Author Archives: kaweah

In Geologic Times

by kaweah

Not so long ago,
I came upon Half Dome
half done, shrouded
in oak scaffolding.

Squinting my eyes,
I noted stocky little men
on the network of hardwood
toothpicks
with rosy cheeks and
beards like their bellies,
some chiseling away at the granite,
some polishing.

Looking again at all that
scaffolding, I recalled
how spacious the forests
and the meadows had been
before the white rangers came
and saved everything, and then
I thought, well,
these guys did it!

But what about the glaciers,
I inquired of one of the little people
who’d come by to offer me a pint.

What’s a glacier, he asked me.
Some kind of elf?

© 2013 Kaweah

 

Plan B from Outer Space

by kaweah

Okay. I can see now
that it’s not going to happen.
I have a backup plan.
What we need is
a way to pull it off
without me.
Here’s what you do.
First, you must make certain
that I’m not around.
Others may be there.
Just make sure
that I’m not one of them.

An empty chair is a good start, or
an empty space between chairs,
if an empty chair can’t be found.

A glass of water will do,
thanks.
An empty glass would do
even better.

I’m ready when you are.
Oh—about the check:
We can go Dutch.

© 2013 Kaweah

 

River Mercy

by kaweah

At his feet she is laid resting,
holding up the sun to him;
she presses it
up into his boughs,
and carelessly drops the rays
to filter through him.

And he sees his self
image in her
reflections.

She naps between them
this afternoon.
She is her blood; together
they stain the rocks
and earth emerald.

She doesn’t rush about meadows
searching for leaves.

She sits napping in them,
flirting with the sun;
her dreaming eyebrows
laugh at time.

She comprehends me (I stand
ankle deep on the warm,
round pebbles;

I watch the still
currents of thought), and I—

I feel the way she thinks.

She wanders in her musings
against her crescent banks
and canyons.

she grinds them
with her snow fists and
tramples them
with her dall hooves and

I see that they love her.

© 2013 Kaweah

 

Cactus

by kaweah

Good and bad are like
Darkness and day,
Night and light,
Some people say.

But hush, shy world,
Let us whisper and conspire:
the sun has flown away.

Will you be my arbiter
between beauty and
truth, nightflower?

A bursting, jubilant wildfire
of crisp color sleeps by day
in her casket of aridgreen
stained leather leaves, while

the world spins
mad in the void
spawning evil and good
by the clock, but

she blossoms
in background
radiation.

He rolls, whispering,
laying his worldshade
on the houses and the rooms.

Her folded fingers shield
her shaded dreams
from the harmful frequencies
that burn the day.

until gentle
eyes of night
peel her thorny blankets back
with desire and darkness
to a defenseless finery
of petals.

© 2013 Kaweah

 

El Capitan and Yosemite Falls

by kaweah

Alex and Maddie expressed interest in going backpacking this summer, so they joined Michael and I on a two-night trip down Yosemite Creek from Tioga Pass Road. Good water was a bit hard to find, but we did alright. The weather was wonderful, and we even had a neighborly “controlled burn” near camp.

It had been 30 years since my brother David and I had camped above Upper Yosemite Fall during one very warm and sunny Spring Break. David and I had a great time listening to Dr. Ruth Westheimer talk sex on our little AM/FM radio, and we also hiked out to the rim at night to see the Falls glow in the moonlight—to say nothing of lights down in the valley.

© 2013 Kaweah

South Rim 2013

by kaweah

This last weekend Michael and I headed to Yosemite for some day hiking. We had to abort the Upper Fall trail because I started to overheat and got light-headed. We then drove up to the Taft Point Trailhead and walked a loop from Sentinel Dome to Taft Point — a fabulous hike. Towards the end, Michael’s boots gave him trouble so he went barefoot.

© 2013 Kaweah

Vogelsang 2013

by kaweah

Michael’s first overnight backcountry trip, and we do it in style! We spent the first night at Tuolumne Meadows to acclimatize, and then headed up the JMT and then the trail to Vogelsang, Yosemite’s highest High Sierra Camp. Great food, good games, and careful with that wood stove if you don’t want to cook everyone in the tent cabin! It turns out I would have been more comfortable on the ground, but my own fault for overfeeding the thing.

© 2013 Kaweah

Uvas Canyon

by kaweah

On MLK Day, the BioScouts headed up to Uvas Canyon in search of ladybugs. Unfortunately, the ladybugs did not cooperate, but the waterfalls did, and Dogscout got in some swimming, the plant species were clearly marked, and the light was good for snapshots.

©2013 Kaweah

Coyote Creek

by kaweah

This week, Sunday school was held along the banks of Coyote Creek. This was Dogscout’s first official outing, and she made the most of it by taking a dip in the creek. The scouts took note of several different plant species, took some samples, spooked a duck and a cottontail, and learned the fine art of spotting a good skipping stone in the wild. We also stumbled upon a rather sophisticated homeless camp, which appeared to be vacant at the time, perhaps because the 49ers were about to take on the Atlanta on TV.

©2013 Kaweah

The Tidelands Loop

by kaweah

After our visit to Ardenwood Farm on Saturday, the Bioscouts headed over to the wildlife refuge nearby to do some birdwatching.

After orienting ourselves at the visitor center, we walked out to Newark Slough and walked the Tidelands Loop. We were surprised to find that dogs are permitted on the trails, and began to feel pangs of guilt about leaving the dogscout at home. We encountered a variety of bird species, though not in large numbers.

We enjoyed watching the grebes disappear on their long submarine dives. Michael found some good salt crystal specimens.

©2013 Kaweah