Alabama State Poetry Society's Spring Fling

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Hello everyone! I've been trying to get a new post up here for days! Everytime I address the issue, something happens and I have to put it off again. But, here's the news.

Alabama State Poetry Society held the Spring Meeing at the beautiful Newton-Davis House in Odenville, Alabama. That's where I ran into my first blog problem. I wanted to post a picture of the meeting place, and I'm sure I have done so before, but now every picture I try to display is the size of a postage stamp. And what's the use of a postage stamp sized image?

But the good news is, I won two First Place poetry prizes, and you can see a great write-up in The Leeds Herald at http://heraldnewsmedia.com/content/?p=2432


One of my prizes was 1st Place in the Christmas in July Contest, even though it isn't actually July! It was really Christmas in April! The requirement for this unusual contest was to do a parody of any Christmas carol, with an added "occupational twist." Here's my winner!



Oh, Fa!


Deck the walls with book and journal
Fa-la-la-la-la the library
Foolish fiction springs eternal
Fa-la-la-la-la the library
Nora Roberts, Danielle Steel,
J.D. Robb, Peter Straub, Stephen King,
Books divine and books infernal
Fa-la-la-la-la, the library!


Some are fragrant, some are pyooey!
Fa-la-la-la-la, the library.
All must have the decimal Dewey
Fa-la-la-la-la, the library.
Penned by authors, scribes and hacks,
Fa-la-la, la-la-la, fol-de-rol.
Meanwhile I'm lost in the stacks.
Fa-la-la-la-la, THE LIBRARY.


Some folks find their life's ambition
Fa-la-la-la-la, la-la-la-la
Following some holy mission
Fa-la-la-la-la, la-la-la-la
Doctors, lawyers, thieves, musicians,
Fa-la-la, bless them all, la-la-la
Me, I'd rather just go fishin'
Winter, spring and fall, THE LIBRARY!

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Egg-quilibrium

The First Day of Spring occurred right on schedule, Sunday March 20th, along with the strange and mystifying influences of the Vernal Equinox. At my house, Hawk's Hill, and here at The Painted Possum, this event is ALWAYS celebrated with the joyous act of balancing eggs in the kitchen. The glee with which I address this task is always the same, no matter how many times it is repeated. Shouts of "WOW!" and "There she is!" and "LOOK, another one!" reverberate throughout the house ... and my kids look at me weird. Their usual response is "Yep."

Then I start yelling for someone to bring me the camera.

This was the first little egg to go up. The information I received said the exact time of the equinox would be 7:21 PM Eastern Standard Time, and usually the eggs are easier to balance the closer it gets to the appointed time. But these were balancing with no effort at all at about 11:00 AM.

According to Wikipedia, equilibrium is the condition of a system in which competing influences are balanced. So, apparently, the competing influences of the shape of the egg, the weight of the egg's contents, and the force of gravity, along with some unknown factor, are balanced on this specific day of the year. There are abundant theories about the balancing act of hen's eggs on the first day of Spring, and it is a rare and unequaled delight!

Do we know how to have fun in Alabama?

Valentine's Day - Birthday

Guess who was born on February 14th, Valentine's Day?

Of course, it's our own inimitable Willie T., the darling of Moonlight Ridge!

www.sweetmusiconmoonlightridge.blogspot.com

When we were kids, he kept my sister and me entertained, amused, and mystified!

Some things, (and some people) never change.

Here's a Valenitine possum for Willie T., aka Donnie Nock.

So, Summer's Not Here

Looks like it wasn't summer after all! After a big snow overnight, the temp is now 30 degrees. It seems to be stuck at 30 degrees.

So much for rubber sandals and straw hats, James.

But just look at these pictures from the magic camera of my daughter, Buffy.

This is such a phenomenal photograph! I'm amazed and mesmerized by this image.
Awe inspiring!

And, here's the love of my life: my grandson Reed having a time in the Alabama snow.

