I Hoped for Rain...

"And when it rains on your parade, look up rather than down. Without the rain, there would be no rainbow." ~ Gilbert K. Chesterton

"A rose must remain with the sun and the rain or its lovely promise won't come true."
~ Ray Evans

"Don't threaten me with love, baby. Let's just go walking in the rain."
~ Billie Holiday




I hoped for rain today.. the sky darkened and threatened me with a storm.. the frogs bellowed from inside the wind chime pipes.. calling desperately for rain...

~ Dave and I welcomed a few cooling drops as we scattered feed for the chickens.. raining with the sun out.. supposedly a promise of a shower tomorrow too.. the few drops rejuvenating to us even as Buzz ran for cover inside his dog house...I even set out some buckets to catch the rain water.. Thunder rolled across the sky and the wind blew.. carrying the needed rain somewhere else... I love the soothing sound of rain.. I love to walk in it's refreshing patter.. It is desperately hot and dry here.. I will have to look for Cooper's prized rain stick and give it a gentle shake.. Maybe with its help I can charm a storm to stop here for a little while.. Have a great night!
Patsy



The Rain Stick

unkempt heads wailing
lively feet dance and stomp~
soothing raindrops fall

written by: Patricia Sawyer
7-26-2010


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Sudden Storm

broken flip flop rests
outside sandy castle walls
perhaps, the clouds break

Written By: Patricia Sawyer
7-1-2010

Three Things for Thursday!

"Let the rain kiss you. Let the rain beat upon your head with silver liquid drops. Let the rain sing you a lullaby."
- Langston Hughes

"Do not, on a rainy day, ask your child what he feels like doing, because I assure you that what he feels like doing, you won't feel like watching."
- Fran Lebowitz

"Some people are making such thorough preparation for rainy days that they aren't enjoying today's sunshine."
- William Feather


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#1~ Thursday Challenge ~ a place for photographic fun!

~ "WEATHER" (Sunny, Calm, Rainy, Snowy, Icy, Fog, Clouds, Thunderstorm, Lightening, Hail, Windy,...)

~ Rain drops on the car window.. a mid afternoon downpour..

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#2~ An acrostic poem.. look for a phrase along the edge..

Blessings

Bible thumpers you call us
Less than willing to believe
Every action has an equal and opposite reaction
Scientific facts.. easier to trust
Something real to believe you once said
I smiled.. having walked down the same road myself
No need for me to let breath go wasted
Goodness and Mercy will find you yet
Should you ever take the time to count

Cant you even count that high
Over and over I hear your rant
Underpaid.. under loved.. pitiful you
Never take for granted the truth of life
Tender moments overlooked
Even the smallest of blessings
Deserves to be recognized

Over and over I sang out loud
Never minding that my throat is dry
Eventually you slept.. peaceful at last

Barely able now to recall
Years of lean times.. basics the blessings

Oh how I cried and prayed
Needing something real to hold on to
Every day a trial.. every moment a blessing.

written By: Patricia Sawyer
6-27-2010


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#3 ~ a Senryu.. similar to a haiku but on human nature..

knights~

romping horsemen leer ~
spellbound illusions splattered
squalling maidens bathe

written By: Patricia Sawyer
6-15-2010

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Thanks to everyone who stopped by and another special thanks to those who stayed long enough to read my words.. Have a great day!
Patsy

Watery and Windy Dreary Wednesday.....

"A wind has blown the rain away and blown the sky away and all the leaves away, and the trees stand. I think, I too, have known autumn too long." ~ E.E.Cummings

"I am no Poet here; my pen's the spout where the rain water of my eyes run out." ~ John Cleveland

"Life is full of beauty. Notice it. Notice the bumble bee, the small child, and the smiling faces. Smell the rain, and feel the wind. Live your life to the fullest potential, and fight for your dreams." ~ Ashley Smith

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~ this is almost how I feel when I look across the yard towards the quagmire that used to be a dirt road..

