The Seeking Moon

So often I see the September full moon called the harvest moon, and it is certainly a fitting name. As the full moon lit the sky the other night, I drove my oldest daughter and my exchange daughter to judo class. The moon was low and large, illuminating the lake with a cool wash of light. On the way home, very late in the evening, road-side farm markets were bathed in moon glow. At one market, shadows danced betwixt wagons overflowing with pumpkins and bushel baskets filled with hardy mums.

My favorite source for moon names, however, refers to September's full moon as "The Seeking Moon." That name intrigues me... slows me down to contemplate it's meaning. The Dalai Lama said, "I believe that the very purpose of our life is to seek happiness. That is clear. Whether one believes in religion or not, whether one believes in this religion or that religion, we are all seeking something better in life. So, I think, the very motion of our life is towards happiness..."

What are you seeking, as September mellows into October and the earth offers up her bountiful harvest?

photo Aisling, September 27, 2007

Poetry Thursday - Tanka

According to ShadowPoetry.com, tanka is "a classic form of Japanese poetry related to the haiku with five unrhymed lines of five, seven, five, seven, and seven syllables. (5, 7, 5, 7, 7)" Here is a nice description of "American Tanka." Though I do not see it mentioned in these two websites, one of the things that originally led me to choose this form of poetry for my youngest child, was the mention of the "unexpected." He often does what I least expect!

With those explanations of Tanka in mind, I wrote the following this morning (though I have not included the "unexpected" element as well as I perhaps should have):

The road through autumn
is freckled with falling leaves
scattered by the wind.
One morning, frost gilds the earth
in silver bits of winter.

~ Aisling, September 27, 2007

photo by Aisling, 9/25/07, the garden path

Sunday Stroll - Autumn Arrives...

I usually buy one new variety of mum each year, unless a friend gifts me with some. Taking these photos this morning, I realized that I didn't have any orange mums, so I bought an orange mum called "warm igloo" (not in any of the photos) this afternoon at the nursery. I also bought two orange crocosmias. I guess it was my day to add orange to the garden. All I need now is a few pumpkins on the porch.

photos by Aisling, 1) Echo Bronze Mum 2) red mums 3) last year's red mum 4) pink mums transplanted from my sister-in-law's garden 5) yellow "Dendranthema" mums 6) another red mum 7) violet-pink mums shared by a family friend 8) little yellow mum purchased as a $1 bargain plant late last autumn, growing with blue veronica.

Meditation

(Written yesterday afternoon)

This is the last day of summer, but it is not the ending of anything, nor a corner sharply turned. It is but the wide, slow turning of the year. There will still be summer-blue skies and bursts of warm air. And yet, soon there will be hints of winter's approach: frost on the pumpkin vines or snow on Halloween.

This afternoon, the seed-laden heads of the sunflowers are bowed in patient, harvest-ready, meditation, beneath this year's last sky of summer.

Sunflower Photos by Aisling, September 20, 2007

Poetry Thursday - Sijo (Again!)

Taking a couple of weeks off of Poetry Thursday was apparently not a very good idea. Rather than picking up with my next child's "namesake" poetry, I accidentally researched Sijo again and wrote another. I thought things sounded awfully familiar, but since several of these Asian poetry styles are similar, I didn't realize my mistake until this evening. Since I wrote this today, I will go ahead and share it, and begin with Tanka next week. (If I post Sijo for three times in a row, start to worry about me! *grin*)

So, with all of that said, here is my second attempt at Sijo:

Oh swift running time slow down; I'm leaving unfinished days behind.
I will sit beneath the elm tree, and rest my eyes for a while.
Let the wild grape vines grow, and tie me to this earth while I dream.

~ Aisling, Sept. 20, 2007

I read the following Sijo on the aforementioned website. It takes my breath away.

Oh that I might capture the essence of this deep midwinter night

And fold it softly into the waft of a spring-moon quilt

Then fondly uncoil it the night my beloved returns.
~ Hwang Chin-i (1522-1565) most revered female Korean classical poet

photo by Aisling, September 20, 2007, late summer re-bloom

Last September's Garden...

For the past year, I have been sharing little glimpses of my Quiet Country Life through photos and prose. September 13th was my "One Year Blogiversary." In honor of that, I am sharing a few photos from last September's garden, and a link to my first post on this blog. Thank you for reading!

Read my first post here: The Quiet Country House

photos by Aisling, September 16, 2006: 1) Seashells Cosmos 2) Heavenly Blue Morning Glory 3) Blue Scabiosa "Pincushion Flower"

A Rainy Monday Afternoon...

Hello Friends!

I cannot believe that I have not posted to my blog yet in September. With five children in the house and the school year underway, my role as "social director" and chauffeur has become busier than ever. In addition to getting everyone to their activities, I have one college course this autumn and will be beginning a part time job. I have some training sessions this week, and then next week will begin my role as a one-on-one aide for a student in a nearby school.

I was sorry to miss posting for Poetry Thursday last week, and will have to miss it again this week because of a busy agenda for the day. I hope to resume my exploration of various types of poetry next week.

It is rainy and cool this afternoon. I don't mind. If it was warm and sunny, I would have wanted to spend the morning in the garden instead of indoors doing housework, college course work, and reading with little Tanka. He wrote his name independently for the first time today. It is wobbly and so cute, and some of the letters are "inside out and backwards." (Yes, I dated it and set it aside to save!)

My clock tells me it is about time to make another run to the bus stop, so I'll bring this to a close. I hope to catch up on reading blogs and emails soon! Take care!

Sunflower Field just over the property line, September 8, 2007, photo by Aisling