku), Trans. by Bernard Lionel Einbond, in Cicada I, No. 4 (Winter 1977).

TIME:  9:21 PM
PLACE:  Outside
SUBJECT:  Night clouds and moon

I feel like I wasted this day.  I messed around with the mountains of photos on my notebook, trying to get them in some semblance of order with Picasa.  I was able to delete several duplicate folders – over 2 gigs worth – more hard drive space for me!  I also gathered papers together for reimbursement from our medical savings account and I washed, dried and folded several loads of laundry; so I guess that I did get a little bit accomplished.  I still feel like I should have gotten more done.  Funny, I didn’t have much enthusiasm for doing anything during the day, but now that it is late at night, I am ready to get something done.  I need to adjust my biorhythms.

On Green Pond (227/365)

 
An old pond—
a frog tumbles in—
the sound of water.

Matsuo Basho (1644-1694), Japanese poet. (Untitled haiku), Trans. by Bernard Lionel Einbond, appearing in One Hundred Frogs by Hiroaki Sato, New York & Tokyo: Weatherhill (1983).

TIME:  2:29 PM
PLACE:  Town Hall Road
SUBJECT:  Dock with boat and chair

MonkeyBoy’s baseball team had their end of the season BBQ today.  My contribution for the occasion was a 7-layer salad – layered last night as we had football and cheerleading practice this morning.  It was held at a former winery, which also happens to be the home of one of his fellow ballplayers.  A pond bordered part of the property and of course, StellaDella was drawn to it like a magnet.  This brightly colored chair and paddleboat were across the pond from where we stood.  The sun was bright overhead and washed out much of the contrast of the boat and chair, but I like the reflection in the water.