voice from the past

voice from the past —
mockingbirds
on a high-tension wire

Fluff Fans Find Favor!

A few days ago I had blogged about a Fluff Flap on Beacon Hill here in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. I’m happy to report that
Fluff Found Favor in the eyes of a politician, who abandoned his campaign against the sticky white stuff to concentrate on boycotting sugar-coated breakfast cereals. You heard it here first.

rain delay

rain delay —
the ball boy
signs autographs

(McCoy Stadium — Pawtucket, RI)

thunderclouds

thunderclouds —
my son can’t find
his report card

self-prerequisite

I am determined to write a work of non-fiction entitled:
“How to Read This Book”.

summer solstice

summer solstice —
the dog’s
hot breath

summer solstice

summer solstice —
father robin
patrols the nest

Fighting for Fluff

It warms my heart to know that our Massachusetts Legislature is addressing
issues of substance. My favorite quote from this article: “I’m going to fight to the death for Fluff”.

You think I’m joking?

first day of summer

first day of summer —
wisteria
climbing the walls

Father's Day

Father’s Day —
a bead of sweat
falls from my beer

too hot

too hot to sleep
too hot to kill
the mosquito

more bitter than Extra Special Bitter

India Pale Ale, that is. And by “more bitter” we mean an especially aggressive presence of hops. I paid a visit to Strange Brew armed with a recipe and the plan of a few hours on Father’s Day weekend. The recipe originally called for all-grain, but I panicked at the thought of my beleaguered mash tun and reverted to extract. As it turns out, I had to make several substitutions, therefore I'm going to call the finished product Bitter Old Man IPA.

Here are the ingredients:

6 pints Munton's IPA Bitter extract
1/2 pound Dark Crystal malt
3 oz Chinook Hops
2 oz East Kent Golding Hops
2 oz Fuggles Hops
1 teaspoon Irish Moss
Wyeast 1005 German Ale Yeast

I'll let you know how it tastes in about six weeks.

speaking of dogs...

patch of sun —
the dog
takes a nap

(photo by Mary Melodee Mena
 — Medfield, MA)

tropical storm

tropical storm —
a dog howls
into the wind

Exile on Main Street

Over the weekend my favorite local coffee shop closed. Ironically it wasn’t the Starbuck’s across the street that ran it out of business — over the years the shop had cultivated a significant and loyal clientele. Rather it was a combination of personal crises and an unscrupulous landlord that literally drove the owner out of town.

Am I too old to switch to tea?

endless rain

endless rain —
you never returned
my call

June swoon

June swoon —
the rookie’s curve
doesn’t

Cabo sun

the Cabo sun
never too hot
for the iguana

(photo by Mary Melodee Mena
 — Cabo San Lucas, Mexico)

June showers

June showers —
nobody notices
that I’m late for work

Tales of Brave Ulises

I had already determined that this was Paradise when I met Ulises the bartender. He was busy ruining the perfect figure of an unsuspecting siren. Knowing a noble endeavour when I see one, I bought her next drink. Ulises made it a double.

(Cabo San Lucas, Mexico)

seaside cafe

seaside cafe —
the busboy chases sparrows
from his tray


(photo by Mary Melodee Mena
 — Cabo San Lucas, Mexico)