Night

Tonight I roamed a hot, muggy, darkness.
Filled with moments of
hushed and muggy sounds.

A screech owl's voice echoes softly,
as do the grinding sounds of neighborhood crickets
and the reverberating hum of a lone cicada.
all seem to still the flow of moments
that ease us toward
the real world of sunny daybreak.

3:00 AM.
quiet.
this the world longs for,
Here in my wood clad suburban nest of quiet.

For these few hours
there are seconds...even moments of a silent world
that enfold and can free any mind.

The earlies
with their lyrical, avian voices
in chorus with a coming sun,
(almost newly born)
can hold such promise -
quiet can be found
long before the sun dares shadow
a scorching, droopy eye.

Soft, and silent, this space affords a joy
not found within harsh, or painful confines
of any world news.
No buzzing,
not even flickers of feathered wing
traversing this space on daily flights
to far reaches of down-feather's skyways.

the owl and bat,
silent,
still,
can command all above,
and all that lives along the edges here.
even the hush from a single star
reaches the street with a wand
of silence, spreading such wonder.

Award Fun!

Patricia Stoltey on her blog (http://patriciastoltey.blogspot.com/) was kind enough to pass on the Versatile Blogger award to me this week. Thanks so much Patricia, I really appreciate the award! I have to admit that this was quite a pleasant surprise for me!

This award comes with rules:

1. Thank those who loved my work (and me) enough to bestow this gift.
2. Share seven things about myself.
3. Bestow this honor on 15 newly discovered or followed bloggers-in no
    particular order-who are fantastic in some way.

I try to follow the rules so here goes:

1.  I am a mother of three grown sons with four grandchildren (3 granddaughters, one grandson).
2.  I was an English teacher for a time, and wrote for a small local newspaper as a columnist for two years.
3.  I adore Italian cooking, and love exploring other cuisines as well.
4.  I went back to college at 38 and graduated at 42 with a degree in English with all of my three kids in middle school and elementary school.
5.  I am an animal lover and am drawn to any creatures that I find out walking their owners!  (I have 2 dogs of my own right now - my 10 year old Foxy and her dog, Mac -  It's a long story.)
6.  I love medieval mysteries!  I've read all the books in the Cadfael series, the Owen Archer series, and way too many others.
7.  I am exploring the possibility of taking a trip next year to Ireland which is where many of my ancestors came from at least four generations ago.  I'm extremely excited about the possibility of going!

Now I need to pass on the coveted award to 15 newly discovered, or followed bloggers who are fantastic in a really special way.

1.  Marty Rubin at Aphorism Of The Day
2.  ChrisJ at At My Soiree
3.  Susan Bearman at Two Kinds of People
4.  Elizabeth Munroz at Elizabeth Munroz Official Blog
5.  heirloomgardener at heirloom gardener
6.  Linda J. Gross at  Linda's Photo Journal
7.  Iowa Gardening Woman at My Iowa Garden
8.  Meam at Shining History :Medieval Islamic Civilization
9.  Bax at The Celtic Music Fan
10.  Ken at Expat From Hell
11.  Plants at  Plants and more
12.  Stephen Tremp at Breakthrough Blogs
13.  Robert V. Sobczak at  The South Florida Watershed Journal
14.  Dorothy Stahlnecker at Grammology.com
15.  Doreen McGettigan at They say everyone has a story..this is mine..

Now I have to contact all these wonderful bloggers by Monday and let them know!  Please take a few moments and check out Patricia Stoltey's blog, as well as these special bloggers that I've discovered over the past few years.  They all have a variety of blogging gifts that I bet you'll find interesting!