To the person who left An old, deflated basketball In your back yard
To Mother Nature Who picked it up Carried it to the next house Then the next Until it rested on a muddy bank That belonged
To a chocolate lab Who rescued it Claimed it As his own
To the countless hours Through rain, snow, dust and sunlight Spent catching, jumping and loving this half-deflated Junk that no one else wanted
To the person Who thought that deflated Meant not useful enough Who tossed it aside
To the universe who knew That a chocolate lab needed it
To the water That brought it where it needed to be
To Koda who Loves, loves, loves His first, dirty, lumpy basketball That the universe gifted him another
To the universe Who knew that a chocolate lab (and their human) Would spend countless hours in the yard Playing, catching and listening
To the universe Who knew that two, lumpy, half-deflated basketballs meant More fresh air, more exercise, a friend and friends
To the basketballs who often sit on our front porch Lovingly named “Outside Balls”
Thank you
If you liked what you read, considering following me on Instagram @ajmorse_writes and follow my Facebook page A. J. Morse. My poetry book Walking in Cemeteries is available on Amazon here: https://a.co/d/cAsZUxa
For more of Koda, our chocolate lab, you can follow him on instagram @kodabear_thebud.
Once upon a time, there was a dog who fell in love with a basketball.
He found it one stormy, November day floating in the stream behind his house and claimed it as his own.
Then, for the next nine months, he carried it around the yard everywhere with him. On walks…to go pee…to sniff in the stream for frogs and tasty bits of grass.
…for more on Koda’s basketball, tune in next Monday for a new poem! š
Mike and I took a long vacation his year, and it was fabulous. Last year we were in Utah, and we just didn’t get enough of the West, so this year we headed out there again…
We were gone 18 days, drove over 6,000 miles, passed through 16 states and visited 7 national parks in total. It was a whirlwind of an adventure…and although, it was a TON of driving which I think we might pass on for next vacation…it was a lot of fun.
Grand Canyon
Arches National Park
We purchased one of those annual passes for the National Parks, and we visited:
Badlands National Park
Yellowstone National Park
Grand Teton National Park
Grand Canyon
Bryce Canyon
Arches National Park
Black Canyon National Park.
Fountain View from our room at the Bellagio (26th floor) Las Vegas baby!
Paonia, Colorado
Hoover Dam
Attractions we got to see (not in order):
Hoover Dam
Las Vegas strip
Colorado Mountains (annd Mike’s Grandma on our way through)
This was the first thing we saw upon entering Yellowstone. Just a buffalo trotting down the opposite side of the road. Like, no big deal, guys. I’m just here, doing buffalo things…
Old Faithful
Falls in Yellowstone
Animals we saw (some we’ve never seen before):
Black Bear, Grizzly Bear, Elk, Moose, Prairie Dog, Buffalo, and deer.
This trip made our relationship stronger, we learned how to be more aggressive drivers (you gotta be in some urban areas), and it reminded us that life is short and you must enjoy it where you can. Life can be stressful, and it really shouldn’t be. Don’t let work (especially work) weigh you down. All the money in the world is not worth your heath or your happiness.
Badlands National Park
Morning Star Pool in Yellowstone
Yellowstone Lake
Bryce Canyon
This is my favorite picture out of the whole vacation, guys. Lake Jackson in Grand Teton National Park.
I hope everyone is having a great summer and enjoying life’s little joys where you can.
On our vacation this year, Mike and I played the license plate game. We made a list of all 50 states and checked off all the license plates we saw on our drive out to Utah. The only state besides Hawaii we couldn’t collect was Rhode Island, and guess which state’s license plate we saw last night in the Buffalo Wild Wings parking lot around here?!
From New York to Utah, we saw 48 license plates, not including Hawaii and Rhode Island. (RI was our holy grail of license plates until last night). We also saw two Canadian plates and one from Mexico. It was fun and it was exciting and it passed the time. I wish I was back on that road trip, seeing sights that I have never seen before.
