My nostrils are bitten
by the brisk scent of pine,
invigorating, enervating in the rain.
I follow my nose
to two freshly felled stumps
and marvel that death can smell
so very much alive.
haiku storm August 31, 2015
rippling waves
sparkling with emerald, peridot, citrine
storm tossed tree.
poem- time tree August 11, 2013
The tree outside my bedroom window
was the diameter of my skinny child legs:
smooth skinned trunk,
sweet green leaves.
Now, I reach my mother arms
around rough bark,
scrape my wrists as
I stretch to touch
my finger tips together.
There’s summer sun in the scent
of poplar leaves.
I look into the window
searching for my youthful face
gazing out at the future.
little boxes: thinking outside the big boxes! August 28, 2012
I have a friend who was raised, along with his 7 brothers and sisters, 2 parents and dog, in a one thousand square foot, non-basement home. Many people in the early years of the baby boom and before can say the same.
When I see the humongous monstrosities of four or five thousand feet that have one or two people living in them, I feel concern for the message this sends about North American attitudes. Do we need as much stuff as we fill these spaces with? Do we need to waste the fuel to heat and cool these spaces?
In Europe, apartments are significantly smaller and in some big cities, people pay big bucks for what amount to tiny dorm rooms. Ikea has several promotions in store showing how liveable ‘my small space’ can be at five hundred square feet.
Deek Diedricksen takes it even further. With mostly found materials, he builds houses and living spaces that are under one hundred square feet. Some of his spaces are under twenty square feet. This is definitely thinking outside the box. His micro homes are more about statement and novelty than function. There are no kitchens or bathrooms inside a twenty square foot space. There is no heater or insulation (or stretching space!) to get you through a Canadian winter. However, there is room for you to crash in the woods during a summer vacation, and there is definitely a lot of creativity here. The point is made. You can live and sleep in small spaces. You don’t need a couple thousand square feet per person!
Check out some of his innovative designs and ponder… What if?
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Shawn L. Bird 