I have decided to keep track of how many bags I refuse at check-out counters each day. Today it was 5, yesterday 3, the day before 7, and so forth. They want to bag the world, I tell you!

Please help me stop them:

1. When next you are asked if you want a bag, say “no.”

2. If they don’t bother to ask and bag it anyway, pull your goodies out of the bag and leave the bag on the counter for the next sucker.

3. If they have managed to distract you enough that you make it out the door with the bag, make good use of it by reusing it until it falls apart, then recycle it.

4. If you are so under their spell that you find yourself pulling your goods out of the bag as you leave the store, and looking for a place to toss the bag, get help! I don’t know of any 12-step groups yet, but I am sure you could find another bag lady to have a cup of coffee (in a mug) with somewhere.

Thank you for your support!

Can’t believe I was sick for nearly a month and missed so much of him. But, he is still gorgeous and precious, as you can see. He slept for 2 hours in my arms - what a joy!

enough with the lights!

in papa’s arms

And a couple from Brenda when he was a week old…

“what the heck is that?”

Go here to the full gallery…

Still beautiful, but very tired, Sasha would not open his eyes and pose for me this time - and I could not distract his mother long enough to pinch him, either…

link to the full gallery here

Sasha Hay is born October 19, 2007. He is beautiful, of course, all 6lbs 4ozs of him. Here are some photos of him, my son Chris, and Sasha’s mother, Brenda.

What a joy - I had almost given up!

View all the photos here.

This is another of my favorite places in Texas. Just 30 miles east of Austin, Lost Pines (Bastrop State Park) is another of those ecological surprises one encounters in Texas. It is perfect for hiking in the summer because it is so shady. And it is very lovely - a lost pine forest, indeed.

Today I was particularly taken by the variety of mushrooms at the park. No surprise, I guess, given the rainfall in Texas this year.

These “golden” mushrooms were by far the coolest, though. They reminded me imediately of my mytho-poet friend, Ric Williams. I can imagine he has written more than one “golden mushroom” poem. If not, he can now…

But, as always, there were other stars of the day. A few good shots of butterflies and dragonflies - but the real star was this gorgeous water spider, spread out in all his glory, just waiting for me to shoot.

It is nice to get back out into the wild…

I am working with an ancient version of WordPress, I know, but I will soon upgrade and get my images on Flickr.

I the meantime:

Here is a better link to my Gallery.

Enchanted Rock State Natural Area is a place I go to seek new beginnings. So it makes sense that I would spend this New Years Eve there.

It seems a large enough accomplishment for most people to just make it to the top of this 430 foot high, 640 acre, big, pink granite rock, let alone take the time to really look at it.

Once at the top, it seems natural to look up - up to the expanse of an endless blue sky - the closest place in Texas to the gods there is. And then, to look out - out to the rolling, green hills of the Texas Hill Country - yes there are rolling, green hills in Texas.

It does not, however, seem natural to look down - after all, we just came from “down.” But down is truly where the beauty is.

I can’t help but think of systems when I look closely at the lichens-covered granite rock that make up this rare paradise: the whole system, the systems that make up the whole, the systems that make up the systems that make up the whole, and, of course, the system that is made up of the wholes…
I hope you enjoy this glimpse into the system called Enchanted Rock. (Click on an image above to see all of the photos.)

Have a happy and prosperous 2007, and don’t forget to look down once in a while!
d

A Day for the Birds

we draw them in closer
entice them with food
& the illusion of safety
and watch

still, that is not enough
closer, we beg, closer
we point and shoot
there, now we have you

but, no, a simple image
no matter the zoom
will not appease us
for long

so we shoot harder
& place them on a backdrop
of our own making
and admire our work

the plastinator has been banned
for attempting such things
perhaps because we are not
as pretty as they & not nearly as easy to kill

(click the image above to see the album)

Though the passage above is a bit harsh, I did enjoy the “Bird Blind” they have in place at this park. There were quite a few migratory birds there as well - grabbing a bite of suet for the road.

The vultures will always be my favorite, though…

Red Tide

it is red algae
the ranger explains
he is so young, i think,
it must be intern week

it releases an odor like
ammonia, he continues
he doesn’t know, i think,
how i grew up on the coast

my allergies must be
getting worse, i think,
as i cough with every breath
it passes, though, as i head inland

and, sometimes, i also think
of what death will feel like to everyone else

(click the image above to see all the photos)

I often tell people that I do not like my poetry - but that I can’t not write it. I have managed, however, to not write it for some time now, and am thinking that it would be a good idea to start back up again - especially with this fractured ankle keeping me from hiking - argh!

For now, though, here are some pieces that have been published over the past few years:

Judgments

our judgments
are often timely
as though clinging
to that dusky moment of the day
when it seems impossible to discern
whether our own headlights are on
but glaringly obvious that everyone else’s are

© Copyright Deltina Hay, 2004
Published, in the Sorin Oak Review, Volume 15

September

only a month away from the first snow now
summer seems a shorter distance
from the sun each year
i will love the first blanket
soft and clean
it will lay like fresh linen upon the trees
i may even love the second
tucking winter in
under its crystalline quilt
but the third
no
not the third
heavy with the weight
of the flurry to follow
i will sweat
uncomfortable
beneath it

Copyright 2004, Deltina Hay
Published in the Texas Poetry Journal, Spring 2005

The Moment

We walk in silence, the six of us
My lover and I, the two in front
and the two to my right
Bundled against the cold
we walk rhythmically in the dark
Our silence becomes an amplifier
for the echo of footsteps and Gortex
We round a corner and pause in awe
at the size and beauty of the harvest moon
As if afraid of the light
the two in front scurry to the back
And the two to my right
find shelter amongst the trees
It is one of those moments I muse
that one wants in memory forever
My thoughts turn to plans of whispering
romantic reflections in my lover’s ear
Profound reflections that will surely
make the moment outstanding
I reach my gloved hand around him
set it gently on his shoulder
Gortex on Gortex shrieks through the silence
like nails on a chalkboard
He jumps, startled, screams in surprise, “what the…?”
My heart races, my ego bruises, “sorry” I manage
Mere seconds pass and we embrace the silence again
Dark, rhythmic, echoes
Having failed in my attempt to control the moment
I return to watching shadows

© Copyright 2002, Deltina Hay
Published, in the Sorin Oak Review, Volume 13