Glen Ferris, WV
blue water lagoon
tranquility eludes me
no way to escape
Linked to CDHK prompt lagoon.
Lagoon: a haiku/haiga
photo101
Antiquing: photos from today
I found these two toasty, rusty pieces quite striking while out antiquing today.
I like the patina from the rust.
This piece struck me as interesting, too. Perhaps the background rug or the lighting, I don’t know, since normally I wouldn’t look twice at this.
Clouds Over the River
There was one photo from our trip to the mountains I forgot to post: it was taken after lunch at the roadside park. I liked it so much I decided to post it today.
I love how the clouds cast shadows on the mountains here abd the general flow of the photo.
Family Day Trip to the Mountains
This week is one of family time; my wife is on vacation and we have our grandson with us all week. Since we are planning a beach trip in August we decided to make this week one of family time and day trips. Yesterday we took a grand adventure to the Hawks Nest State Park area.
We began the day with some fishing at Kanawha Falls. Though I struck out (I was bait and tackle master LOL), everyone else caught a few small to medium sized fish. My grandson even managed to land his first largemouth bass!
After fishing, we went for a picnic lunch up the road at a roadside park, in some much needed shade. The ham and cheese sandwiches were good but the company was better! From our picnic sight you could see the backside of the falls, roped off to keep unsuspecting folks from being swept over into a nasty situation!
From here we drove up to Cathedral Falls. This is a beautiful, natural tourist attraction. I think it was our grandson’s first visit to this sight. You have to cross over this footbridge to gain access to the top of the falls, a very steep and tricky climb which we weren’t prepared to try on this trip. But we were able to get in around the lower area; my family got in there, it’s too uneven for me to ambulate over that terrain.
While they played in the pools of water and took some photos of their own I snapped the above shots and a few more of the bottom of the falls area.
After taking a few photos I decided to have a seat on the covered picnic table near the parking area, a perfect place to take a cursory look at my pictures and enjoy my pipe. As I headed for the covered shelter I noticed a cave on the mountain above and behind it. This area was, long ago, heavily populated with Native Americans; the name Kanawha comes from the indigenous tribe that once inhabited the area. While I can’t say for certain, this could have been an old “Indian cave”.
A possible Indian Cave
Enjoying my corn cob pipe.
I can only imagine who wrote this: It doesn’t look like a child’s penmanship to me and it was about 8′ off the ground so …..
Since the tradition seemed to be for folks to write or carve a message on the table or its shelter I figured I ought not break it. But I didn’t want to be too destructive or obtrusive so I chose to lightly carve my and my wife’s initials with my penknife while I waited. 
Just as I was finishing up my family made their way back to me. We packed up and headed off for a little more adventure …. but that’s another post for, another day – perhaps.
Solitude: a haiku and photo
The word solitude is another, like bliss, that can mean many things depending on the person and/or situation it is used by/in.
A week or so ago my family and I were at a local park which has both a lake and a pond; we were by the lake this day. I don’t recall what we were doing that day but I do remember feeling so very quiet and peaceful: the sounds of the water, the waves and fountain splashing, the fresh air and birdsong were all just comforting to me, a type of solitude. It was at that moment I took this photo, which inspired the following haiku.
waters gentle sounds
fountain ripples it’s surface
peacefulness abounds
What is Bliss?
Bliss, not a word that I use particularly often. What is bliss? Well, I reckon it depends on who’s answering the question. According to the dictionary bliss is:
noun
1.
supreme happiness; utter joy or contentment:
wedded bliss.
2.
Theology. the joy of heaven.
3.
heaven; paradise:
the road to eternal bliss.
4.
Archaic. a cause of great joy or happiness.
A cursory search for #bliss on Twitter turned up many different ideas by many different folks, such as these:
And that is only a few examples.
Family photo from Christmas Day 2014
A collage of the family.
To be honest, I don’t think I have really ever thought about it before now. There are several things that come to mind and almost all of them involve my family. There’s no doubt that some of my happiest memories/occasions occur with/around them.
Then there are our “fur kids”, whose company brings me a lot of joy and company. And also a good number of laughs – and sloppy dog-kisses!
Clockwise from top left- Gypsy, Jack, Petey, and Morkie, who’s crossed the Rainbow Bridge now.
But let me be honest, no matter how much I love and enjoy my family, furry and non-furry alike, there are times when they cause angst, interruption, and general chaos. And if you don’t ever feel similarly some times you’re either a much better person than I am – or a fibber! LOL
After considering the given definition and the varied posts and tweets I saw I am all the more affirmed in my theory that the answer is very relative. However it doesn’t answer the question “What is bliss to me?” I think my answer would have to be the me time I get.
A few of the haiga you’ll find on the blog.
Several mornings a week a wake to an (almost) empty house; the dogs and I don’t work or go to school. 🙂 It’s on these mornings I have my time, time of reflection, time of meditation, time of, well, bliss I reckon. Weather permitting, I’ll load up a pipe, brew a fresh cup of coffee, and head outside to our covered deck. Here I enjoy my pipe, my coffee, and the sights and sounds of Creation. This is the time I connect with God, in prayer and meditation and through the study of His Word. It is also the time when I write, edit, or come up with ideas for writing, be it poems, haiku, lessons. etcetera, this is when most of it happens.These precious hours, filled with quiet contemplation, just me and the Lord, this is my bliss.
My idea of bliss: quiet time with my pipe, coffee, and God.
Swimming By: #Photo101 and haiku
I took my son and grandson fishing at a local lake yesterday. We had a grand time; each of us caught several fish and just enjoyed being outside and with each other.
As we fished these two ducks came swimming by, as if we (or our fishing lines) weren’t even there. I was lucky enough to snap a decent photo just as they got in front of me, a mere two or three yards away.
The scene inspired this little haiku when I looked at it today.
Ducks swim by as the
Light glimmers on the water
With gentle ripples
The Old Bridge: #Photo101 Day 2
This old bridge has been closed for several years now, though it served as the only way in and out of our neighborhood for decades. My grandson loves to look at it: the way nature is reclaiming it fascinates him – and me.
Home
Home: The word has many meanings to each of us, and probably different ones at that. Even though I’m in a very busy period right now, I’m going to try to participate in two blogging classes/events: Blogging 101 and Photo 101, both done by Blogging University at WordPress.
The first “assignment” for the photo class is “home”. I thought about it all day and came to the conclusion that, while many things represent home to me, family is what home really is. And although we were, I think, supposed to take a photo today to post with this idea I’m using one from Christmas 2014 with my whole family (minus the “fur children”) in it because home really is where they are.
Potholes in the Road of Life 