ribbon

 

Bear Creek sculpts a path

in deep January snow

dark ribbon through white

© 2025 Richard Havenga

Photo Locations: Townsend Park, Kent County - Michigan

Walking on Water

 

Water striders,

buoyant on their springy legs,

skim over the smooth surface,

walk upon the lens of water,

skate across reflected clouds

that float on Bear Creek. 

© 2022 Richard Havenga

Photo Location:

Bear Creek - Townsend Park - Kent County - Michigan

ice bells

 

hung above the stream

my Christmas decorations

ice bells of Bear Creek

© 2021 Richard Havenga

Photo Location: Townsend Park - Kent County - Michigan

Answers

 

When God asks:

"What did you do

with the gifts

you were given?"

How will you answer?

Will you have a

relevant  response prepared?

Will gratitude for

the joy of birdsong

in the spring

be included?

Or the intriguing sound 

of water trickling under 

the surreal patterns 

of paper-thin ice 

on a winter stream?

Did you take some time

to gasp in awe

at the spectacular sunrises

that brightened your many mornings?

Were you mesmerized  

by the absolute silence

of a dark night

while under the domed ceiling

of ancient stars?

© 2021 Richard Havenga

Photo Locations:

1. Cannonsburg State Game Area - Kent County - Michigan

2. Bear Creek - Townsend Park - Kent County - Michigan

3. Grand Teton National Park - Wyoming

4. SaddleBrooke, Arizona

Saturday Morning Backroads V

 

This is the fifth in a series titled: "Saturday Morning Backroads"...

Each time I leave home, I am blessed

to drive past Bear Creek;

but I don't just drive past,

I stop to explore with my camera,

especially in the glorious month of October.

A few miles south of home,

I love to run this one-lane dirt road

especially when the Sugar Maple leaves

are falling gently upon my face and shoulders.

If I'm running "around the block",

a five-mile loop through farm country,

 I am blessed to view our beautiful church:

St. Patrick's of Parnell. 

Above the Flat River

in Fallasburg Park,

I watch a leave's last dance

and its return to the earth.

In the rural countryside,

within white fences,

I admire this centennial farmhouse,

and the thick carpet of  Sugar Maple leaves.

Golden-green veils

of Weeping Willows

frame a Mute Swan

on Big Crooked Lake.

Back home, in my own woods,

I am rewarded by the vibrant leaves

of American Beech, with green midribs,

parallel veins, and sharply acute apex.

I am blessed to live where I live;

grateful for these gifts,

to be able to drive

and run these country roads.

© 2020 Richard Havenga

 

Photo Locations:

1. Bear Creek - Townsend Park - Kent County - Michigan

2. Grattan Township - Kent County - Michigan

3. St. Patrick's Church _ Parnell, Michigan

4. Fallasburg Park - Kent County - Michigan

5. Townsend Park - Kent County - Michigan

6. Grattan Township - Kent County - Michigan

7. Big Crooked Lake - Kent County - Michigan

8. Home Woods - Cannonsburg, Michigan

Please view and read previous posts of "Saturday Morning Backroads":

Saturday Morning Backroads IV ~ October 19, 2015

Saturday Morning Backroads III ~ July 10, 2015

Saturday Morning Backroads II ~ October 8, 2014

Saturday Morning Backroads ~ June 6, 2012

Words Felt

Humble words
waited patiently in lines
until they  grew into groups,
felt comfortable together,
recognized by their meaning,
felt worthy of being heard,
felt honored to be read 
by you.

©2020 Richard Havenga

Photo Locations:

1. Pickerel Lake Park - Fred Meijer Nature Preserve - Cannonsburg, Michigan

2. Bear Creek - Cannonsburg, Michigan

Skaters

Water Striders skate
in jerky strides
over the silky surface
of calmer water
along the shoulders
of the stream.

Along the inside curves,
I lean in slowly;
close enough to see
their delicate feet
dimple the surface film
of the water.

Shadow patterns
outlined in light,
form distinct 
ovals and circles
on the bottom silt. 

© 2019 Richard Havenga

You may also enjoy two previous posts about Water Striders:

Striders ~ June 19, 2012

Striders II ~ June 15, 2015

Photo Locations:

1. Fallasburg Park - Kent County - Michigan

2, 3, 4. Bear Creek - Townsend Park - Kent County - Michigan

Gifts of Winter

Thankful for
the gratuitous
gifts of winter:

Thin crystals of ice

reach like fingers

across frozen streams.