Summer's Here and I'm for That!

Got my rubber sandals, got my straw hat!

Thanks to James Taylor for those lyrics.


It may be a little early to start welcoming summer, but at least the sun is shining and the temperature is above freezing. This is progress!


And, today is my friend Steve Clarkson's birthday! Happy birthday, Steve! I tried to post Steve's illustrious picture, but I couldn't get the image to transfer. Maybe he's non-transferable. I'll have to try some slight-of hand manipulation.


Hey, Steve, if you're reading this, send me a non-copyrighted photo!


Steve is an excellent musician, gardener, photographer and wall-builder. Not to mention lover of possums and all things marsupial.

How to Catch a Possum on Movie Day!

It's movie day here at The Painted Possum! It's been a long time since the last movie day; as a matter of fact, it's been a while since my last blog post here. But, chalk it up to The Winter Doldrums. Also, life in general is like sliding down a very fast sliding board.

Hoping to find an illustration for you, I Googled "Possum on a sliding board." Oddly enough, I didn't find a possum on a sliding board.

However, here's something interesting I did find, at Handy Tricks From Quatemala, by Tim Anderson:

How to Catch a Possum

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Don Filberto explains how his father used to catch small animals. He'd prop a box or basin up on an avacado pit or another smal round object. He'd put a weight, such a a board (or in this case, a machete) on top of the box. The animal would go inside to get some bait, the box would fall down, and 'voila', you got yourself a captive possum. I don't know what 'voila' is in Spanish. But Don Filberto added that his father would move the pan or box around until the animal's tail was poking out, then grab it by the tail.

So, I can identfy with this. While life is INDEED like sliding down a very fast sliding board, there are interludes when life is more like being a possum trapped under a pan with an avacado seed ...
Back to Movie Day!
Today's movie is The Road to El Dorado, one of my favorite movies, an animated comedy film by DreamWorks Pictures. The two main characters, Miguel and Tulio, are voiced by Kenneth Branaugh and Kevin Kline, and the soundtrack features music by Elton John and Tim Rice.
The movie begins in 16th century Spain where two con-artists, Miguel and Tulio, using loaded dice, win a map that shows the location of El Dorado, the city of gold in the New World. They stow away on one of Hernan Cortes' ships, escape with Cortes' war horse, and end up in El Dorado, where they are mistaken for gods. And why not?
According to Wikipedia, the story is inspired by Rudyard Kipling's The Man Who Would be King and Voltaire's Candide.

Also, there is a cute little animal that I like to think of as a possum, although it may be an armadillo.

Snow On the Mountain, Run Boys, Run

Did someone say SNOW? And COLD! In honor of our horrific weather, I'm repeating this informative and eye-opening account from an older post, giving a brief description of the birth of a snowflake. Many snowflakes, to be perfectly honest.

Snowflake formation begins when water vapor condenses on microscopic dust grains. Each snowflake's unique structure is caused by chemical reactions and everchanging temperatures.

Snow actually rises before it falls. As a droplet of water vapor rises higher, it freezes into a six-sided crystal. Because ice forms fastest around the edges, cavities form. Faster growth on corners causes branches to sprout, and cavities create interior lines. As the flake rises, temperatures get colder. At 10.4 degrees Farenheit, branches are wide. At 8.6 degrees, new growth is narrower. When the snowflake grows heavy enough to overcome the force of rising air, it falls. As the snowflake falls, warmer temperatures cause more side branches to sprout with longer and narrower tips. Hence, snow.

Some of us waited until many, many of the weighty formations plummeted to earth, then out we went for a rare frozen frolic.

At least one Mr. Possum found the lure of the soft white stuff irresistable, and trotted out for a brief stroll.

Possum in the Snow

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Possum has a snowflake stuck to his nose.

His fur keeps him warm when the cold wind blows.

He's on his way home for tea and puddin'.

I asked him to come to my house, but he wouldn'.