Author: bmcgoldrick299

Hump Day Haiku

I’ve never been one much for poetry.  Sure, there were a couple of years when I was a doe-eyed girl penciling verse for an unrequited love.  But after that, it never really interested me.  Until recently.

A couple of weeks ago, I started reading the Inspector Gamache mystery book series by Louise Penny.  These are murder mysteries based in Quebec and they especially center around the fictional town of Three Pines.  These books renewed or at least piqued my interest in verse.

I’ve always enjoyed a good mystery book; but, I am really enjoying this book series.  Here’s why:

  • First, I’m listening to them on CD and I love the narrator.  He’s such a great performer and his reading really brings the story to life.
  • Second, I love how Lousie Penny writes. Her characters are quirky, entertaining, and interesting.  She has the best food descriptions (between her mouthwatering descriptions and the narrator’s mesmerizing voice, I spend much of each book hungry).
  • Third, the author sprinkles her prose with verse.  One of the characters in the book is a poet and “her” poems are found throughout the book adding an elegance and moodiness that I really enjoy.

With that said, it made me want to have a recommended book of poetry appear on my “Read Next” list and perhaps take another shot at writing verse again.  Hence, Hump Day Haiku.

Now, I thought I was so clever coming up with this unique title.  Turns out, there are at least a couple other sites where this phraseology is found (props where props are due).  But, since no one has it copyrighted (that I know of), I’m going to take part in the fun and be the sponsor of a Hump Day Haiku blog.

For those of you who may need a refresher (I know I did), www.poets.org defines Haiku as this:

hiaku-imageA traditional Japanese haiku is a three-line poem with seventeen syllables, written in a 5/7/5 syllable count. Often focusing on images from nature, haiku emphasizes simplicity, intensity, and directness of expression. 

That site also gives some interesting history if you want to check it out.

Lastly, I will give my attempt at Haiku for this hump day.  I went nontraditional as it doesn’t deal with nature.  But it is simple and direct and has been the focus of the early part of my week.  Enjoy!

Sunday
Towels wet and cold
Turns and turns but still no heat
Appliance Malaise

Would love to hear your haikus (or is it haiki?).  Send it in the comments and be part of next week’s Hump Day Haiku.

 

I Need a Tincture for my Tainture — The Unexpected Downfalls of Hiking

Hiking to me always sounds like a good idea. At least at first. I mean, who,doesn’t like a stroll through a forest or a meadow or up a hill to a great vista. I love those things…I’m a hiker…I have the poles to prove it.

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But then,as usual,reality sets in. Sometimes even before the hike begins. Here’s how the conversation goes

Friend – “Hey, me and Bart are going to Super Amazing Vista State Park to do a hike, wanna come?”

Me – “Sure sounds like fun. When you going?”

Friend – “Probably this afternoon around 1.”

Me – ” Oh, yeah, great…umm…what’s the hi temp today?”

Friend – “I think about 84 degrees, not too bad.”

Me – “Uh huh, ummm right not too bad. And how long is the hike?”

Friend – “It’s a nice little loop trail about 4 miles.”

Me – “Right … 4 miles… not too bad, and could we bring the dog?”

Friend – “Aww, sorry but the park doesn’t allow pets off leash.”

Me – “Oh yeah I see.  So what you are asking is if I’d like to join you for a 2 hr trek, up hill, through Amazonian heat, then come back home and spend another hour walking the dog. Think I’ll have to pass.”

This is how my thought process usually goes.  So you may find it surprising to know that Jimmy and I planned a “vacation” around hiking. Sure, it’s not the sole thing we will do on vacation, but it is a big part.  And since we already told people we will be hiking through a national park they will expect that my pictures will contain at least some shots of us actually hiking.

And so we have set out on our Yosemite hiking vacation and did at least 2 pretty amazing hikes.

Hike 1–Yosemite Mist Trail–This is a 3 mile round trip hike to Vernal Falls (climbing about 1000 feet) (you could also do Nevada Falls but that is 7 miles).

Here is what you sometimes don’t take into account. HEAT! Of course this means extra exertion and dehydration so make sure you have LOTS of water. However heat also means sweat, sweat means wet skin, wet skin that rubs together or on cloth means chafing, chafing equals pain. Trust me I know! Pain that can sometimes be crippling – in that either you can’t walk anymore or you walk like John Wayne. Either way it’s embarrassing.

Plan ahead. This can be nipped in the bud if you bring along some Body Glide and apply liberally to your sensitive bits. If you forget, be prepared to hit the store for ibuprofen and Desitine. Ice is nice as well.

The hike was awesome though and pretty unforgettable.


Hike 2 — Cathedral Lakes–This hike is a 7 mile loop with a 1000 foot elevation climb.

Here is what I did not take into account. The recuperation factor! While we did have one day off in between these 2 hikes in which we spent time relaxing, these were two moderate hikes with steep trails at elevations we were not accustomed to. If you haven’t done some training for these more strenuous hikes you can feel the effects. I did some preparation workouts for our trip but clearly not enough as I was totally exhausted after each hike.

Again though,the scenery payoff was big and it is definitely a hike I will remember.

While there are definite draw backs to hiking, the rewards are totally worth it. You may look a bit bedraggled at the end

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but of you plan it right you can hit a place like this to relax afterward