My Cat!

My Cheshire Cat

What type of cat can stay in one place?

With never a frown but a smile on his face?

Is he watching something that I can’t see?

Or is he just trying to out “psyche” me!

I’ll see if this string will divert his gaze,

And wipe that smile off his furry old face.

But all I get is a sideways glance,

As if I’ve lost “it” or really gone “bats”!

Maybe if I creep up and give him a nudge

I can wipe that smile off this overweight “pudge!”

But alas, in disgust, he gets up and moves,

Revealing that he just threw up on my shoes!

Gathering in Fall...

Gathering in Fall

As the days get shorter,

And the evenings grow crisp and cool,

The trees shed their summer colors,

Turning blaze against skies of blue.

Walking deep within the woods,

With the smell of wood fires in the air,

I stop to gaze upon a log

And notice competition there.

My furry friend with bushy tail

Scurries quickly to and fro,

Knowing winter and all that’s cold

Will soon follow fall and so..

Gathering nature’s fall-time bounty,

Nuts to keep him through winter’s time.

I feel a bit like a thief,

And robbing him, a fall time crime.

But chestnuts roasting and hazelnuts baked

Are a rather great reward;

For such a pleasant task as this,

Gathering nature’s bounty dropped by the Lord.

The Fields of Grass.......and stone.....

National Cemetery in Elmira, New York

Fields of Grass & Stone

Cold steel brought me here,

Among my fellow soldiers

And their loved ones tears.

How simple and yet so cold,

Long white lines, markers bold

Soldiers buried young and old.

Honor is a fleeting thing,

Thought as gold in life’s small ring,

Never giving thought to death,

Now I lay with all the rest.

Thoughts of Fall and Winter's coming!

And so its Fall

FALL

The worries of the ending year,

With fall so close and cold so near,

Have brought a sigh to woodland folk,

Who scurry quickly and gather so,

That wintertime in white so stark,

And days that start and end in dark,

Are lit by wood fires fed with love,

Granted to earth from above!

Sun and rain grow the good,

That gives us our supply of wood.

Pumpkins, corn and squash are dried,

To carry us to warmer times.

So scurry my little squirrelly friends,

And chop dear neighbors the wood that sends,

Smoke rising to heaven high above,

To thank Mother Nature for her love!

The Moon's Shadow!

Moon’s Shadow

Stargazers watch the swirling sky,

As dots of light go rolling by.

The sky’s dark envelope closes overhead,

As we watch in wonder and delight;

For the moon, our very fickle friend,

Will dance a dance for us tonight.

Shimmering, glimmering, moving but still,

As we lie on our backs at the top of a hill,

Dancing and prancing across the velvet sky,

The star show for us goes gaily by.

Hours pass, the night is still,

As we sit on our perch above the hill.

So beautiful and so hard to believe

That it's with a mere shadow you deceive.

Then slowly you pull the mask from your face,

And again bathe the earth with your silvery grace.

The Seward House still stands tall!

Seward House

The sage of Auburn lived here,

Among the books and fine adornments.

Was Miller’s home for many years,

Filled with history and refinements.

Scene of dinners, fetes and friends

Who ruled New York in years past.

Weed, an honored often guest,

As well as all the famous rest.

A Stone fireplace...at site of a CCC Camp!

CCC camp at McDonough

It is silent there now,

No sound, no sound.

I heard a faint call of a bird…

It seemed so far away.

Where men once worked,

And learned a trade,

And helped to make a way!

The forest stands as a monument,

To the men who planted trees;

They were a force of hope and growth,

Those men of the CCC!