Essence of Summer

 

I step onto the deck

this fine July morning

and a Carolina Wren

fills my ears with its

repertoire of joyful song.

Then on the front porch

the air is infused 

with the unforgettable

fragrance of Phlox.

Tall towers of Hollyhocks

stretch for the sun;

their cups of color

flaring like small trumpets.

Heavy humidity creates

brilliant diamonds of dew

clinging to blades of grass

that dazzle in the early sun.

Lovely, lavender Balloon Flowers

burst into five pointed petals

revealing a network

of deep purple veins.

From the field to our east,

the well-known scent

of fresh-cut hay

drying in windrows.

With senses alert,

I am blessed in this place,

absorbing the sensuous

essence of summer.

© 2023 Richard Havenga

Photo Locations:

1. Six Mile Cypress Slough Preserve - Fort Myers, Florida

2. 3. 4. & 5. Home Garden - Cannonsburg, Michigan

6. Grattan Township - Kent County - Michigan

Wind Instruments

Out in these rolling fields,
the wind is caressing
the tall and slender grasses,
and the tawny heads of wheat,

wishing to create pastoral music
before the grass becomes hay,

before the stalks become straw,
before the remnants
become short, stiff, stubble
void of melody.

© 2016 Richard Havenga

Photo Locations:

1. & 4. Lowell Township - Kent County, Michigan

2. & 3. Grattan Township - Kent County, Michigan

Hay for Horses

windrows of alfalfa
and timothy grass
line the rolling hills

high summer sunshine
and soft, warm winds
gently stroke the leaves dry

making hay for horses
to taste next winter

when the winds are brittle
and the arc of the sun is low

© 2016 Richard Havenga

Photo Locations: 

1. Grand Teton National Park - Wyoming 

2, 3, 4, & 5 - Grattan Township, Kent County, Michigan 

Inhale

When fields grow thick
with  green alfalfa
and begin to to flower in mid-June;

when juicy stems 
of timothy grass
raise tall tufts of pastel;

when the sweet scent
of freshly-cut hay
lies drying in sunny windrows;

that's when we shall walk again
on these remote, rural roads
and inhale the memories.

© 2015 Richard Havenga

Photo Locations:

1. Lowell Township - Kent County, Michigan

2. Franciscan Life Process Center -Lowell, Michigan

3. Grattan Township - Kent County, Michigan

4. Canon Township - Kent County, Michigan

A Few Seconds

A tight cluster
of Cedar Waxwings
spilled suddenly
from the canopy
of tall Red Oaks;
leaves green and glossy
in bright summer sun.

 

 

 

They flew fast
with direction
and purpose,
over the field
scattered with
round bales
of hay.

Then disappeared.

Into the
dense foliage
of Silver Maples
lining the riverbank.

When you first heard
their high-pitched
whistles, did you
                               quickly
                                            look up
                                                         to catch
                                                                      their
                                                                             passing
                                                                                          flight? 

Did this little
squadron of joy
quicken those
few seconds
of your day?

© 2013 Richard Havenga



Photo Locations:

1. & 2. Pickerel Lake Park - Fred Meijer Nature Preserve,  (Pickerel)  Kent County,  Michigan

3. White Cloud,  Michigan

4. & 5.  Grand River, (Grand)  Lowell, (Lowell)  Michigan  (Michigan)

Cedar Waxwing - Bombycilla cedrorum

The Watcher

This June afternoon
timothy and brome grass,
closely bunched together,
wave in the wind with
silver-green undulations.

To be browsed upon by deer
when dusk secretly returns.

Then mowed for hay
when the sun can promise
three good drying days.

But now, wind passes invisibly
through the wide summer sky,
pulling at scarves of clouds.

But here, in this hayfield,
the grasses wave at the watcher,

as the wind rushes through
unseen.








(Click on photos to enlarge)

Photo Locations:  Parnell,  (Parnell)  Lowell,  (Lowell)  Kent County,  Michigan (Michigan)