Sometime last night the rain began to fall in a quiet drizzle of innocent little drops... that overnight became cold wet sheets of precipitation that threatens to flood our few little acres with cold and muddy waters.. The dirt road is a slippery sludge of clay and water and plain old mud.. for some reason people do their very best to slide around in this mess and make the road impassable for scary cats like me.. I hate it when it rains like this because the road into our house is always a mess till it dries up some.. The field where we planted our pines is about fourteen inches deep on the edge closest to the house.. Five acres of pine trees standing in water up to their lowest limbs.. I was going to walk out into the swampy mess and measure further out but when I dipped a big toe into that cold slime I decided that just the edge was good enough for me.. with the cold wind blowing it made the pines look as if they were shivering in the winter rain..Brrrrr.. It is supposed to rain all night and again tomorrow.. I will be keeping a close eye on the field.. the ditch that the county swears is supposed to carry the rain away is full and overflowing into my pines.. it has flooded us before.. and the ditch hasn't been cleaned out in a lot of years.. in fact not since the last time we were waist deep in flood waters.. My chickens were sitting on perches early today deciding to wait it out up high where it was a little dryer.. The dogs barked a hello from the warmth of their snug houses.. coming out to eat a few bites between showers.. Pork chop.. The pig.. just squealed for some more to eat and rooted around in the knee deep mud that she seemed to love..on my last animal check just before dark the ducks and the pig were still squawking and squealing.. I guess they enjoy the rain more than me and Dave and the dogs and chickens... It has been a true Watery Wednesday around here.. have a great day!

Patsy

Rain .. Rain.. Rain.. COLD rain!

"The good writer seems to be writing about himself, but has his eye always on that thread of the Universe which runs through himself and all things." ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

"Wait until you are hungry to say something, until there is an aching in you to speak."
~Natalie Goldberg

"Don't threaten me with love, baby. Let's just go walking in the rain." ~ Billie Holiday

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It has rained and rained all day.. I have piddled around inside.. pickling quail eggs and besides that doing not much of anything all day.. I went through some old pictures..I have planned the foods I will carry to the poetry club feast tomorrow night and even wrote the poems that they assigned for us to bring with us.. I even wrote a poem for my class on AllPoetry.com.. I had waited and waited for months before writing this poem.. It wasn't that I didn't understand the concept.. I just couldn't decide on two words..

Acrosteleostics~ the third form of acrostic poem.. two words or two messages..one highlighted on each side..

I know the words love and hate have been used poetically for centuries.. I racked my brain to think of different words.. finally today as the rain fell outside I just wrote the poem that came to me when I first got the assignment.. I like it.. I hope you do to.. have a great day!
Patsy


What a Difference a Day Makes


Loyal listener.. perfect friend..
keeper of my secrets..
I feared you knew not your wortH!

Offering your shoulder...
my burdens to bear..
How we laughed at life's DramA.

Velvet lies dripped from your tongue..
enticing a confession of my Love..
I prayed that we never parT.

Enchanted by your smile..
infatuated by your embrace..
I gave to you my lovE

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How could you..
You knew what my heart felt..
I loved you so welL.


Affection dead and buried..
remorse holds my hand..
my trust just an empty echO.


Tenderness has deserted me..
callousness floods my soul..
I would have your heart on a shiV.


Emotionless I see the real you..
my devotion dead..vengeance flickers
I step across the fine line
I shower you with hatE!

Written By: Patricia Sawyer
11-22-2009

Fishing in the Rain! and Three Words!

"An angler is a man who spends rainy days sitting around on the muddy banks of rivers doing nothing because his wife won't let him do it at home." ~Author Unknown


"If people concentrated on the really important things in life, there'd be a shortage of fishing poles." ~Doug Larson


"We ask a simple question
And that is all we wish:
Are fishermen all liars?
Or do only liars fish?"
~William Sherwood Fox

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The Lens Day Challenge for this week is Rain.

