hummingbird dashes
between socks and pajamas
clothesline obstacles
JoAnn's Blog
Backyard Visitor, 8.30.21
August 31, 2021
2 Comments
Hillside Gardening, 8.22.21
August 31, 2021
perfect weeding day
except I keep misplacing
my garden trowel
Morning Walk, 8.20.21
August 31, 2021
first one up the stairs
breaks through all the spider webs
after you, my dear
April 30 Poems & Poetry Friday!
April 30, 2021
Happy Poetry Friday! In honor of the final day of National Poetry Month 2021, I'm posting three gardening haiku. Alas, this blog format allows only one photo per post; trust that they are all based on my personal experience.
annual promise
I will pick my own tulips
before squirrels do
before it's too late
cage erupting peonies
corral the glory
whatever we plant
in our homemade compost
tomatoes come up
I'm happy to report that I've written and posted a poem each day for National Poetry Month. Please read on to see more!
I also wrote a guest post for Rochelle Melander's Write Now Coach blog about how you might turn a poem into a picture book.
Today's Poetry Friday Roundup is at Radio, Rhythm & Rhyme. Enjoy!
April 26 Poem
April 29, 2021
Must all kitchens be
built for tall people? Forget
stepstools. Make them duck!
April 23 Poem & Poetry Friday!
April 23, 2021
hugs from my sister
+ 45 dinners packed
= well-spent day
I'm posting a poem each day for National Poetry Month. Read on to see more!
Today's Poetry Friday Roundup is at Reading to the Core. Enjoy!
April 21 Poem
April 23, 2021
Rhubarb's growing.
My, oh, my!
Guess I'll bake
a rhubarb pie.
Snowflakes in April?
Guess I'll try
a Snowflakes-in-April
Rhubarb Pie!
April 19 Poem
April 23, 2021
giant snails return
weather forecast mentions snow
good thing they have homes
April 18 Poem
April 23, 2021
Red-winged blackbird, from up in a tree,
announces himself trillingly.
His song sounds to me
like "Tweedle-dee-dee!"
Ornithologists might disagree.
April 16 Poem
April 16, 2021
skull-and-crossbones signs
would give a clearer warning
of the danger here
Today's Poetry Friday Roundup is at Jama's Alphabet Soup. Visit, read, enjoy!
Read on--more National Poetry Month poems below!
April 15 Poem
April 16, 2021
favorite gardens
+ view of water =
daily walking routes
Today's Equation Poem was inspired by Laura Purdie Salas. She's posting one every day on her website for National Poetry Month. And don't miss Laura's brilliant book Snowman - Cold = Puddle: Spring Equations.
April 13 Poem
April 16, 2021
I.
I raked the front hill
still some weeding to do but
the front hill is raked
II.
I slept well last night
remarkable clarity
this morning's thinking
April 9 Poem, Poetry Friday, & Book Giveaway Reminder!
April 9, 2021
just a little bit
out of my way this fine view
neighbor's hellebores
Tabatha Yeatts is hosting today's Poetry Friday Roundup at The Opposite of Indifference. Enjoy!
And remember to enter the Book Giveaway of my new picture book Grow, illustrated by Stephanie Fizer Coleman and published by Boyds Mills & Kane, at the Teaching Authors blog. Good luck!
April 6 Poem
April 7, 2021
oof I'd forgotten that
raking takes muscles my
arms not as strong as they
once were I fear
but
oh what a joy to be
working outside this is
truly my favorite
time of the year
April 4 Poem
April 7, 2021
Nothing overhead but blue.
Nothing urgent I must do.
Dog asleep in sunny spot—
better than the plan I've got.
Time for me to take her cue.
Nothing urgent I must do.
Let the list go in the breeze,
listen to the chickadees,
lie back, gaze up at the blue.
Nothing urgent I must do.
Two New Poems Out in the World!
February 4, 2021
I'm tickled to announce the publication of two new poems!
As a formerly obsessive doomscroller, I'm thrilled that I no longer feel compelled to check the news every few hours. "What Shall We Do After Doomscrolling?" appeared in the Poems of the Week of Light: A Journal of Light Verse since 1992.
"Paper-Free Plea" is on page 43 of the Winter 2021 issue of the SCBWI Bulletin. Only SCBWI members can view it, so I'm posting it here, too.
Paper-Free Plea
For umpty-some years as a writer,
I scribbled my stanzas in pen,
filled notebooks I bought by the dozen,
then printed again and again.
I wrote on both sides of the paper,
recycled so diligently.
In spite of my Earth-friendly efforts,
somebody chopped down a tree.
My memory's not what it once was,
but lately, I've learned a new trick:
I dictate my drafts and revisions.
The software's convenient and quick!
Technology's always improving.
So sad the environment's worse.
Let's help make the world a bit greener
while drafting our stories and verse.
JoAnn Early Macken
#SaferAtHomePoem No. 31 (April 23, 2020)
April 23, 2020
last riverside walk
farewell beavers, turkeys, coyotes
golf course reopens