Sunday March 26, 2023 
Cleaning Up Dog Poop After A Snowmelt
“Woof! Woof! Black Dog, have you any poop?”
“Yes, Mommy dear, there’s a fair amount to scoop!”
Get your pooper scooper; don your barn boots-
Remember, it’s good exercise, tightens up the glutes;”
“I’m out of bags already, even as I speak …
Don’t bring me any Walmart bags; they always spring a leak”.
“Better hurry up, Mom; it looks like it might rain.
Rain makes dog poop softer, and pick-up more a pain!”
“Really, Black Dog! this much poop in such a little time?
Before I get this mess cleaned up, I’ll be ninety-nine!”
“But Mommy, I’m a Standard, not a little toy
You’ve gone and hurt my feelings, I thought I was your joy.
See how low my tail hangs, I feel like such a louse!
Just so you know, I have some friends who do it in the house!
And think of Grandma Poodle, how she would be elated —
To know her precious grand-pup is never constipated!”
Naomi Boel,
Averill Park
Snow Fun
A day off from school
With near perfect play snow.
The boy and his Grandpa
Spent hours playing outside.
Tracks on the little hills on Grandpa’s lawn
Told the story:
The boy got to try out his snow board,
A Christmas gift from his grandparents.
Occasionally, he switched
To his cross country skis.
When he tired, he hopped on his snow saucer;
Grandpa pulled him downhill into dizzying spins.
Best part of the day was when the boy said,
“Now, this is what I call Fun !!”
Afterward, they enjoyed drinks and snacks
Provided by Grandma.
And then Grandpa napped in his rocker;
Now, that’s what he calls Fun !
Lloyd Barnhart
West Sand Lake
Gathering 64 Years
Article Content
We meet again
We’re older, now.
What stories we could tell.
Our memories tested.
About when
And how
Others as well.
Oh! Yes, our memories tested.
When we began
Child’s narrow brow
Grown with life’s noel.
Each day our memories tested.
No longer
Two plus two
Or new word to spell.
Far from those drills
We’re otherwise tested.
Accomplished and gained
Sometimes known how
Joys, sadness, love dwell.
In our memories nested.
Nancy Waterbury Davis
9/30/2019
Australia Is Burning
Australia is burning. The Amazon rain forest is burning. California fires grow larger. Aquifers dry up around the world. Greenland’s glaciers are melting faster every year. The coral reefs are dying. Sea levels are rising. Miami and Norfolk flood with heavy rain or seas. Storms get more intense. Harvests fail as drought hits around the globe. The list of harmful social and environmental impacts caused by climate change grows. And despite what climate deniers say, human induced carbon dioxide emissions is a well-established scientific fact. So why exactly does our President and his party promote coal and oil, roll back fuel efficiency standards, end incentives for solar and wind power, allow more industrial discharges, withdraw from global efforts to address the crisis, and astonishingly, why does he ridicule a teenage girl who speaks for a generation who want nothing more than to live in a livable world? Why? Why does he deny the evidence all around us? And finally, why does the President lash out with such venom and disrespect at those who’s opinions and policies differ from his? This is not what the founders of our democratic republic intended. What happened to the American spirit of facing challenges with reason, cooperation, and good will?
Michael Roland
Nassau