those who did not run

These gravestones are in Rehrersburg.

There is a great song by The Cutters: Fields of Gettysburg -- written by Phillip Morgan, quoted from the liner notes: behind the song,"Phillip's twice great grandfather, Creed Henry Harper, enlisted in the Confederate Army at age 16, two weeks after Virginia seceded. He was one of five brothers from a family that had freed their slaves years before. All five enlisted, out of love and loyalty to Virginia and to a Southern way of life. At Gettysburg, he was a first sergeant of Company C of the 53rd Virginia Infantry in Armistead's brigade of Pickett's Division. This song is largely his own words, passed down by Phillip's maternal grandmother, who was raised by him."

THe lyrics are moving. It's on their album, Sail Away album on Amazon.com

snowdrops

Snowdrops blooming along the Clarion River, click picture to enlarge

signs of snow

Kestrel on the line, kestrel lifeless on the hard rock highway, kestrel in the sky, Canada goose in a still pond, no leaves only reddish buds, crumbly.
Swollen streams and rivers, skeins of goose bodies dotting leaden greys,
sole redwinged black bird clings every tiny tree top, spring singing.
Or croaking "ckerr-ank".
Nuthatches creeping, tufted mouse tits in the hemlocks, jayblues swoop and jump, chickadees...
crows everywhere.
New trailing arbutus leaves but no buds. Picking 2 fields edged with strong pine scarfs, wrapping and clutching -- what is the pine hold? Is it because the first visions came then and it was a time of hope ("Lordy mercy if there comes a time...")
My brave forsythia looks so promising; Two bird nests in the neighbor's ancient forsythia hedge.

Gravel snow and river.
Snow on the high Forest hills, "Caution: water not drinkable" signs posted at Slocum springs, Sawmill burger sign spins, at the Harley shop in the forest: "Support the troops, end the war" ("Sally go round the roses, the roses , they can't hurt you")

The Desire for wood

Why doesn't Obama or Hillary talk about class unequalities instead of focusing on the colour of our skins? Mike Moore sure talks about the income gap but does not call it class; I'm not sure about Nader although he does talk about eco inequality.
Computerized weather voice for part of an hour, coffee-trucks: truck-coffees.

Fluff of a dead skunk across from the Catholic church on the hill, parishioner steps into the road for the Good Friday service and steps back out of the way of the incoming car, (squeal of the stove door heralds warmth of wood, the firery furnace ), writer strings together spring, resurrection and vampires' undead-ness, and 2 shows deal with techincal descriptions of death by crucifixtion -- what 's the fixation? I like my hotsauce closet very much flaming endorphines of the state, of the zone, on the sidewalk in the rain a wide wide bandaid wet but never wide enough to cover all the valleys and wooded hills, with snow, ice and discovery.

Yet another copper thief starts a fire, it's cold, then it's warm, who's got the cat?

Late talk with the northern man out of his watershed, strung out on sere edges, the barren, the stark, slashing, and burning up with art, whirly-gigging a werld dance, poring over words on a page in the long quiet.

syncro I used to own

I used to own this 1991 Volkswagen Vanagon Syncro Minivan view more photos here

223,426 miles

I was the original owner (and the legendary "little ol lady", having babied it and rarely took it over 61 mph!) I never had reason to take it "off-roading" -- except for the dirt roads that can be seen in some of the photos. Often went on state forest dirt roads for TrailCares (hiking trail maintenance).
4 + L speed Manual transmission, Baulk-synchronized with additional compound Low-speed traction gear
water-cooled gasoline engine, 2.1 L fuel-injected engine, digifant engine management system
Syncro 4-wheel-drive, ("all wheel drive"), manually-operated locking rear differential (what is this?)

14-inch steel wheels,
high ground clearance, skidplates underneath
Folding rear bench seat/bed combination *,
2 rear-facing removable seats **, grey cloth interior, rear compartment heater, 18.5 gallon fuel tank.* The bed wasso comfy and roomy we spent hundreds of nights outdoors in the van just parked in the driveway! ** Seats and bed are easy to fold up & down and/or take in or out-- see photos...
Power rack & pinion steering, power front disc/rear drum brakes, independent front suspension, coil springs & telescopic shock absorbers, front & rear, double-jointed drive shafts
Electric rear window defroster, analog clock, 4 speaker sound system,

No War No More for you and me

No War No More book is now available here: click to view at authorhouse.com

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Description:
These are poems, essays, artwork and photos for the cause of peace. We take a stand for peace, independently and collectively, artistically and politically. In these times it is imperative not to let slip through one's hands the opportunity to say again and again, with whatever means possible, creative and peaceful, that war is wrong, that love is the only path to peace, justice and freedom, and that we will not stray from this path no matter the consequences. This idea fed this project and I hope will feed the minds and hearts of those who share in our efforts by reading this book. A.F.Jenkins is a practitioner of Tibetan Buddhism & a peace activist. Her photojournalism can be seen at www.allreelimages.com Greenwood/Blue Lotus Press and No War No More grew out of the ideas and hopes of a few activists in the Mahoning Valley in Ohio. The philosophy of our press is rooted in a Buddhist, environmentalist and social consciousness.

Product Details:
Printed: 92 pages, 6" x 9", perfect binding, black and white interior ink
ISBN: 9781434309839
Publisher: Greenwood Blue Lotus Press
Copyright: © 2007 Standard Copyright License
Language: English
Country: United States

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not light and light

eight-pointed buck stumbling in the dark on the side of the roadbank, he's slow-moving for it is autumn
crunching up and down the gravel an eerie hoot-howl wavers in from down the valley of the river through the pines and darkness: pondering the mailbox faeries--they are not large like angels whose wings are SO LouD black cat body out of nowhere, black angel with the trail of her black kitten ghosts wisping behind in the shadows, just out of sight
moon-sliced orange rises over pennsyl-vania state of mind/mine following nick on its heels silverywisp of a paper sun, pinky-disk wraithed with tissue-shreds of fogglers...over the Jersey banks along the Atlantic
and then it's all no good
On WKCR there is a Birdfight 89.9 but there are too many stoneloaded tractor trailers heaving and yawing us all into the pit

Shenk's Ferry, Tucquan Glen Preserve, wildflower heaven early in the spring. On the left is ragwork, miterwort or bishops' cap and wild phlox. On the right is wild geranium (or "germanium" as certain physics souls would say) and more wild phlox

Mom and me and Aunt Mary in Lancaster County; me and Arthur; has anyone seen Dennis Ludwig?

snowy river

Giant wings going down the road –or props of a windmill blades –or the wings of an angel so big.

A man points out that Security is a a type of Theartre now. It is all about feeling, It is a kabuki dance.
Three Little birds are at the door to my park
Sitting for split seconds, flinking about and away
A chickadee, a blue-grey nuthatch, a reddish wren –winter wren in the winter?


Tired a little from shoveling snow, hands burnt from photos in the snowy river banks.

The snow winds roar down up the thru our river valley the cabins hear them coming ang crouch before them
Then there is a blurry sea of drifting snow, a watery thingee to float thru

Out and across the lot of the post office, now we know what the moaning schreeching sound was, it is the scream of the wind thru things, car parts, light poles, electric wires, joined by church bells tolling and overhead roil rolling glittery swarms of stars...a clear cold cacaphony.