This is my great-niece.. Dori.. holding up her very first fish.. if you look carefully you can see the raindrops falling softly across the surface of the water.. Decked out in her flowery galoshes she doesn't seem to mind the rain and in fact seeing her beautiful smile leads me to believe that she is rather proud of her fishing skills.


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Canal Lakes Fish Camp....
Santee Cooper Lakes..
South Carolina


the light rain rippling across the surface of the canal doesn't seem to bother these happy anglers about to shove off for a day of relaxation on the water...

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Three Word Wednesday..

today's words are..Accident...Loyal....Obscene

Behind Closed Door...

obscene were his wants~
the accident no accident
loyal friends serve well

Written By: Patricia Sawyer
11-19-2009

Gray Skies Over South Carolina!

"Gray skies are just clouds passing over. " ~ Duke Ellington

"If the sight of the blue skies fills you with joy, if the simplest things of nature have a message that you understand, rejoice, for your soul is alive. "~ Eleanora Duse

"If the skies fall, one may hope to catch larks." ~ Francois Rabelais

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- Sky Watch Friday - Season 4- Episode 14-




Gray Skies hover damp and dreary over South Carolina..

won't you become a SKY WATCHER?

I'm hoping for a little sunshine soon myself..
have a great night!
Patsy


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Rainy Days and Mondays!!!

"Life isn't about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself." ~ George Bernard Shaw

"Peace is not won by those who fiercely guard their differences but by those who with open minds and hearts seek out connections." ~Katherine Paterson

"I am prepared to die, but there is no cause for which I am prepared to kill."
~ Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi

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Moody Monday has their theme listed today as the word Shameful..

1. causing or meriting shame or disgrace; disgraceful
2. giving offense

I must admit that I never really thought of shameful as a mood.. I have searched every inch of this borrowed computer and thankfully I didn't find any pictures of anything I considered a shameful act..
I did find this one Of Emily.. I'm not sure rather this one is awe.. shock.. or shame.. I'm voting for shame.. I'm just glad this is the most shameful thing I could find.. Thanks Em.. Once again you have proved that I did a good job.. I don't think I have shameful kid out of the whole lot.. Now me on the other hand... I may have done some shameful things in my life.. I may have even had photo's of some of them.. But if I did they are trapped in the lifeless hard-drive of my poor deceased computer.... No evidence.. no shame!

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Shameful ~( an acrostic poem)

scandalous..sleazy..
humiliating distress
appalling.. atrocious
mean mannered at best
embarrassing expressions
flagrantly foul
upsetting mutterings
loathsome and loud..

Written By: Patricia Sawyer
10-5-2009

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Today has been a typical Monday.. It has rained all day.. ever since last night really..a nasty dreary misting rain.. a heavy clinging mess... The chickens hate it.. they get damp and fussy.. they don't lay as many eggs when its like this.. The dogs hate it.. they bark from inside their houses.. every once in a while a howling wail thrown in just to remind us that they are out there..
on the other side of the yard behind the heavy mist of dreariness.. The house birds flutter from the roosting sticks to their nest box and back again.. they puff up their feathers and chirp to each other.. in the cages that are side by side they will each sit on the side closest to the next bird.. Almost as if they are keeping each other warm .. even the pig has been fussy today.. I went in and out between showers to feed everyone and gather eggs.. Every time I went the pig hurried to the door of her pen.. waiting for me to offer her a sweet.. I wasn't worried about a treat for the pig.. I was mainly trying to feed everyone without catching a death of the cold or flu myself..
on My last trip out there just before dark.. Pork chop squealed and carried on like a crazy thing..
running back and forth and squealing at me... I was wondering what on earth was her problem when I realized she was pushing her food bowl in my direction.. She still had some good old Hog ration in her dish.. I wondered if she were trying to get me to bring her an apple.. I came inside and hurried back with a sliced apple for her.. she took the first slice from my hand and then the second and third.. grunting and oinking as she chomped on them.. I offered her another slice but she just grunted and lay down to rut with her nose in the soft ground..Just as I was shutting her door the bottom fell out and I got a cold shower of heavy rain.. I ran for the house.. slipping and sliding my way across a wet yard.. chickens clucking and squawking as I ran.. It was like they had planned it and were laughing at me as I ran for the house..it was shameful what I said to those hens.. and just as I got inside the rain slowed back down to it's steady heavy drizzle.. and how has your Monday been?
Have a great day!
Patsy

Time to Write!

