long paddle upstream
resting in shade beneath bluff
buds on oak branches
swallows nesting under ledge
catching flies over water
This tanka is my response to Frank Tassone’s #Haikai Challenge #78: swallow.
long paddle upstream
resting in shade beneath bluff
buds on oak branches
swallows nesting under ledge
catching flies over water
This tanka is my response to Frank Tassone’s #Haikai Challenge #78: swallow.
Your journeys on the water always result in wonderful photos and words.
My place to see swallows is when I’m at a baseball game. They love stadiums…plenty of nesting places. (K)
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Thank you, Kerfe.
I assume the mud nests (under a bridge) are cliff swallows – they’re always moving too fast to see their markings – here’s a nesting video I found: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Cliff_Swallow/media-browser-overview/463010
Under the stone ledge is a place I like to sit on the water and watch them fly. Those may be bank swallows.
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I love their swooping. And the shapes they make. (K)
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Very nice Ken. Those mud nests are really unique!
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Thanks, Dwight. The first photo is under a ledge that is 6 feet above the water (most times, except floods) and the mud nests are in a group of more than 100, under a highway bridge.
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Wow! That is a whole village!! :>)
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Beautiful poem about the intriguing nests of swallows.
Here they are seen as harbinger of spring and much sung about.
Miriam
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Thank you. 🙂
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I agree with Kerfe about the wonderful things you see and photograph on your kayaking journeys. I wouldn’t have known what those things were!
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Thank you, Merril. 🙂
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We’re still waiting for our swallows.
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Reblogged this on Frank J. Tassone and commented:
#Haiku Happenings #1 (3/25/19): Ken’s latest #tanka for my current #haikai challenge!
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Thank for sharing, Frank.
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My pleasure 😇
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“Buds on oak branches” — lovely image!
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Won’t be long! Thank you.
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Lovely and peaceful 🙂
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Thank you.
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