Blue Moon and Lammas

I turn again 

as in days before

Observing times 

of ancient lore

There within 

a comfort found

Connections to 

ancestral ground 

Watching as 

the sun does travel

Even as silks 

of corn unravel

Dark returns 

day by day

Chasing warmth 

and light away

Balance waits 

just weeks ahead

When once again 

the trees shall shed

Their golden gowns 

drop to the ground

Grain and nuts 

which now abound

Will in cellar 

and granary reside

And Summer's warmth 

in our hearts abide

~Ellen Apple 07/31/2015

Friday Fragments

A miscellany of items from my Facebook, both personal and my husbands as well, this week.

I have been blessed in my life, in so many ways. I have seen manatees in the St. Lucie River in Florida, swans in Sodus Bay in New York. I have fed days old orphaned lambs in Virginia, and watched pygmy goats being born in North Carolina. I have watched fireflies dance in late May and seen black waves of starlings drift in graceful ballet through late afternoon skies in August. I have held wee babes, and the translucent hands of the elderly. I have cried until I slept, and laughed until I cried. I have been blessed in my life, in so many ways.

Three years ago I wrote this, upon news of the shooting in Aurora CO. There have been multiple shootings in the past three years, and these words still resonate. Today they are in honor of four Marines and a Sailor, as well as nine who gathered to worship in peace and love. This is being such a tumultuous Summer already.

Events occur that shatter the false sense of invincibility we wear a great deal of the time. Life is fragile, like a bubble shimmering in the air, caressed by rainbows. We truly are ephemeral and fleeting in our presence in this life. Let yourself love, give in to your tears when they pool in your soul, dance your joy, and taste all that life offers. Brightest Blessings to each and every person who reads this.

A memory that goes back a half a century or more ...

My mother's parents lived on a farm just outside Bluefield VA, in a small community known as Bluestone. MawMaw used feed sacks as yard goods on a regular basis - ( I believe each feed sack was a yard of either 36 or 45 inch material ) One manner in which this was used was to hem all four sides and make a cloth to cover the center of the dining table. Always in the center of the table was a small crock with spoons in it, covered dishes of honey, molasses, ground cherry preserves, apple butter or some other "sweet" to slather on biscuits and/or cornbread, salt and pepper, and if you were lucky a small saucer with ham, sausage, bacon or such on it left over from breakfast. Once the table was cleared and the dishes washed, the items were all gathered to the center of the table and the cloth was gently draped over them, to keep the dust and occasional fly out of everything. Lovely memory.

Just read a post by Jason​ about misadventures in online ordering from Pizza Hut and it reminded me of an incident that had to have happened over five years ago, when I was a customer service rep at an AT&T call center. 

To appreciate the humor here, you have to be from the extremely rural and mountainous section of Virginia I call home. 

Several other reps and I decided we wanted to go to the Lebanon Pizza Hut for lunch. After deciding what we wanted to eat, one of the other ladies searched for Pizza on her iPhone and called in an order, about 30 minutes before we were due to go to lunch. When we got to the Pizza Hut we told the waitress we were waiting for our food to be prepared and she brought salad plates for those of us wanting to eat from the salad bar, as well as our drinks, 

After waiting for about 15 minutes and no food showing up, the co-worker who had called went to check on the status of the food.

They had no record she had called in an order.

There is a local pizza chain named Pizza Plus and she had called their number in error, and it was for the location in Haysi, If you Google a drive from Haysi to Lebanon, you will see that it is a 43 mile drive that is estimated to take an hour.

Needless to say, we did not get our pizzas and I imagine Pizza Plus in Haysi had several extra on hand that day.

This is a bit of Junk Mail art by Roger. Oscar was his nephew, whose 39th Birthday would have been July 23. Oscar passed away from cancer just before Roger and I met. Mr. Gregory was actually a toy of McGruff the Crime Fighting Dog, a stuffed toy. Mr. Gregory was named after a neighbor of the Apple's in Hampton who Oscar was able to connect with at an early age. The cupcake would have been butter pound cake with chocolate frosting. 


Have a great weekend!

We Are The Dreamers

We are the dreamers -
The unrepentant schemers.
The readers of palms and cards -
Finders of stones in overgrown yards.

Dancers in fairy rings,
Believers in magical things -
Wishing on transient shooting stars
And storing up treasure in mason jars.

