Last week was another year since my father died. He was a veteran, and then taught history.
sunrise
after the storm . . .
glistening lake-waves
branches coated with ice
and a crow cawing
after the storm
driftwood washes to shore
from other places . . .
what we let go
what we keep
Karl took this photo on March 24, 2011. I wrote the poem the same day.
Lake Michigan
Oostburg, Wisconsin
Photos by Karl – April 2013
Karl took these photos in April 2010.
Here is a photo of the cactus I mentioned in my post, February sunroom: We bought a Christmas cactus on sale for half-price, that is just beginning to bloom. We were at Caan’s in Sheboygan, Wisconsin. I took the photo yesterday.
This week we went to the Oostburg Public Library, and walked outside by Veterans Park in town.
Yesterday we went to Kohler-Andrae State Park to buy our Annual Vehicle Admission Sticker for our Wisconsin State Park System. These are a few of Karl’s photos from 2019.
Kohler-Andrae State Park
Sheboygan County
Wisconsin State Park System
August 23, 2019
Photos by Karl
Ellen Grace Olinger
late afternoon sun
shines into my little
study longer
another Spring
is given
a new river of
poems begins to flow
as I grow older
still reading by natural light
late afternoon sun
new library books
and wandering home
on all the roads
fields, spring air, sky
first red-winged blackbird
old weathered trees
in afternoon sun
seem so peaceful
why worry about leaves
not just yet
the sun is longer
and maybe warmer
and the sky is blue
Flowers from a store – March 2016
Poems and Photos
Ellen Grace Olinger
Lake Michigan
Oostburg, Wisconsin
February 15, 2020
Photo by Karl
We are seeing many plants and flowers on display in stores. It is very cold here, and we buy a few groceries and walk around. We stopped at Caan’s in Sheboygan, to see what plants they are beginning to grow in their large greenhouse. I noted the geraniums. Our poinsettia from there is still beautiful, and we remember when they were growing the poinsettias as well. We bought a Christmas cactus on sale for half-price, that is just beginning to bloom. We are also visiting thrift stores.
At Walmart in Sheboygan, we bought a small tulip planter that is just beginning to form flowers. And fresh flowers there and at Mentink’s Piggly Wiggly in Oostburg. So a lily blooms in the house, along with carnations.
Cold days, with ice floating in Lake Michigan. And Spring in the stores.
the day is young
and no hurry
for Spring
with our
February sunroom