"It's not plausible or desirable to try to get the world to go away for hours at a time, but it's entirely possible to make it all shut up for 20 minutes." ~ Cory Doctorow

"I make time to write."~ Stanley Tucci

"The bottom line is: don't spend too much time thinking about writing, write!" ~ Mui Tsun

Some days it is nearly impossible for me to find time to write. Some one comes over or I need to leave home for some reason. It can be important like a doctor's appointment or a business meeting. It could be fishing with Dave or chatting with either of my dozen or so best friends. It can be that there are more weeds than garden in my Garden too. But some days writing has to take a back seat to other things. It's not that I don't have anything to say. I always have something to say. I can only remember twice in my life that I was really speechless and one of those times I just felt that the situation was too silly for me to comment on. I love to write. Even when I'm not holding a pen or sitting in front of a key board I am writing. I think up elaborate stories and sometimes I even remember them long enough to get them on paper.
I find myself gazing a a bird and counting syllables in my mind as I watch him take wing and fly away. I have finally convinced myself that a pad of paper and a good pen should be stashed every place I might have a halfway good thought. I now have them stashed by the bed and in the bathroom as well as in the car and under a basket on the kitchen table. I have always had one in my purse. I hope I never lay one down somewhere and forget it. I can just imagine some person reading over broken sentences and half formed thoughts and thinking they have discovered the weird diary of a madly insane woman.

Today I have found plenty of time to write. I have written four poems and a whole bunch of phrases for poems that I will use later. I have thought about a wrote down some titles for both poems and stories that I will finish writing at another time. Today nineteen years ago I quit writing for a long long time. Today is my youngest daughter's birthday. Emily is nineteen today. I remember so well her strawberry red curls twining around my finger as I attempted to sooth her cries. Born tiny and sick, she along with her two brothers took all of my time. I was writing all along. I was just writing for myself. The notebooks from those days and years are rather dreary at times. I was even advised to just burn them. I will keep them to remind myself to find time to write! To remind myself of the wonderful years I spent being just a mom and step-mom and wife. I would do it all again for my children. But I hope that whatever the future holds, I will always have time to write!
I hope you enjoy today's poems. Have a wonderful day!
Patsy




Emily's Curls

Oh Little one
please don't cry.
Your tiny head rests
on my shoulder.
My heart fills
with gladness
at your being.
My world filled with awe
as my finger becomes entwined
with the tawny strawberry blond
of Emily's beautiful curls.

Written By: Patricia Sawyer
1-12-2009






Winter Willows

winter willows weep

along pond's edge~

otters Play

written by:

Patricia Sawyer

1-11-2009

Starlit Night

he crooned a tune

in the starlit night~

my toes danced

Written By: Patricia Sawyer

1-12-2009

Rain

cold

droplets

softly fall

soaking summer's

parched, thirsty earth

caressing, carefully

planted pots of pink posies

slowly seeping into dry soil

filling sloppy puddles with wet fun

and muddy footprint reminders of rain.

Written By: Patricia Sawyer

1-12-2009

A Fairy Tale for Friday!

