Fog rolls over Echo
Smell of damp dry chaparral
Brown Fall palette
I drink a cup of tea
I greet many, “Good
Morning” runners, ramblers, dog-
walkers, welcome Fall
Walking Project 041_fall- orange – Echo mountain from chris worland on Vimeo.
Category: Tanka/Haiku (Page 4 of 4)
Neon street walkers roam
the high village, green parrots
nap on high voltage
Someone’s getting a new washer
and dryer; old tv and bball net
left for recycling across the street
Trash collectors, painters
Landscapists, trail builders
All wear neon too
–Someone said TV would produce one hundred million idiots.
–Is that so? What does that mean?
–It means all Japanese will become idiots.
–That would be pretty terrible. But what does it really mean?
scene from Ohayō by Yasujiro Ozu
Read about Yasujiro Ozu,
Walking Project 030_ohayō-altadena crest from chris worland on Vimeo.
Walking Project 023_shadows – Cucamonga Peak via Middle Fork from chris worland on Vimeo.
Bumble bees feast on
wild sage, yuccas in full bloom
Hot last day of spring
On this day, the eve of the summer solstice, Death Valley recorded temperatures of 127 ºF. That’s only 7ºF short of the hottest recorded temperatures on earth-56.7°C (134°F), 7/10/1913, Death Valley. Meanwhile, skiers are still hitting the slopes in the Sierras, thanks to a record snowpack. To celebrate, I went for a strenuous ramble. The idea was to gain altitude to find lower temperatures and, barometric pressure willing, a mountain breeze. According to this New York Times article, I should have prepared beforehand. A new study seems to have found that acclimation–performing workouts in high temperatures for five days leading up to your event–yields the best results. There’s another method though, that’s a lot more fun. You precool your body by wearing frozen underwear.
Rambling by old pines
monumental verticals
spines of open books
I took the Vivian Creek trail to reach Old Greyback, Mt San Gorgonio, the highest summit in Southern California.
Walking Project 022_upleftrightdown – Mt San Gorgonio from chris worland on Vimeo.
The fog rolled up the canyon
Cold, wet, swift and foreboding
All the creatures in the forest
At once heeded the warning
For every living soul surely knew
When the hills disappear from view
Thorny, bug-eyed, spiky beasts
Fill the forest floor with fear
The warm-blooded brown lizard
Felt his temperature dropping
Sensible, he scurried silently
Into a rotting tree trunk
The mighty black working ant
Veered off the scented line
To await the gloom passing
In the warm folds of a burnt pine
Equally frightened, the chipmunk
Clinging to a stricken weary giant
Went into hiding, chirping on the downbeat
A meek repetitive deterrent chant
Lazily the brave scarlet ladybug
Wise and confident of the storm’s passing
Opted not to fly away home
But drug its carapace to safety
The creek became a raging torrent
The breeze swelled into gale
Shadows melted into thick icy air
Not silent but full of dread
Flirting and fluttering high above this drama
The raven cawed a fantastic warning
Which, to the beasts below
Sounded like he was laughing
Walking Project 016_the wild beasts of cucamonga from chris worland on Vimeo.
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