This post is about three weeks late, but it is fun to reminisce on the fun times we had. Hey, if you missed part 1 and part 2 of our vacation you can click on the links to view them.
This was probably the best time I have ever had…and I’m trying to find another vacation to compare, but I really can’t.
After about two and a half days of driving, Mike and I made it to our KOA in Cedar City, Utah. The campgrounds are about an hour away from Zion National Park. The tent sites were very close together and at first I didn’t like it at all but then I shook myself a bit. I was on vacation! Why was I complaining?
We got our tent up very quickly, and it was really all a matter of getting dinner for the night and going to bed.
We found a diner about two minutes down the road from the KOA, called “All American Diner.” Anytime Mike and I can find a great diner, with good, cheap food, we call it a special treat.
The next day we headed to Zion National Park. The first day, we hiked the emerald pools trail, which was about a 5 mile round trip. A good portion of it was climbing up hill; I wasn’t prepared to climb it in about 110 degree heat. We took plenty of water and had our snacks, but the heat, man.
When we got back to the car that first day, the car’s thermometer registered 117 degrees!But while hiking, you’re walking up sand that’s so hot you can feel the heat burn through your sneakers. The sun beats down on your hat covered head and you long for shade, like you long for cold water when your throat is dry and your tongue feels thick.
That’s also what makes the pools you see on this hike so special; it is like a small oasis in the middle of this desert climate, but the hike is more difficult the higher up you go.
The trail becomes steeper, narrower; the shade trees are a little bit more sparse. I was struggling to catch my breath in the heat and wondered if it was all worth it. And then you come around a bend in the trail and that view. That. View.For one delicious, corny second, you feel like you are the only person on earth, and this view was made just for you. Now, mind you, I am a very easily entertained person…so that might have something to do with it. But, seriously, guys. If you can’t appreciate a view like this and call it nothing less than phenomenal, there’s something wrong with you.
This is the second pool, about two-thirds of the way up the trail.
At the very top of the trail, were these squirrels that kept hanging around, hoping for some snacks or trail mix. It’s $100 fine to feed the animals in the park, but kids can’t resist…not very often you have wild animals hanging around near your feet, and trying to climb into your backpack.
And if you make it to the very top, there is a larger pool of water at the very top. It looks like a small beach in the middle of the mountains. If you were allowed to swim in it, if there weren’t so many people trying to catch their breath, it might have felt more magical. But by that time, I think the heat had really done Mike and I in.
Afterwards, we got food at the park and then headed back to our campsite. The further we got from Zion, thankfully, the cooler it became. A 99 degrees felt practically chilly compared to 110…kinda. Not really. But what fun we had!
Next day, we hiked the Narrows! And then after that, the Grand Canyon.
Feeling the Sunday night blues a lot tonight. Whenever there is a job to go to on Monday, the blues sink in and it’s hard not to feel sorry for yourself, your sudden lack of weekly freedom and the fact that being creative is always put on the back burner when it comes to paying bills, having a place to live, etc.On a happier note, thought I’d share some pictures of an early birthday present that Mike got me. I used to have an older model of the simple touch nook, but the poor thing died on me a few years ago.
I love having one again and I discovered my digital copy of Maggie Steifvater’sĀ The Raven Boys,Ā which is one of my favorites. I almost forgot I had it and it was a nice surprise for me. Don’t you love finding things that you didn’t realize you had?
Anyway, this weekend passed quickly. Too quickly. Mike and I went to a spring festival around in here in upstate NY, the weather was beautiful and we are fast discovering that Summer is bringing back with it all the freedoms that we missed and love: sunshine, vacation, and camping!
We are in the middle of planning a camping trip to happen in a few weeks; I am happy to spend some days hiking, sitting around a camp fire and being with the one I love, though sometimes I think he doesn’t realize just how much.
These are the days of summer, people: my birthday, no seasonal depression and days spent discovering the earth again in all its beauty; in all it’s rich, glorious beauty…
I hope everyone had a great weekend! (And if these coming days are your ‘weekend’ I hope those are great as well!)