"If you want your children to be intelligent, read them fairy tales. If you want them to be more intelligent, read them more fairy tales." ~ Albert Einstein


"Some day you will be old enough to start reading fairy tales again." ~ C. S. Lewis

"Let the rain kiss you. Let the rain beat upon your head with silver liquid drops. Let the rain sing you a lullaby. " ~Langston Hughes


Today it is drizzling rain here. I have always loved rain.I like to here it hitting my roof. I like to see it fill and overflow the buckets sitting on my step. I love the smell and the feel of rain. When others would run through a storm trying to avoid puddles, I would walk slowly through hoping to get soaked to the skin. Dave and I have taken all the children for walks in the rain. Once staying at the beach for a week in the rain we walked all alone on a deserted stretch of sand getting all the best shells. Laughing one night as Jennifer jumped around afraid of the ghost crabs that appeared to also enjoy the soaking rain. Everyone else who camped there that week stayed inside their snug travel trailers and missed all the fun of the giant waves crashing along the shore as the rain fell in softer waves from above. Today's Tale deals with rain and what life might be like without rain. I hope you enjoy My Fairy tale for today! Have a wonderful day!
Patsy



The Last Rain

Lila knelt there, in her shuttered garden room, remembering. She had been four Years old. the same age her grandson Ivan was now. The fat drops had sluiced through her long dark hair. It had fallen across her skinny back in tangles after the drenching. Her Grandma had set buckets out all over their house that day. They had bottled gallons and gallons of water. Scarce even then, Rain wasn't even believed in now. Oh how she wished to see the miracle again. It had been years now since the last rain. Years since she had tasted the lovely droplets. Her own sons had never seen rain. Her oldest Grandson had gone down to the well this morning and came back with only a few small bottles of the precious liquid. Lila wondered how she would water her few garden plants with so little water. But at least she still had plants. So many people didn't even have that much.

The last rain had been fifty years ago. The Grand Government had drilled the now crumbling wells in the third year after that. For a lot of years men and women had drawn water from the deep pits always under the watchful eye of a well keeper. Three years ago they had declared that the cities wells were running dry. People had left the cities and headed for the North. Lila and her sons had decided to stay in the nearly abandoned city. Always hoping for a miracle. Always praying for rain. Lila hoped that they had made the right choice. Picking carefully she gathered food to fix the families one meal of the day.

"Grandma," little Ivan called to her as she worked, " tell me again about the Rain!" "Come along " She answered, seeing the disapproving look her son was casting her way." I'll tell you as we work." Lila knew her children thought she was an old fool. She knew they didn't believe her stories about rain. They had never seen rain. They thought rain was a myth. Something made up by the old ones. But Ivan was young enough to still believe in an old woman's tales.

Late that night Lila was awakened by the squeak of a door. She quietly rose and watched from behind the tattered blinds as her oldest grandson slipped from the nearly vacant High rise and was swallowed by the darkness of the street far below. She knew he was sniffing around one of the few girls still living here in the city. She had seen him hide away a potion of his meal to carry to his secret lover. Lila reckoned that they would soon have either one more or one less mouth to feed. She wanted her family to stay together. She knew what the city held for them. But to go north? Was there more water north? Lila was afraid that the friends who had gone north had not found water at all. No one had come back to tell them. It was as if they had left the city and vanished. She crept quietly back to her bed to toss and turn through the night.

"Grandma! Grandma!" Ivan called; squealing fearfully through the rooms. "Come see the sky! It's turning all Black!" Lila jumped from her bed just as the first rumble echoed through out the city. "What is that her sons yelled at her?" Running from their beds with their hungry wives close behind."Buckets!" Lila screamed at them. "Get buckets and Barrels and pots and anything else that you can find that will hold water. Hurry now! Bring them to the roof. Put them out everywhere.""Grandma?" Ivan squealed as the thunder ripped through the city again, bringing the few remaining inhabitants running into the streets. "What is it?"

"Ivan," Lila said kneeling in front of him as she let loose her Bun, freeing her hair to hang in dark tangles around her hips. " You come with me!" Holding tight to each others hand, they ran into the dusty street just as the first fat, wet, drops splattered onto the parched ground. Together they danced as the buckets and barrels filled and the cities deep wells overflowed. They danced through the empty high rise they called home and Lila gathered all the family close around her as each of them experienced their own very first rain.


written by: Patricia Sawyer
11-8-2008