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Skellig Michael

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The Farm Venture

The Farm Venture Our farm is mostly dairy, Jersey cows. We sell rich milk to Top Hill Farm where they turn it into yogurt that’s creamy and delicious. My sister Nelda has a side business of ducklings, as they fetched an excellent price these days. She’ll have enough to pay for college when the time comes.  Our new venture this spring was pigs. The barn is away from the other animals, close to…

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June Morning & June 4th Reading in Greenfield MA

Photo by Kulbir on Pexels.com June Morning The first warm June morning I gather rhubarb and wild strawberries that perfume the air. Sweeter than any garden berry, four would fill a thimble. Back at the kitchen counter I slice pale rhubarb stalks, eight cups worth, into the pot, add sugar, cardamon, and vanilla. Some things are constant in our lives, like stirring at a stove on a…

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Upcoming Reading In Greenfield June 4

June 4, 2025 Wedneday afternoon 2pm Greenfield Library, Main Street, Greenfield MA I’d love to see you ! Our weather has been so cold and rainy that I pulled a few tomatoes out of the ground and brought them into the house for a few days. The tomato plant and basil that I left out was drained of the bright green color, even though it was covered with garden fabric. The pond and stream have…

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The Last Half of May

Temperatures have tumbled into the 40s and fifties, throwing off my plans to transplant tomato and cantaloupe seedings. I’ve got lettuce, arugula, chard, garlic and violets coming up. The violets come on their own, and I pick leaves and eat as I work; it’s considered a good cleaning herb for the lymph. How is your garden? I think of my friend Laurie’s garden when I work here. It’s much sunnier,…

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Crow

Photo by Matt Richmond on Pexels.com This poem shares exactly what it’s like here. The crows return just before the frogs and salamanders. They call to each other, but since covid, it seems that even the crows here are quieter and less social. Crow The crow calls after I’ve poured  a second cup of coffee. The forest is quiet aside from Moss Brook, sound splashing through an open…

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May

It’s finally gardening time. It’s rare that we’ll dip below freezing now, and we are often hopeful about this years garden. Rhubarb and asparagus are pushing up through the ground, and this week I’ve been nibbling on violet blossoms and leaves that run wild through the grass May She plants skullcap, St John’s wort, and raspberry in the new garden. She transplants bee balm behind peonies,…

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Visual Art Reception May 9

I’m really pleased to have a painting from my time painting in New Mexico in this show, and when I dropped off my art I was very excited by the other art being dropped off.\; it will be an interesting show. You can find info on the QR code on the above flier. The Mill is a gallery/very interesting General Store on Cowls Street in North Amherst, and the reception kicks off the event! ( I love…

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Armenian Remembrance Day

I offer prayers to all people of the world who suffer on this day, And I offer this story from my childhood. Morning Stories When I woke in the morning and begged for stories, Gram said  don’t talk, flies will get into your mouth. After our work I’ll tell you a story. She tied an apron around me, pulled the stool to the table, gave me parsley, cracked wheat, ground lamb, a basin of…

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The First Time

My grandmother’s cousin, Father Kevont, found us when I was five. He was orphaned during the Armenian genocide when most of his family was killed but never gave up looking for survivors. Father Kevont was brought up by French monks who ran the school he attended, and when he was old enough they sent him to a monastery on an island in Venice, Italy. He had a long varied career that began in the…

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Reading Poetry on Sunday

This coming Sunday – Greenfield First Sunday Word April 6th @The Lava Center   324 Main St. Greenfield, MA 01301 Celebrate Poetry Month Poetry, Stories, Spoken Word Doors open at 1:00 1:20 is Open Mic 5 minute slots 2:30 Features this month – three great writers Elaine Reardon Carla Schwartz Joshua Michael Stewart $1 to $5 sliding scale donation to support the Lava center Hope to see…

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A Pantoum for Deer

This particular style of poem has particular lines that repeat, like the deer that return to eat what grows close to the house this time of year. Food is scarce; nothing new is growing yet, and they are attracted to the juniper and dried grasses. Early Morning From the kitchen window, I watch deer emerging from the trees along the stream. A doe wanders up the hillside, sniffing. She digs to…

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Roaring in Like A Lion

Early March brought enough sun and rain to melt thick ice and snow. Snowdrops are blooming now, and daffodils have pushed up their first green ears. So, of course tonight and tomorrow we have more snow coming, just enough to necessitate bringing in more wood for the fire tonight. It’s not been a good year for the sap running, but our local chickens ( just up the road) are finally laying again.…

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Feet Firmly Planted in March

We’re coming close to Saint Patrick’s Day, so I’d like to tell you about a place dear to my heart, Loughcrew, in Ireland. It’s an ancient place not so well known as Newgrange. Looughcrew is now a national park, but wasn’t very well known the first time I visited. Loughcrew Cairns  Walk through the ancient doorway to a chamber where threshold stones are covered with undecipherable…

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Primavera

I wrote this poem about a convent at the edge of the Primavera National Forest in Mexico. A river filled with very hot water passes the convent. The water is considered healing, and many people visit to soak and heal. Families come and spend the day at the baths, outside of the convent. Women from all over Mexico and the SW US would come to be treated by the Abbess. She has since passed on. I…

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If you enjoy this read, please share!

Inspired by our recent climate- published just this morning. Enjoy, and let me know what you think. Best, Elaine No More Edens

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Bakers of the Western Islands

We are moving close to Saint Patrick’s Day, to the baking of delicious scones and loaves of bread, and the return of the Irish sausage to the local markets, so I bring you this small story and hope you enjoy it. Also, I wonder, with the change of season, is there anything you want to bake to welcome spring? Bakers of the Western Islands Off the coast of Galway, a noddy boat could skip between…