January 2024 first week

The overnight snow laid contrasty highlights on all sorts of views and figures in the landscape, offering numerous sights to see and write about.

snowy ornamental grasses (foreground), English garden (mid), Tropical greenhouse (background)

Tropical inside
Winter grips the garden land
Until spring returns

ground level looking to sky inside the tropical greenhouse to see tops of palm trees

Far from native land
Towering palm wears bright bulbs
Of greenhouse Christmas

Babbling waterfall

Keeps itself good company

Even in winter

snow-topped branches of 8' tree backed by redwood-stained fence

Day breaks with fresh snow
Branches dressed for painters' eyes
And gentle brushes

boardwalk shows one person's bootmarks after surrounding planks melted

Early morning walk
On the boardwalk's fresh snow
Marking time's passage

edge of pond mirrors the overhanging red stems of winter shrub

Cold pond for row boats
Reflects the winter quiet
Life is but a dream

large pond has some snow cover, some open water, and circular patches in the snow that melted

Circular meltwater
Making wet geometry
To warm winter hearts

6' diameter copper head by Zhang Huan ("Long Island Buddha")

Copper Buddha head
Frosted in night snow
Loving-kindness rules

edge of large pond has snow-capped boulder (foreground) and distant trees along the walking path

Art of brush and ink
Confident snowy branches
Look something like this

panorama of pond partly blanketed in snow with several circular patches of warmer open water

Turtles slumber now
The world above frozen hard
Until springtime thaws

Comments

Defining "Photo Haiku," reflecting on " 写真俳句

https://shashin-haiku.org [added purple text] The webpage about "what is a photo haiku" stirs thoughts about some of the issues and considerations when putting visual and verbal layers together. The joining of word and picture is known in Japan by various references to the 5-7-5 structured image poems; for example, shahai , haisha , photo haiku, photo 575, and so on. The example in this screenshot from the webpage at https://shashin-haiku.org/写真俳句とは has a mother and child peering at the myriad koi (carp) filling a shady spot in a channel of moving water. One way to put the verse into English is: Mama and child / A moment at the streamside / Shining so brightly. Some people begin with their text and then seek a photo that relates somehow to the verbal "snapshot," either closely fitting the haiku, or more loosely associated with the feelings carried in the words. Others will see something that catches their eye for some reason and then later they come up with a ...

Between fall and winter's first hints

Visual haiku from October 6 to ice in birdbath 23 October 2023 Wet October bright Morning wetland colors true Shine in the cloudbreaks Too weary just now The cart can rest in the sun Mind preoccupied Leaves fall stiffly down The wet cement later dries Leaving time's traces Bodhisattva head Fluid essence now made hard Far from East Asia Fresh asphalt and paint Make riding such great pleasure Rolling through the days Racing morning clouds Fly over bright fall treetops Birds watch day breaking One tree so vivid Announcing cold days to come More colors ahead Myriad pond life Diverse microbiota Thrive in quiet rot Living roots' power Push through petroleum crust Thirsting for sunshine Fall color and sculpture Bathe in October sunshine Winter days coming White contrail above Streaks over the fall colors Apples bob below Dappling on green leaves Maples soon red flames to be The nights grow colder Glittering fall light Makes leaves of maple so bright Pushing winter back Pathway statue...

Mild February feels like March

Snow shovel at rest Winter takes a break these days Rising global heat Shaggy frost on stone Fades in the spring-like morning Comes again tonight A lone pine needle Bears the heavy frost for now Knowing it soon melts Winter sumac bows With frost its furry blanket Thinking of spring days Capped in copper frost No need to light the pathway Morning light is fine Gliding under ice Open water for breathing Chilly scales and tails Unmoving boulder Feels winter breaking a little Pines stand ever green Sun-bleached railings stand Zig-zagging across the pond Sumac on one side Boat landing frozen Eight or nine weeks yet to go Before it arrives Flutter in mild breeze February feels like March But winter stays still No baseball today It's still winter after all Teams come in two months Wetland boardwalk bright Buzzing drone high overhead Sees the baseball fields

Picturing Haiku

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