Hi everyone, I’m feeling grateful this morning. A growing number of people have been listening to my interview with JOE PIZZO and leaving thoughts and comments. The link for Part One is Part …

Hi everyone, I know that hackberry is not a pleasant sounding name for a tree, not at sonorous as maple, elm, walnut, cherry, ash. Hackberry sounds like a junk tree, an overgrown weed, a hairball o…

Hi everyone, Two nights ago Sandy and I sat out on the patio just outside the door under a covered area, and listened to our one resident toad sing his love song. I couldn’t locate him in the…

Hi everyone, A few days ago a mushroom patch sprouted from around the roots of our deceased maple tree. It was more like a village. There are scientific explanations for this phenomenon, but I knew…

Hi everyone, Yesterday the podcast interview with JOE PIZZO went well. We did both segments back to back so it took us from 2:30 until after 5:00 to get it all done. Part One will be posted next we…

Hi everyone, Yesterday’s attempted podcast recording never happened, I’m sorry to say. Gremlins hijacked the whole affair. When JOE PIZZO and I made contact, I could see and hear him bu…

Hi everyone, Goose Lake is bursting with life. Early blooming trees have shown off their bounty. Our hackberry trees wear glorious new leafy outfits that flutter coquettishly in the breeze. Male ro…

Hi everyone, Change in plans regarding my interview tomorrow for JOE PIZZO’S podcast. In addition to other material I sent to help him prepare for the taping, I asked my publisher to send him…

Hi everyone, The beauty of poetry is that a poem can spring like Jack’s beans from magical thoughts. Pick an object, ask it a question of two, and off you go. Yesterday I paused in my writing…

Hi everyone, I look forward to this week. On Tuesday I’ll join CHRIS CRAIG and GALE CLITHERO back at the recording studio in Ellis Hall on the MSU campus. Portraits from Fall photo days, Sept…

Hi everyone, Last night I dreamed about this poem. No idea why. It just wouldn’t go away. I wrote it in 2015 and don’t remember if I ever shared it on my blog. For reasons unknown, here…

Hi everyone, Now that I know that at least some of you aren’t seeing poems that I’m copying and pasting from my files, I’m going to try posting the last three posts in a different…

Hi everyone, This morning I spoke to members of Sunrise Rotary in Springfield. Their meetings begin at 7:00. That’s dedication! I’ve now had two people tell me that they can’t bri…

Hi everyone, Are you ready for a new challenge on this Happy May Day? I am too. First, my thanks to the poets who attended my first Highlights Foundation poetry workshop in Pennsylvania in 2011 for…

Hi everyone, This morning I granted permission to an author in South Korea to reprint “It’s Me!”, my poem about MARILYN MONROE, that was inspired by an ANDY WARHOL painting of Mar…

Hi everyone, We’ve had the delightful company of our friends, SU and DANNY HUTCHENS, the last few nights and just hugged them goodbye a little while ago. This is the first time I’ve bee…

Hi everyone, Yesterday morning we drove to Marshfield, Missouri to attend an annual breakfast to honor retired teachers. As part of the program I was interviewed by the host, REVEREND NICHOLAS INMA…