Sorry crow -
    I must have strayed
         too close to something unseen.

Signs of snow play
        stripe the snowy inclines -
Quiet Monday morning.

Oak leaves balance
   on sharp, ice crusted snow
       beneath the pines' shadows.

Abandoned chain hangs from a railing -
leaking the night's cold
in a weak sun.

sunny day's calligraphy -
           pine needles sink
           in slowly melting snow

Predawn winter moon
glowing on new snow.
   A deer walks down silent street.

'Neath glinting stars,
Among ebony leaves,
It whispers...and remembers.

the sun also rises
    above the horizon-to-horizon
         desert of clouds

grey sunlight sifts
   through barren limbs, on clouded creek -
a moment, forgetting

After brushing the stone
of freshly dug earth -
placing the aspen leaf.

Ravine rooted pines
   cast shadows on autumn reeds -
                           dry wind chimes, sighing.

The chill of the vodka
on my lips -
    smiling at a forgotten joke.

a swing creaks
          in a forsaken playground:
    low clouds wearily plod on....

Autumn leaves whisper,
     lawnmower drones:
urban trail.

Scarlet framed trail:
    Canyon shadows
     cider scented.

Browning ferns bow
to maples in flame
     below sheer sandstone.

My walking stick
     taps on water-weary rock,
     creating dull echoes.

Sandstone gently flows:
     golden aspen coins
     in still, dark, pools.

Ladders of flame
   to an empty blue sky:
       Canyon in Autumn.

  Sensuous curve
of water-worked stone:
   a trout hides in shadows,

silence of stone:
  a faint drip of water
  marks the passing of time

a bonzai garden
     nestled in a cleft
               high above a leafy carpet

Damp musk clings
to the maple groves -
       fades among rounded river rocks.

Yellow to orange,
     red in final stage.
Canyon's fall pallette.

scattered red among
riverbank leaves,
        shivering in storm-ridden winds

August warmth on my left.
November chill on my right.
     Atop Mount Elden.

     Golden leaves
shiver in October wind,
      frame the trail's welcome.

A hawk soars
    above golden aspens
    that tumble down the slope.

Scarlet fronds
among the Yucca -
       ascending boulder stairs.

The crunch of my apple
intrudes on the blue sky
framed by golden leaves.

A trumpeting scream
echoes in the basin...
        golden aspens shiver.

At trails end
   a tumbleweed struggles
to get started.

For awhile
     the flicker joins my amble;
                 always five feet ahead.

Skittish mallards -
   the coots
   don't mind my shadow.

Arranged in a vee:
Scorched snags
Against blue sky. 

September wind on
        the snake's back
                makes him sluggish.

On the trail
     the snake
        causes a brief detour.

With a roar
          the wind descends -
a pinetop snaps...crashes.

                 Silent in shadow:
The young buck
     watches my progress on the trail.

It's been said before:
          windstorm in the pine tops
           echoes the sound of the sea.

   Beneath fire-darkened trunks,
circular colonies
of red fireweed.

Faded scarlet, buttery yellow,
     sway above the tawny trail
to Fisher Point.

Frantic tail
fills the hole.
      Winter preparation.

Chit, chit, chit!
         Autumn-busy squirrels
          aren't as noisy as other hikers.

Random rill
     capers and cuts a course....
                    rewriting the old road.

Stepping from shadowed forest,
   sunlight diffused -
fog wraps distant peaks.

Pines and fir drip
      in early morning mist -
Rainbow over brown ferns.

Rusted water wheel;
   sits silent in the ripples
        rushing past.

pentagram of twigs
     'neath the gnarled remains
            of a grey sycamore

Wild grape
        twines the Sycamore
over scores of cairns.

Old stone wall
sporting lichens
by the irrigation channel

Blue putty sticks
to my fingernails -
last goodbyes are being said.

Our own secret:
Downy owlets welcome
the day's last red light.

Monsoon clouds
paint the Peaks, the air itself:
   My partner's smile.

As Vikings on autumn tides,
   Curiosity drives us
      to new, red, shores.

carpet of last year's leaves
   slope up, beneath naked branches
to a pale sky

There: behind the sapsucker's tap...
Past the oak tree in bud...
Beyond the doe among dry leaves...

Alone with a Hermit Thrush
at the summit:
    Wild turkeys!

a spring breeze
          slips onto the trail,
                               tossing last year's leaves.

bent nails hold
   scraps of colored paper -
memories of past songs

Staples, signs long gone,
rust in the blackened wood.
Old telephone pole.

   storm clouds on the Peaks -
with a whisper
   a blue wind descends

Spreading compost:
Robins patiently await
      the early worm.

Snow squeezes from my spokes
like play-doh
   from a press.

White umbrella.
           White skirt.
Fading into the snowstorm.

Tires on pavement, engines revving...
One block removed
      a girl's laugh from kitchen window.

Winter-numbed limbs
   flex in a warming breeze -
      wool scarves replaced by silk.

Beneath a wide, black hat -
         blowing foam
                                across the cup.

   Colors erupt in oils,
swirl in peaks and vales,
   mimic arboreal change.

Brown vines weave
   their story on old stone...
      The nest is cold.

Dribbling water reflects
    grey snow....
        grey concrete....

Flicker cocks its head,
    spies something in melting snow....
False spring.

Somewhere in melting snow
   a cricket sings -
unseen.