Small pleasures for winter days

 

It's that time of year

Time to whittle down the list of seeds I would love to grow and face the reality of my physical and financial limitations. Some species demand specific conditions to germinate; others take two or three years to break dormancy, and all the time they need to be kept at specific temperatures and levels of moisture. More than once I have forgotten/neglected seeds planted in pots and placed in my seed refrigerator and when discovered found them etiolated beyond redemption. For some I don’t think I have time to start over, but probably will.

Never-the-less I still manage to snatch an occasional moment to muse, reminisce and jot down idle thoughts.

As a teenager I was smitten by one or two classmates, but also fell in love with Chinese and Japanese poetry, to wit Li Po, Tu Fu (Du Fu), Basho and a host of others. Their influence is undeniable. Just finished a new biography of Li Bai (Li Po) and jotted down:

The three hundred cups of Li Po

must have been small.

All I can manage is 7

before I can no longer count the stars.

and a haiku

So many stars tonight

Where is the full moon hiding?

Look! in your wine glass.

Thinking of tackling Finnegan’s Wake yet again.