Turkeys the size of ranch dogs
traverse the wordless backroads
I’ve opted to travel,
past Gold Mine Realty
U-Stor-It Lockers
Giannini’s Italian Dinners
Tom’s Convenience Mart,
its shelves lined
in the parched
salty-sweet sands
of a food desert.
Hiking California’s northern peaks
in search of a single mushroom
from which to compose
dinner
proved futile
as alas
we jumped the gun
on its fruiting.
Wet still air and
rushing rushing waters
herald Spring’s imminent arrival;
the conifer, oak, aspen
their pollens not yet popped
to blanket a forest floor
now soaked with
melt
from gray banks of snow
laced with ravages of winter.
Flickers and stellar jays
mock-squawk
our lack of success
in extricating bounty
from their home
as drippy fog
dampens woolens
moods
and empty baskets.
A world-weary soul
journeys into the woods
to hunt
silence, renewal
Spring.
#california #spring #intothewoods (at Eldorado National Forest)
Heritage Culinary Artifacts