Where Ice Cream Comes From

Open house at a Vermont creamery
Where they produce ice cream downright dreamery
Maple, chocolate, and even blueberrery

Dairy farmers have to make ends meet
By staying on their toes and on their feet
No time for sitting on their seat

Cheese-makers, ice cream-makers, goat-milkers and more
All of them working hard to try to be sure
Of paying the bills whatever the future has in store

We saw alpacas, a pig, and a cow, of course
As a way to spend an afternoon, we could have done worse
Than to see where ice cream comes from, right at the source.

R.I.P. X-15

I miss my Kodak X-15
My little old camera I have not seen
Since I was young, maybe in college
In the good old days when my technical knowledge
Was adequate enough
To operate my stuff

Flash cube in place, X-15 was ready to go
I click-clicked away at whatever the show
Film came in 12, 24, or 36 prints
And working the thing took very few hints
Just open the little shutter and click for Lord's sake
A degree in computer science X-15 did not take

This digital nonsense is not for me
My I-phone camera drives me bonkers-crazy
Hoping to capture an image for Face Book
I turn the thing on and take another look
But alas, I did not slide slide or push button
And the photo I wanted has long since been forgotten

So Face Book friends see little from yours truly
My %$#@&* camera is just too unruly
My X-15 long gone I do mourn
I miss the good old days of yesterday and yorn
When I could take a photo whenever the mood struck
When it took no techno-skill, just simple dumb luck

Loonatic Shtick

The loons off my dock
My summer they do rock

Big, black, and white
They are such a lovely sight

Magical creatures
With many mystical features

Oh, my goodness! Hark!
Is that them yodeling in the dark?

Haunting is the sound
Dreamy, and mellow, and profound

Another interesting fact?
The chicks ride mommy piggyback

Mom can’t walk around so hot
But skill at flying, swimming, and diving she do got

The nest is made
In the marshes in the shade

And Mom is not alone
Papa Loon spends lots of time at home

He shares duties nesting
While Mamma Loon goes off someplace resting

Come July we will have chicks!
And go ahead, call me a hick

But I cannot wait
For this most exciting date!

Betty the Cat's Summertime Blues

Off of the edge of our screened-in porch
Betty the cat did see
A chipmunk running to and fro
With energy and glee

The chipmunk ran around the corner
Merrily here and there
Betty sputtered disapproval
Her garden she does not share

Chipmunk hopped upon the trellis
And stuck out his tongue to her
Betty's tail got big and wide
And trust me she did not purr

But Betty, in truth, was happy too
An indoor cat she is
Watching the critters just out of her reach
Gives her hours of joy and bliss