~ Ellen Apple 07/22/2015

Photograph by Steve Slade

Just Resting on a Star

We grieve 
We weep
We eat 
We sleep
Then in 
Respite
From space
So desolate
A still
Sweet sound
From above
Floats down
Shushing
The sobs
Which solace
Robs
"I've not gone
That far
Just resting
On a star"

~Ellen Apple 07/17/2015

Flying Off With Angel Wings

Hearts in shock and sorrow meet

Spanning shore to shore

Flying off with angel wings

She'll suffer no more

Love and comfort freely flow

All across the land

Giving space and time to grieve

Touched by unseen hand

For thus has often been said

I believe this, too

What is remembered yet lives

We'll not forget you

Hail and farewell, tender soul

May comfort and peace you find

Ever you shall be with those 

Who think they are left behind

~ Ellen Apple 07-11-2015

I belong to an online Writing Group. We lost a member, and Roger drew this in response to the news. He says so much, just with a no.2 pencil and a Sharpie applied the the back of a piece of junk mail.

Catching a ride on a comet's tail, off to see the universe from which you came - because we are all of stardust made. What an adventure!

I penned a poem

I penned a poem
So deep and true
Each word a gift from ...
Who?

Scribbles on a paper scrap
My soul in rhyme
Was it even
True?

Paper lying on a shelf
Casually to ignore
Where lived my heart
Before?

Rain through open window
Benediction to the day
Indiscriminate baptism -
Nay!

My soul fades in inky smear
Too cryptic to translate
A hunger never to
Sate.

~Ellen Apple 07/07/2015

We can be better, do better

It is going to be a wet day here in the Appalachian Mountains of southwest Virginia, which I suppose is a spanner in the works of the plans of many, but not the Apple household. We do not grill out. But Roger will have hot dogs, while I have chili buns because I do not eat wieners, just do not like the things. I am making cole slaw, though, and macaroni salad. We have a couple of fresh tomatoes I picked up at the farmer's market on Wednesday and along with onion, oven fried yellow squash and sliced cucumber I think we shall eat well. I worked yesterday, and from the volume of items rolling out the doors of our friendly local Wal-Mart store, I dare say most of the county will be eating well. 

But this day is not just about what we are eating. For those of us who live in the States, this day is about celebrating this country, in all of her foibles and glory. I hope that each of you is able to do that today. A group of brave and visionary men hammered out what is known as The Bill of Rights, which were ratified as such on December 15, 1791. They are as follows:

Amendment I

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

Amendment II

A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.

Amendment III

No Soldier shall, in time of peace be quartered in any house, without the consent of the Owner, nor in time of war, but in a manner to be prescribed by law.

Amendment IV

The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

Amendment V

No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the Militia, when in actual service in time of War or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offence to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.

Amendment VI

In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the Assistance of Counsel for his defence.

Amendment VII

In Suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall exceed twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved, and no fact tried by a jury, shall be otherwise re-examined in any Court of the United States, than according to the rules of the common law.

Amendment VIII

Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.

Amendment IX

The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.

Amendment X

The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.




The fact that there were amendments to the Constitution tells us something important, and is a legacy we need to remember. Our system works as well as it does because of discourse, and though not always polite and even-toned, discourse is in my opinion still the best way for consensus to be reached. Consensus means not that you or I always wins but that we reach agreement. Consensus means that conflict, difference of opinion, is resolved without physical harm to others or property. Consensus means that we accept the result, even though it may not be exactly what we may have wanted originally. 

These have been turbulent times for our country recently, times of violence and bloodshed. There have been polarizing events that have driven a wedge between friends and relatives. We are so accustomed to our freedoms here, and so fortunate to be able to utilize our first amendment rights, that we forget that - as the saying goes - the knife cuts both ways.

Just because I have a different opinion, or lifestyle, or heritage than you does not mean either of us is right or wrong. No, no, no! It means we are different. That is all. 

To ascribe to entire segments of our population motivation or intent based on the actions or words of a few (or even just ONE) is not fair, nor just.

To assume that if everyone does not follow your particular path, belief system or religion that they are wrong and you are right is not fair, or just.

Wars have been waged, won and lost, and the same problems still plague our society. Lives have been lost, homes destroyed, families broken, the environment ravaged and the same problems still plague our society.

Maybe, just maybe, it is time to look back at the Bill of Rights and how it came to be. Though the war was waged with England, it was not the bloodshed that was the triumph. The triumph was in the ability of a group of brave men to reach consensus through discourse, and implement the results. 

I keep writing, and saying, that we can be better, do better, as a people. So let me repeat, for emphasis:

We can be better, do better