Crows congregate
on naked branches,
calling and cawing.



Clumps of snow
nest
in winter weeds.



Pileated Woodpeckers
hammer
the hardwoods.



Water in rivers
sings a colder,
older song.



Slopes are smoothed
by the simplicity
of snow.

Always grateful
for these wondrous
days of winter.

© 2019 Richard Havenga

Photo Locations:


1. Bear Creek - Townsend Park - Kent County - Michigan

2. Grattan Township - Kent County - Michigan

3. Grattan Township - Kent County - Michigan

4. Home Woods - Cannonsburg, Michigan

5. Grand River - Grand Rapids, Michigan

6. Grattan Township - Kent County - Michigan

Serching for Grace

Autumn leaves 
are landing
softly on the stream.

Like grace trickling
through the moment,
sliding into the future,

floating around the bend,
gathering downstream;

joining
a congregation of others
still searching

for grace.

© 2017 Richard Havenga

Photo Locations:

1. Grand River - Grand Rapids, Michigan

2. Flat River - Fallasburg Park 

3.  Bear Creek - Townsend Park - Kent County, Michigan

Scarlet Fireworks

It's late August.

Towering above the 
deep green of summer
in the dense shade
along Bear Creek;

excessive beauty
expresses itself
in vertical explosions
of scarlet fireworks.

© 2017 Richard Havenga

Cardinal Flower - Lobelia cardinalis

Photo Location: Bear Creek - Cannon Township - Kent County, Michigan 

Here in Winter

Gone are the delicious,
delightful days of spring;

gone are the long,
luxurious days of summer;

gone are the gorgeous,
glorious days of autumn;

now we endure the hard,
harsh days of winter;

drab and dreary,
rigid and relentless;

bleak and brittle,
but wait! ...

Observe with open eyes:

Magical moon shadows
are cast upon the snow.

Winter weeds exhibit
exquisite beauty.

Frozen fields are smoothed
by the simplicity of snow. 

Chickadees bring joy to the feeders.
Woodpeckers still hammer the hardwoods.

A thin skin of ice
fingers the narrow streams.

The glare of white sun
reflects the purity of snow.

Water in winter rivers
sings a colder, older song.

Here in winter 
are frozen lakes
you could walk on.

Here in winter
are wooded trails
you could ski on.

Here are the wonderful,
wondrous days
of winter.

© 2017 Richard Havenga

Photo Locations:

1, 3, & 6. Home Woods - Cannonsburg, Michigan

2. Grattan Township - Kent County, Michigan

4. Bear Creek - Townsend Park - Kent County, Michigan 

5. Grand River - Ada Township - Kent County, Michigan

reflection, reverence

Experiencing the grace
which urges me to share.

Reaching out to touch
the hand of the creator.

Speaking for the mute of creation,
giving voice to the inanimate.

Seeking to make the ordinary
extraordinary.

Using the tools of time:
patience, curiosity,
concentrated awareness,
and focused attention,

I give the honor and glory to God,
and praise his holy name
for his marvelous works;
through recognition,
reflection, reverence,
and prayers filled 
with gratitude,
for the rhythm
of language,
for allowing 
this poem
to be 
born.

© 2016 Richard Havenga

Photo Locations:

1. Bear Creek - Townsend Park - Kent County, Michigan
2. Naples Botanical Garden - Naples, Florida
3. Snake River - Grand Teton National Park - Wyoming

Striders II

Dimpling the surface
of the silky smooth stream
with waterproof feet,
children love to watch you
"walk on the water."

Your long, spindly legs

stretch out in angles
way, way beyond
your narrow cylindrical body
held neatly above the surface.

You thrust yourself forward
making minor ripples
with your long middle legs
acting like oars,
yet you glide smooth and ripple-free.

Your hind legs
become rudders
when you need to steer,
sneaking silently
toward your target.

Your short front legs
are ready to snatch
unsuspecting prey that may
drift into the territory
you patrol with authority.

You are the Strider,
the efficient rider
on the H2O,
and the children say:
"Way to Go!"

© 2015 Richard Havenga

For an earlier, creative non-fiction version, see: Water Striders - June 19, 2012


Photo Locations:

Bear Creek - Townsend Park - Kent County, Michigan

Page Creek - Fallasburg Park - Kent County, Michigan