Poetry Sunday: When I am an old woman, I shall wear purple by Jenny Joseph

I've featured this one here before, but it is a particular favorite of mine. It is what I aspire to as I grow old, and so here it is again.

When I am an old woman, I shall wear purple

by Jenny Joseph

When I am an old woman I shall wear purple
With a red hat which doesn't go, and doesn't suit me.

And I shall spend my pension on brandy and summer gloves

And satin sandals, and say we've no money for butter.

I shall sit down on the pavement when I'm tired

And gobble up samples in shops and press alarm bells

And run my stick along the public railings

And make up for the sobriety of my youth.

I shall go out in my slippers in the rain

And pick flowers in other people's gardens

And learn to spit.

You can wear terrible shirts and grow more fat
And eat three pounds of sausages at a go
Or only bread and pickle for a week
And hoard pens and pencils and beermats and things in boxes.

But now we must have clothes that keep us dry
And pay our rent and not swear in the street
And set a good example for the children.
We must have friends to dinner and read the papers.

But maybe I ought to practice a little now?
So people who know me are not too shocked and surprised
When suddenly I am old, and start to wear purple.

Vacay

 "This Week in Birds" is taking a vacation this week. It will return next weekend.

Poetry Sunday: Pity the Nation by Lawrence Ferlinghetti

 This seems somehow particularly appropriate at the moment.

This week in birds - #660

A roundup of the week's news of birds and the environment:

Since I didn't post a TWIB last weekend, we actually have two "Birds of the Week."

                              Canada Jay
The Canada Jay was the American Bird Conservancy's Bird of the Week for last week. The Canada Jay is, of course, a cousin of the very familiar Blue Jay and is of approximately the same size. Like all jays they are clever and opportunistic and are generally very tame and bold around humans. They are residents of boreal and subalpine forests from Alaska all across Canada and in mountain forests of the western United States from Washington and Utah to New Mexico and California.

                                        Lewis's Woodpecker
Lewis's Woodpecker is the Bird of the Week for this week. It is a bird of the western United States and northward into Canada. Its habitat is generally open coniferous forests, mature riparian and oak forests, and burned areas. Its population is considered stable at this point.

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It's time for Project FeederWatch once again. You can sign up to participate here.

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Extreme weather fueled by climate change is contributing to the drop in bird populations worldwide.

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Here are some tips on how to make your backyard a haven for birds in winter.

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The lemurs of Madagascar seem to be experiencing a baby boom, but that is not necessarily a good thing.

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Meeting Lucy, the famous Australopithecus afarensis fossil, at the Houston Museum of Natural Science years ago, was an unforgettable experience for me, and she is still wowing visitors - this time at the National Museum in Prague.  

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There are bills in Congress that would remove endangered species protections from grizzly bears and gray wolves, but polling shows that the American public is very much opposed to that idea.

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Did you know that the first bound books were put together in ancient Rome? Very clever those Romans.

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CBS News, following its acquisition by Skydance Media, has gutted its climate team. Sad. When I was growing up, CBS was the gold standard for network news.

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Do American Robins migrate? It somewhat depends on how you define migration.

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Snapdragons in the valleys of the Pyrenees can show us how evolution happens.

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Global fisheries are driving manta rays toward extinction. The Manta Trust is calling for immediate global action to protect manta and devil rays.

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A new species of bee has been discovered in Australia. It has been named the "Lucifer" bee.

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A new report says that the social costs of plastics in the U.S. may total more than one trillion dollars per year. 

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There is some rare good news for the world's most endangered cetacean, the vaquita. Some new calves have been born, giving hope that the species may yet be saved from extinction.

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At least sixteen banks, including JP Morgan Chase and Citibank, continue to fund oil and gas extraction in the Amazon. 

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A rare Salvin's Albatross was rescued and underwent surgery to remove fishhooks from its stomach. The bird made a successful recovery and has now been returned to the wild.

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Archaeologists believe they have found a 3,000-year-old map of the cosmos at an ancient Maya site in Mexico.

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Hawaii has the unfortunate distinction of having more endangered species than all of the other states combined. 

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Here are forty of the finalists for this year's Nikon Comedy Wildlife Awards. Enjoy!

Our current situation

Political cartoonists are very adept at making their point with a few strokes of a pen, and of course they have a rich trove to draw from (literally) in our current situation. Here are a couple that I thought hit their mark pretty squarely in the last week.

Didja miss me yet?

Some of you may have actually noticed that I have been absent from these pages for a few days. The reason is that I have been in the grip of a seriously nasty bug which has kept me feeling quite miserable. I am recovering slowly. Perhaps my age is slowing my recovery - I just don't bounce back like I did when I was younger. At any rate the recovery is much too slow to suit me, but I'm doing my best to be patient and to be a good patient. And I hope to return to regular posting here quite soon. Thank you to those who have noticed and have actually asked about my absence. I appreciate you more than I can possibly express.  

Poetry Sunday: The Haunted House by Felicia Dorothea Hemans

Okay, I'm a bit late for Halloween, but here's a poem that I came across last week and I liked its images. So even though I'm late, I thought I would share it with you. I hope you find it...interesting.

The Haunted House

by Felicia Dorothea Hemans

I seem like one
Who treads alone
   Some banquet-hall deserted,
Whose lights are fled,
Whose garlands dead,
   And all but me departed.
           —Thomas Moore, “Oft in the Stilly Night (Scotch Air)”

See’st thou yon gray gleaming hall,

Where the deep elm-shadows fall?

Voices that have left the earth

     Long ago,

Still are murmuring round its hearth,

     Soft and low:

Ever there;—yet one alone

Hath the gift to hear their tone.

Guests come thither, and depart,

Free of step, and light of heart;

Children, with sweet visions blessed,

In the haunted chambers rest;

One alone unslumbering lies

When the night hath sealed all eyes,

One quick heart and watchful ear,

Listening for those whispers clear.

See’st thou where the woodbine-flowers

O’er yon low porch hang in showers?

Startling faces of the dead,

     Pale, yet sweet,

One lone woman’s entering tread

     There still meet!

Some with young, smooth foreheads fair,

Faintly shining through bright hair;

Some with reverend locks of snow—

All, all buried long ago!

All, from under deep sea-waves,

Or the flowers of foreign graves,

Or the old and bannered aisle,

Where their high tombs gleam the while;

Rising, wandering, floating by,

Suddenly and silently,

Through their earthly home and place,

But amidst another race.

Wherefore, unto one alone,

Are those sounds and visions known?

Wherefore hath that spell of power

     Dark and dread,

On her soul, a baleful dower,

     Thus been shed?

Oh! in those deep-seeing eyes,

No strange gift of mystery lies!

She is lone where once she moved,

Fair, and happy, and beloved!

Sunny smiles were glancing round her,

Tendrils of kind hearts had bound her;

Now those silver chords are broken,

Those bright looks have left no token;

Not one trace on all the earth,

Save her memory of their mirth.

She is lone and lingering now,

Dreams have gathered o’er her brow,

Midst gay songs and children’s play,

She is dwelling far away;

Seeing what none else may see—

Haunted still her place must be!