I’ve been working on a story/writing for the better part of 2 hours, mostly because I am bored and mostly because I am procrastinating doing laundry – but the reason I decided to post was this: I just realized something.
There is a big difference between writing a story, and immersing yourself in that story. Sometimes you write on the page, but you never become involved. There’s a difference between staying in the present world that you are writing, and emerging into that world, where the sights, scents and conversation is what is around you – not the hum of the fan next to your computer screen, or the traffic outside, or the typing of your hands wandering across your keyboard.
Immerse yourself into that world fellow writers. Become one with the scents, the sounds, the people. It is jarring to come back from such a world sometimes, but if this is what needs to be done, then, hey, I’m all for it.
Now, what was I doing again?
Ah, being a writer really is a lonely thing sometimes. Only we see the world that we are writing and it is sometimes hard to explain to others why they can’t interrupt that thought process.
I compare it to waking up a sleep-walker. Don’t wake up the sleep-walker! It’s all disorienting and confusing. That’s why I always tell my boyfriend: don’t interrupt me when I’m in the middle of writing, its like waking me up from a deep sleep, yanking me away from a world prematurely. (And believe me he’s done it a couple of times, grumble, grumble).
Let the writer wake up in her own time. Ah, but anyway I digress.
Become one with the story…don’t be afraid to dive in! That’s all.
Happy Writing!Ā And to those that are experiencing warmer weather (finally): Big Smiles! Summer is finally here!
Well, May passed by in a blur! Can’t believe that it is June already! But, as I am a June baby (my birthday is next week, June 7th! Yeah, baby!) I love that Summer is just about here and all the things that come with it!
I love the heat, the lightning bugs, the sound of a screen door slamming shut; the hum and croak of bull frogs in the pond next to my house, the crickets singing in the grass.
Pine Cradle lake. A camping trip a few years ago…
Ah, Summer…
I love that it is the time of flip-flops and tank tops and shorts and sun-glasses. A time where sweaty socks are forgotten and tucked in the back of an underwear drawer somewhere, and you can slap, slap, slap, your way through cold, air-conditioned super markets. There’s something satisfying about the feel of feet slapping across a smooth, solid floor…
I love the food of summer time: hotdogs, and jello, and pasta salads; pies and watermelon, strawberry short-cake, ice cream, s’mores and iced tea.
And with all these delicious foods come the outings: picnics, cookouts and camping and trips next to the lake…
My girls! ā¤
Nights out on the town with girlfriends in the sweltering summer heat, drinking rum-and-coke, and moving with a freedom that doesn’t happen in winter. Your body is like liquid and moves where you want it to, finally released from the burden of bulky winter clothes…a summer breeze that caresses bare shoulders, like a soft blanket…
Everything is life, life, life and the world is humming, waiting to be explored!
Summer is exciting! I love it when everything comes back to life again and myself with it! Although I have been rather busy with work lately, I look forward to the time spent with friends and the mini-vacations that we have planned! (Still need to post updates on past trips!) Exciting days ahead! š
Went to the Pennsylvania Grand Canyon with one of my girlfriends memorial day weekend! š So Beautiful!
My goal is to post here at least once a month, although I certainly want to post more with pictures of trips and adventures and such! Hope everyone is enjoying the warmer weather! Got any exciting plans?
Soo, this weekend was a busy one…saw Nemo in 3D, went to a memorial service, shot some bow and arrows at a sporting event at a local church-camp, held some adorable barely month-old kittens and went to an ordination ceremony last night.
Well, Nemo 3D wasn’t as impressive as I thought it’d be, the memorial service was sad but beautiful, and the shooting just left me sore. (I have a chiropractor appointment on Wednesday.)
My mother holding two of the gray and white kittens. There are really four of them…when I am there again, I will take more pictures.
My aunt has these adorable kittens and when they are old enough…I’ll get to take one home! Yay! And the ordination ceremony was interesting, (my brother-in-law was getting ordained as a minister)…
Anyway, the point I was trying to make was this:
Woke up with a sore throat and sinus headache this morning, so I must have caught something at that ceremony last night, uggh!
