Tuesday, September 27, 2011

Poem ~ "FOG - damp, grey, dawn"

Fog
hugs the shore
muffling the roar.
Damp
thick air
misting my hair.

I walk the water-hardened sand
waiting to see the sun rise and color the land.
Distant banks of fog billow and drift
while waves crash quietly and hiss.
Water glides in with a gentle ebb and flow
as birds stand nearby, silent and slow.
The white, hot orb slowly appears
on a blanket of clouds, wet and smeared.

Dawn - Ocean City, New Jersey
Grey                             
clouds blush
coloring the hush.
Dawn
becomes day
in a quiet way.


- mARTa weller, November 2002

Friday, September 23, 2011

Misty Morning Malingerer

After a busy week I have awoken to a morning somehow designed to encourage malingering. The sun rose but could not dispel the thick fog which had descended as darkness lightened.

My day off, planned to a fullness decidedly not dedicated to relaxation – planned to begin early – has begun with my rising hours later than usual.

The sound of the cars passing by comes through the open windows as a shushing noise, as if telling the world to hush, to not disturb the sleeping neighborhood.

And then I hear them. The geese have returned. Every so often they clamor at each other with a honking and a flapping of wings. How long they will remain, I don’t know. Maybe they are making a circuit of favorite places to gather and feed before moving out to their winter home.  One week here, two weeks in another neighborhood miles away, only to return this week, their numbers increasing. This morning it seems as if their noise is my alarm clock clamoring for my attention, telling me to get moving.

And yet here I sit. Malingering. That is the only word for it. Well, yes procrastinating would also fit, but that is such a modern hard word. Malingering is an older word, a softer word that also refers to the fact that I am sitting here, writing. Avoiding doing some planned work, some things I should be doing.

Malingering fits this misty, dreary morning.
Today I am a malingerer.

Monday, September 19, 2011

A Remembrance and a Tribute

"Boyertown Alumni Marching Unit presents 
10 Years Later 
~A Time to Reflect~ 
Our 9/11 Tribute"
Sunday September 11, 2011

One week has passed and still I can't get over the impact of this concert. I was one of those up on the stage playing an instrument - trying to read the music through tear filled eyes. I'm sure it would also have been difficult to find a dry eye in the SRO audience either. 

The concert performance included not only the Boyertown Alumni Marching Unit (band and bandfront) but also several songs included the addition of the voices from the combined choruses of the Boyertown Senior High, Jr. High East & Junior High West, & the Boyertown Area Choral Association (a community chorus) as well as soloist Tammy Black. 

Saturday, September 17, 2011

Spring Greenery

Although it is now Fall, I just have to share this beautiful pastoral scene. I get to drive by these spring houses or root cellars or smoke houses on my way to and from work. I love watching the changing palettes of color as the seasons advance through the year.
Greshville, PA (April 2011)

Poem ~ Haiku:

Green

Freshly mown hay
I close my eyes and inhale
Green heaven scent



(written by mARTa weller - August 9, 2011)

First Signs of Fall

Nature's first signs of fall have already come and gone. And it is only the middle of September! Fall is so ephemeral, each day there is something different. But the first weeks, the signs of fall come and go with a subtlety that the observer might miss the significance.

The weather has been very summer-like until the beginning of this week just past. Temperatures in the 80's or thunderstorms and monsoon quantities of rainfall. So who would be thinking of fall except children (and their parents) who are back in school? But school buses resuming their rumbling up and down the roadway in front of my house was not a part of Nature's change of seasons. Not the first signs of fall to which I refer.

Friday, September 16, 2011

Want to Comment?

I'd love to have your comments.

I have heard there are difficulties in commenting on my Blog. I haven't seen any comments appear for moderation but since this is a new Blog I thought I just hadn't received any yet. However, a couple friends personally told me they had tried to comment but nothing happened.

So I went looking for solutions and here is what I found:
I checked all my settings and do indeed have everything set up for moderated comments on my Blog so there was one other possibility, something on the commenter's computer is blocking the process.
Blogger Help Forum posted this -

When you leave a comment do you see the Spam Captcha Code after you hit Submit/Post?
No, nothing. My comment just vanishes. And, I have pop ups enabled, yes.
I can leave comments on blogspot blogs who use pop up comments and full page..just not the ones using the drop down menu. 

Ok, that's the problem
Something on your PC is blocking the Spam Captcha from displaying. You need to see what firewall/popup/adblockers you have enabled and see if they are the cause of the blocking.
Also make sure you have 3rd Party Cookies Enabled.
AHA!! You solved the problem!! I had popups enabled, but not 3rd party cookies. sigh!! So, it was a cookie problem. 

I have also just today learned that another factor making commenting on a Blogspot Blog very difficult is if you are using Firefox as your web browser. The best browser choice would be Chrome as that is a Google product and therefore the most compatible. But some other websites do not play well with Chrome. Personally, I like it and have been using Chrome for nearly as long as it has been in existence. 


So, I hope this Forum thread helps anyone who wants to comment on my Blog in the future. 
I look forward to hearing from you!

Thursday, September 15, 2011

Poem~ "The Leaf"

The Leaf

It swooped down                         
and touched the ground
then made a mad dash
to the center of the road
where it suddenly stopped
and leaped into the air
and swirled and twirled
and skipped back again
the way it had come
but not all the way
for suddenly it lay
quietly at rest
in the center of the lane
till along came a car  
which stirred up the air                          (automatic setting, Olympus digital camera)
and gave it new zest
to dance with a flair
and zoom way up high
to float down from the sky
then it came to a rest
at the end of its glide
safe at last
in the tall
green grass
by the roots
of another
tree.


(written by mARTa weller - April 14, 2002)

Wednesday, September 14, 2011

I Love My Job

Yes, it's true. I love my job. And I'm sure you'll believe me when I tell you where I work.
 - - I work in a public library.
A relatively new library with a spacious, beautiful building filled with lots of books, lots of movies - both on DVD and on VHS (still), lots of music CDs, and lots of computers for the public to use. And I enjoy my fellow staff members (each has a different personality and different skills to enhance the services of our library) and there's always something different happening at the library. Whether it is a program or a question asked by a patron there is always something different each and every day.

Sound too saccharine? Well, I'm not saying it is an easy job. I certainly don't get to sit and read a book or play on the computer all day like some people might think. In fact, I hardly have time to get the special projects (projects like rearranging the music CD collection or weeding out old, unused materials to make room for new items) done in between checking out and checking in books for patrons.

Tuesday, September 13, 2011

Introduction ~

I love words and the art of putting words on paper -
to describe a feeling, a moment, a memory, even an image.
I'm a reader - I love reading
but I also consider myself a writer
as well as an artist of sorts.
I dabble in all kinds of creativity
from writing poetry and prose
to taking photographs and drawing.
This Blog is a collection of my words and images;
a collection of my thoughts on other people's words.
I invite you to read and participate
and hopefully enjoy.