aftergow - mono county california

GENIUS
tousled sun-hair and wind-parched face
he digs ditches for the geothermal pipeline
and sleeps among the timber wolves
under one flamimg aurora

he left his heuristics and permutations
his powerbooks still calculating pi --
now insignificant in the ordered chaos
of the primeval tundra


(c) z m evensen
1995

  minaret vista -- mmmoth lakes california

Winter sunset .

Snowcat picnic at Minaret Vista.

Cold. Fun. Exciting. Awesome.

convict lake  california fall 2009

trout fishing

a summer interlude

fishing for rainbow trout inthe high sierras

hiking  scrambling among rocks and dusty trails

one back pack   one slender pole

i don't know about you -- but i

prefer to fish on early mornings -- cold mornings

brushing the frost off my sleeping bag

i saunter to the lake's edge to find a rock to sit on

must be just right -- where the sun lights one's face

and  large enough to take a nap on.

people have their own way of fishing

me?  i prefer fishing with live worms

those neon day-glo excuses for salmon eggs

could attract trout?  geez. there are no day_glo thingies

growing out of the lake bottom    are there?

flicking the baited line with just the right parabola

and momentum  -- just poetry    just poetry

i could do this all day -- changing velocities

angles of release   varying revolutions of reeling in

the line    over and over again

playing out my stressess   unexplained tensions

unanswered phone calls   unnecessary guilts

undefined needs

if i do not catch anything

i played the lines  and who cares anyway

but if i do  __ aha!

i can gut fish with style

and finesse of a benihana chef

dinner will be truite bleu

sierra hash brown  white wine fresh tomatoes

tonight, in the high mountains with you, my love

that's pretty close to heaven

(c) zita evensen

3 august 1993

post script -- sept 13 2010

Fishing was great !  W caught a three pound Alpers trout  at a lake about 10,000 ft above sea level.

Apparently, the bears are very restless this late summer. One huge brown wandered near the fishing area -- grab a fish from a lady's catch and  proceeded to saunter nonchalantly around the campground -- as if he was on a Sunday stroll. People were following him with cameras. Others were hurrying  to clear as much space  away from the bear. I jumped in my car . This was one day I did not bring my camera.

snow dump   april 2010

Hoping to see a spring thaw, we instead got dumped on with a foot of snow overnight. The heater was not working and so we relied on space warmers and plenty of down comforters. The slow cooker was patiently simmering  a great stew and there is nothing  to do but go skiing :-)

What else?

 

daffodils in snow -- spring 2010

An adventure in high mountain gardening ! I planted daffodils because they deer resistant. I was excited to see the flower heads making it after being under about eight feet of snow. A late spring snow almost buried them again but they survived. I wonder what anti-freeze chemicals are in the daffodils that make them survive a cold winter. Interesting. Provocative.

daffodils do not leave you

dizzy with fragrance

or bloodied by thorns -

just muted watercolors

of one indelible spring

(c) z m evensen

29 march 1998

rainy day  2010


FRAGILE PLACES

niches in the heart
so fragile     so undefined
like high mountain spring
waiting for rain


(c) z m evensen
4 april 1998

sunrise over the sherwins
mammoth lakes, california

MOON CALENDAR

moon  of drifting shifting crystals
moon of star-waters and ice sundancers
moon of waking seeds and sweet baby greens
moon of shy daffodils and arrogant poppies
moon of wild strawberries and white corn
moon of warm night winds and hungry fires
moon of haunted pumpkins and old myths
moon of dark chestnuts roasting in ashes
moon of snow  on chocolate furrow
moon of deer hoofs on frozen lichens
moon of warm den sleep

(c) z m evensen
13 july 1993

A NEW ADVENTURE

What a transition from the hurrying madding world of Los Angeles to the  silence and grandeur of   the high mountains of the Eastern Sierra.  A learning experience and the learning curve both for mind and body was steep. What a challenge!  What fun!