So here I am huddled on the couch with a blanket, my laptop and some soothing music and wondering how sleepy NyQuil will actually make me…I doubt it’s advisable to apply for jobs in a drug-addled state…hmm…
But of course I did everything else this weekend, instead of writing. I managed to create another cover page for a story…but nope, no writing done…
It made me think about some of the things that I’ve read from other writers on here:Ā How a writer is an observer. Sometimes we become so preoccupied with observing, that we forget that we are also part of the reality that we live in.
Some emphasize that as a writer, it is just as important to live your life outside of the fiction world. Although things were certainly busy enough this weekend, it is something that I seem to be having more and more trouble with lately. Living in reality. Instead of zoning out…plotting, planning, hearing character’s voices in my head…
***One of the songs I was just listening to. I love the music in the Chronicles of Narnia movie. Another fine example of losing yourself in another reality!***
As the winter months come upon us, I start to dread it a little more…
Every year since I was a senior in high school, I’ve had what people call “the winter blues.” My doctor diagnosed it as “Seasonal Affective Disorder,” where my mood, attention span, etc. seems to be dependent on how much sunlight we may or may not get in a given winter. (I know, move some place warmer, silly! As soon as I get moolah, that might just be my plan!)
There is some correlation between serotonin and the brain, and for some reason, in the winter months…things are a little ‘off’ for me.
Things are certainly better than they were. I have a special sunlight lamp, my diet is much better and I try to exercise more, but there is something else that I notice. As I lose focus on the reality around me, I am able to lose myself in my writing and fictional worlds just a little bit more.
Anyone ever notice that a lot of great writers suffer or have suffered from some form of Depression? Robert Frost…Sylvia Plath…just to name a few…(one day I will do the proper research!)
While I am in no way planning to shut my head in an oven door, I find it interesting that as I become more withdrawn from the real world, the fictional world is welcoming me back with open arms.
This summer, I had the best summer of my life. (Everyone loves a summer romance!) I saw new places, I spent more time with my friends than I ever have before. I see this summer as bright and shining, full of sunshine a warm yellow; and the bright, rippling blue lakes that I drove by when I went to and from various places in the Finger Lakes area.
Me and some girlfriends at Robert Treman state park earlier this summer. (I’m in the brown t-shirt.) What a beautiful day!
And for the first time in about a year: I didn’t write.
Four months went by. I hadn’t written a single thing. (Handsome guys will do that to a girl…) But it makes me question myself. Should I still call myself a writer?
My notebooks didn’t get forgotten…I still had them with me wherever I went. I jotted down a few ideas, came up with a character name, a different story plot, but I didn’t string more than three or four sentences together. No dialogue got written. I might have started two paragraphs in a story and then, hey, there was swimming to be done, and kissing and movies to watch and cuddling…
But here I am, back to reality. Ironic, really. Summer romance done, full-time job over. The reality that I lived in this summer was probably as close to a fiction one as I’ve ever saw myself in.
I suppose the idea is this: When dreams aren’t being fulfilled in reality, I try to live them in the fiction world. What happens then, when I have a really good day?
Hmm, it’s a troubling thought. But I understand, (maybe more than some,) how important it is to maintain a good balance.
And I blame it on that movie, The Words…damn that clever, thought-provoking writing!
“Eventually, all writers have to make a choice,” says a character in the film. Do you live in the fictional world? Or maintain a grasp on reality?
Hmm. Here’s a thought: Why can’t a person do both??
But while hiking, you’re walking up sand that’s so hot you can feel the heat burn through your sneakers. The sun beats down on your hat covered head and you long for shade, like you long for cold water when your throat is dry and your tongue feels thick.
For one delicious, corny second, you feel like you are the only person on earth, and this view was made just for you. Now, mind you, I am a very easily entertained person…so that might have something to do with it. But, seriously, guys. If you can’t appreciate a view like this and call it nothing less than phenomenal, there’s something wrong with you.
A. J. Morse 