Poetry Reading Tonight

I will be reading tonight with two wonderful poets: Ralph Murre and Sharon Auberle at Ed Gray's Miskwabik Gallery in Calumet. We will each read from our own works and then do a shared reading from Ralph's new book Psalms. Joe Kirkish will also be signing his new book of photographs published by Miskwabik Press. Should be an interesting evening.

On another note I have picked up three albums by local bands and performers. All good and will have more later on them. But, for now I will highly recommend Erin Smith's Around This Place if you like folk music. Her songs Calumet, Misery Bay, Portage, Around This Place and others are excellent. You can buy this at CDBaby. Samples are available to listen to. I keep listening to Calumet. With a moment to edit I will tell you the other two. Greg Merkle (guitarist) who opened for Iris Dement at the Calumet Theater this month and The Squeaky Clean Cretins. Greg's guitar playing is amazing. The SCC play a mix of music styles. No covers - just their own. Good listen.

Which brings me to winter. Mid-August and already a slight turn in the air. Winter is always lurking, peeking, waiting.
Bears have been in the park lately. Drinking beer, eating steak and cheese, being a general after dark nuisance. I haven't seen one when I have been on night patrol, but they are there. Besides geese, ducks, ravens and buzzards, the only furry animals I've seen are one coyote and a couple of deer, lots of red squirrels, chipmunks, and a vole. On the drive home after dark I have seen bear three times now.

Last weekend we camped with Jason and Micki and the kids. Went up to the summit of Brockway and watched a little of the Perseids. Then on Monday night/Tuesday morning Leona and I went with Elise, Serena and Sara to Bucky's and watched the Perseids over Lake Superior. Moon was pretty bright and Serena said we should have gone up to the Swedetown Hill and we might of seen more. Yet the big lake was beautiful and relaxing. Got home around 1:30 am.

Kristyn will soon be back in The Cities from Korea where she has been teaching English. She and Beth will come over next week and Kristyn will have an interview for a ESL job at Tech.

That's about it.

Except for a couple of recent tanka.

at night
the fort so quiet
my shadow
a hole
in the moonlight


the mom
working so hard
pedaling up hill
towed behid
the child laughs

ta!

Busy weeks at work. The last weekend in July the Battery D (the Civil War encampent) was at the Fort and yesterday was the Copperman Triathelon. Both very busy weekends. Busy is good.

When R came to work this morning a coyote was by the booth. He had gotten into the trash. Someone left BK trash and he figured it was a drive-thru. Only seen a couple of coyotes in the park this year. And so far, no bear. But bear have been seen on either end of town or the park in the past week.

Thimbleberries are beginning to get ripe. Should be a good crop this year. Bilberries, Huckleberries and blue berries have all been good. Service berries (sugar plums) are also getting ripe. When they begin to rot they ferment - drunken birds.

Not much writing lately, but that's okay, the words will come when there is time.