haiga, history, photography, politics, tanka

A Liberty Tree for 2026

Trees have put out leaves.
With so many adorned in green,
a dead one stands out.
No, wait.  Look up toward the sky.
Liberty refuses to die.

A large elm in Boston became known as the “Liberty Tree” because patriots often gathered there, from 1765 until loyalists cut it down in 1775.

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haiga, history, photography, politics

Americanism on Memorial Day

The yard sign displayed in my post regarding No Kings 3.0 elicited two prompt and insightful comments (acknowledged at the end of this post).  As my earlier post noted, I was uneasy about the sign’s assertion that fascism is “un-American” when far too many Americans are fascists or their enablers.  In one important sense of the word [un-American], however, the sign’s assertion is still true and still worth declaring with fierce simplicity on Memorial Day (rather than with details that cannot fit in a readable yard sign).

As was true last year, Memorial Day this year is a time to fly the flag while calling out American fascists because they desecrate the memory of those who died to defend American values against a succession of tyrannies, from taxation w/o representation to slavery to 20-th century fascism to communism to 21-st century fascism to whatever abominations may lie ahead.

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flowers, haiga, haiku, photography, seasons

Lilac, 2026-05

“Lilac” bush
might not bloom “lilac.”
Names mislead.

 
 

The color called “lilac” in CSS is a light purple, with equal amounts of red and blue.  (The buds on this bush were a magenta, with a good deal more red than blue.)  Eleven days later, this bush was almost done for the year.  It looked like the flowers had indeed been lilac when fully open and were fading to lavender and then white.

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haiga, haiku, photography

Another Dawn

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Soon after solstice,
angry year nears end with hope:
“Peace on Earth, Good Will …”

 

glass-wreath_merry-xmas_840x630

 
 

Early morning sunlight can make a frosted window (or clean snow) sparkle like myriad tiny diamonds.  I have tried and failed to photograph that look.  Editing one recent try produced an image that struck me as interesting and subtly hopeful, appropriate for a Xmas greeting after a grueling year. 

 

 
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haiga, haiku, humor, photography

Not in Nature

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Cattle breed with swine,
just in someone’s playful mind.
Belted Galloway pigs!

 
 

Nature~ Pic and a Word Challenge #390

The farm near my house does raise Belted Galloway cattle; it does not raise any pigs.  My guess is that someone wanted to decorate the farm’s entrance with an outdoor sculpture of a Belted Galloway cow, then found one of a Hampshire pig at a flea market or garage sale.  Close enough: black-white-black (but  with white forelegs).  BTW, I found an image of a pig with black-white-black arranged just as on the cattle.  Nature can sometimes be playful, too.

 
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