Happy Halloween!

On Halloween, what bothers some
About these witches, is how come
In sailing, through the air, like bats
They never seem, to lose their hats?
~David McCord

Illustrations by Australian artist Ida Rentoul Outhwaite from The Enchanted Forest by Ida Rentoul Outhwaite and Grenby Outhwaite. The witch and her sister have amazing balance...

The Witch’s Sister on her Black Bat

The Witch on Her Broomstick

For fortitude

I was in charge of this fragment of creation and so I had the last word.
~Helena Nelson

I've been studying Scottish Gaelic on Duolingo since January and it's been nice having the continuity of it in my erratic schedule.

For today, "Poetry Forum" by Scottish poet Helena Nelson.

Hello! I heard there would be poetry?
(my neighbors' dog, HuaHua)

Poetry Forum
by Helena Nelson

What is poetry for? (Maitreyabhandu)

It’s for weddings
and funerals
and reading on the train
and for taking a person out of herself
and bringing her back more sane.

It’s for children
and lunatics
and chimney-sweeps and punks
It’s for teachers...

read the rest here

**************

TeacherDance has the Poetry Friday round-up. Thanks, Linda!

The magic of tweed jackets

Toad put the thin button in his pocket. He was very angry. He jumped up and down and screamed, ‘The whole world is covered with buttons, and not one of them is mine!’
~Arnold Lobel

In honor of Halloween, today we have "Frog and Toad are Friends." What?? you say. My son and his girlfriend are dressing as Frog and Toad this year.



The funny thing is when that Dash pulled out the tweed jacket he is going to wear as Frog, and he found a bowtie and a sonic screwdriver in the pockets! The last time he wore it, he was the 11th Doctor.

Brain Story

I had always known the sky was full of mysteries—but not until now had I realized how full of them the earth was.
~Ransom Riggs

A few links for Wellness Wednesday:

Understanding how our brains are divergent, as individuals, can help us to brainstorm ways to adapt our lifestyle and environment to meet our needs.

Show Us Your Brain – FREE Resource for understanding your “brain story” from NeuroClastic (free pdf printable)

A couple more useful, interesting things:

* Evidence suggests that there is a window following a trauma in which a bad memory can be disrupted or avoided — and in which memories can be uncoupled from the brain's emotional centers. (How Playing Tetris Tames The Trauma Of A Car Crash) (hat tip: Ariana)

* HeartMob: Give or find support for people facing online harrassment

In praise of DYI phone wallpaper

The Earth is Art, The Photographer is only a Witness
~Yann Arthus-Bertrand

I don't have music for you this Monday, but I do have a make-your-own...I have really been enjoying changing my phone's wallpaper using my own photos. Spotting interesting potential backgrounds has been fun. If you haven't done it, maybe you'd like to give it a go?

The Little Green Orchard

Stay, illusion!
If thou hast any sound, or use of voice,
Speak to me.
~William Shakespeare

one of today's pumpkin purchases

I've given myself permission to just post when the spirit moves me, so I don't know what my upcoming blogging schedule will be. Last week, posting was pretty much out of the question, but I did buy some Christmas presents. (?) I'm back to the correct season this week with a shivery poem:

The Little Green Orchard

by Walter de La Mare

Some one is always sitting there,
In the little green orchard;
Even when the sun is high
In noon's unclouded sky,
And faintly droning goes
The bee from rose to rose,
Some one in shadow is sitting there
In the little green orchard.

Yes, when the twilight's falling softly
In the little green orchard;
When the grey dew distills
And every flower-cup fills;
When the last blackbird says,
'What - what!' and goes her way - ssh!
I have heard voices calling softly
In the little green orchard

Not that I am afraid of being there,
In the little green orchard;
Why, when the moon's been bright,
Shedding her lonesome light,
And moths like ghosties come,
And the horned snail leaves home:
I've sat there, whispering and listening there,
In the little green orchard.

Only it's strange to be feeling there,
In the little green orchard;
Whether you paint or draw,
Dig, hammer, chop or saw;
When you are most alone,
All but the silence gone...
Some one is watching and waiting there,
In the little green orchard.

who knows what could be hiding here?

Jama's Alphabet Soup has the Poetry Friday round-up. Thanks, Jama!

Kuroki Neko

The wind outside nested in each tree, prowled the sidewalks in invisible treads like unseen cats.
~Ray Bradbury

Isn't that Bradbury quote great? I am a fan of cats of all colors, including beautiful black ones.

A Black Cat
by Jahn Henne

Slim Woman with a Cat (1913)
by Géza Faragó

Black Cat (Kuroki Neko)
by Hishida Shunso

Elena Kats-Chernin's Black Cat Rag
Ivana Tomášková - violin, Renata Ardaševová - piano

Tongue Drum Music for Concentration

She imagined that her drums were planets and the music was all the voices of growth and light and life joined together and traveling the universe.
~Francesca Lia Block

For Music Monday, Greenred Productions from Lithuania: