-
All Hallow’s Eve
Jinx and I went for our morning stroll while it was still full dark, the coin of the full moon shining down on the grass, the blades silvered by the breath of some Frost Giant who slumbered among these mountains during the night. I watched my dog sprint and prance among the tombstones in the graveyard, his shadow flitting along with him while the large owl in the adjacent trees asked his eternal question and the coyotes on the ridge sang their eerie songs across the lit valley and a rooster crowed in a nearby farmyard. Halloween already, and tonight we turn the clocks back to what my grandmother used…
-
Against The Harvest
Against The Harvest It’s what I never feared that has come to devil Me the most. Sent back and now standing Here, round this road-crook,waiting for his Distant get to finally make it past me On just the right night. How many of the Old ones told me he never meant me any Blood, never cast forward to the ashes Of decision, the thing that followed him After he glanced down into that shower- Filled stump on that half-moon night, And what She had thrown to him came forth. Standing now, standing ever, I am Rooted to this patch and cannot roam, Companion to the possums who try to climb…
-
Accomplished By Needles
Up before dawn with two hungry dogs, one of them also quite urinacious (the spotted menace has no such weakness, being of the Ancient Order of the Iron Bladder), and Mrs. Orr prepared breakfast tacos. We ate and talked of west Texas and her tough people and her immutable wind that scrapes across her lion-colored hide. Jinx and I walked and watched cows bent to their unceasing cropping of grass, working their magic of transforming green blades into white milk. In the un-sunned early hours, we could hear the moist tugging of the grass into the soft lips, and an unseen owl in the enormous oak tree asked his eternal…
-
My Education Continues
Until this morning, I did not know that the philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche composed music. I did a bit of poking around and found a selection. Thought I would share it here. ~ S.K. Orr
-
Cries Go On
Last year, a male goldfinch at one of the feeders caught my attention with his unusual behavior, and I realized that he was blinded in at least one eye. I’ve seen him a couple of times since then, and each sighting rings in the halls of my heart because it reminds me that, for some reason, he stays near our farm, and that he seems to recognize me. I fill the bird feeders in the evening. We have various types of feeders — the cheap cylindrical kind that are easy to fill but also easy for squirrels to raid, the metal mesh kind that are impervious to rodents but do…
-
Mountains To Moors
When I arrived at work this morning, I had to stare for several minutes at the dark beauty I saw before me. The lights in the parking lot gave fire to the orange and red ornamental maples ringing the lot. Goblins had come along in the night and stuck Poe’s flambeaux into the mulched earth and left them to burn until the sun returned to chase away the effect. Walking to my building, I heard two young men near a car talking. I winced at the tone and content of their words. It’s not an original observation to say that today’s males are not….well, men. There is a hideous softness,…
-
The Seal Lullaby — Eric Whiteacre
I treasure those songs that can impart peace to me when I listen to them. This is one of them. ~ S.K. Orr
-
Prayer’s Labyrinth
I received a call today from a friend who asked my wife and me to pray for her family. To say that they are walking in the valley of shadows would be an understatement. I promised that we would be praying for the family and asked her to keep us updated and to let us know if we can do anything of a hands-on nature. Then on the way home, I passed a state trooper headed in the opposite direction. He must have been doing 80mph in a 40 mph zone, lights and siren going. Right behind him were two ambulances, flashing and wooping with equal dynamic presence. I crossed…
-
Tang In The Air
Last night, Mrs. Orr and our little elderly dog Dixee accompanied Jinx and me when we went for our twilight walk. The sun, far below the horizon and providing just a rosy glow, gave an otherworldly cast to the air. The stars were already visible, little faraway dots of fire, and man and wife talked in hushed tones between the mowed pastures while the dogs scampered and explored. This morning, when Jinx and I went out into the lightly-frosted world, I was almost in a trance of joy, drinking in the pre-dawn chilled purity of morning, the air better than any drink or drug. I remember as a teenager, taking…
-
The Lawless Blogger
This past March, just before the big coronapanic hit, my wife and I made our annual trek to the local library’s used book sale. Among the treasures I found were a stack of back issues of Magnificat, the Catholic monthly devotional magazine, selling for .25 cents each. I bought every one of them, enough to fill an entire shelf on the bookshelf in our bedroom. The magazine is of very high quality, with writing and artwork to elevate the soul and the thoughts. I’ve been in a bit of a low valley lately, spiritually speaking, and this morning my wife helped my spirits immensely by reminding me of how blessed…