Saturday, September 15, 2012

Reeds



'''''''''''

Only the wind sings
in black bird's abandoned home-
on-stilts


''''''''''''





     The red-winged blackbird, a common summer resident along the shore and marshes in the Northeast, is a true harbinger of spring.  It arrives in February and a walk in the wintry preserve will bring hope to the heart of cold- weary northerners.  The bird has a distinctive call, heard here at Bird Jam and can be found wherever there are cattails, reeds and other marshland grasses growing.

    They nest among the tall grasses and are usually gone from my area by late August.  During nesting season they are known to be quite aggressive. On a number of hiking trips,  I have  been chased by  a  fearless  red-wing when I  veered too close to a nest!




   The sound of the wind in the reeds in autumn and winter  is one I am familiar with and have written about before, in prose and poetry.  This marsh grass, so much a part of my home all year round, seems to contain an echo of the birds who only come for a brief visit.




     My next project is to learn how to get my words onto my image, a computer skill I am not privy to at present.  Perhaps I need a program to accomplish this.

       Today's prompt for Haiku Heights is 'grass.'

 

 

  

21 comments:

  1. This haiku is very charming! We have red winged blackbirds here in the midwest and they are a fantastic bird. Funny, we were both thinking black birds today.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Enjoyed this one - you paint the picture well.

    ReplyDelete
  3. A lovely image, this haiku of yours today. I like it.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Lovely pictures and perfect words ~ If you want to do a haiga, you need to save it to like photobucket or tinypic..then you edit the page itself ~

    ReplyDelete
  5. May the number of the Fearless Ones increase more and more!

    Grass

    ReplyDelete
  6. There are free online software applications like picmonkey or fotoflexer, that allows you to upload a photo and add text to it.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Nice one, Barbara. I love marsh grasses. Can't say I know the red-winged blackbird though I live in the Northeast of the US. Maybe you meant the northeast of another country? But I enjoyed the background info you provided. Interesting that they will chase you.

    ReplyDelete
  8. It's really cool! The sensation brings it alive :) Loved reading it...

    ReplyDelete
  9. A delightful take on the prompt. Lovely imagery and pictures

    ReplyDelete
  10. Images are beautiful and so is your haiku..loved it!!

    ReplyDelete
  11. Beautiful, wistful image! But the wind still sings....

    ReplyDelete
  12. Beautiful, just beautiful. Loved your use of the prompt.


    Melanie

    ReplyDelete
  13. Something remains singing - I like that. And I love words that create a charming image like this.

    ReplyDelete
  14. I've not seen a red-winged blackbird ... this was a great post. Thank you for sharing.

    ReplyDelete
  15. a fine write and picures

    ReplyDelete
  16. I love red-winged blackbirds and their distinctive call. We have them in the Spring, so beautiful! Loved your haiku-it's perfect!

    ReplyDelete

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...