Z is for Zachary Nathaniel

I can't believe it is over.  I can't believe I did the whole thing.  I can't believe so many of us did the whole thing.  I would like to continue, but I think I have a writing project now to finish.  I will post Tuesdays and Fridays for almost sure.  And either Wednesday or Thursday, if I can swing it.  We will see.  I need just a little break, but not too much.  I at least have to see if I can get something in print.  I said I was going to, but haven't done it yet.  Write Club starts soon!   Aaargh!  Must be ready.  So I really do need to give my brain a change of pace here pretty quick.

The lobster boats are just waking up from their hibernation, and heading back to the water this week.  I got pictures while they were napping - just in time!  It's harder to get pictures when they are on the move.

So Z last lobster boat and poem is here.  First word - yare, a new word for me.  Thanks, rch over at Average Poet for the word yesterday.  I had my poem written, but rewrote and added some to get this word worked in!  I love learning new words!

Yare (yâr)adj.

1. Agile; lively.

2. Nautical Responding easily; maneuverable. Used of a vessel.

"Zachary Nathaniel"

yare little acrobat
a somersaulting clown

I’m a zipper
I’m a skipper

     I’m a zapper

     rather dapper

fast as a train on track
to trapping trips outbound

very snazzy

oh, so jazzy

     not too ritzy

     nor too glitzy

sleek as a denizen
in deepest azure seas

rarely lazy,
might be crazy

     zip and zappin'

     never nappin'

loud as a mighty roar
that causes prey to freeze

I will dazzle
sometimes frazzle

     just the best

     unnerving zest!

cool as an ocean breeze
a zephyr swirling round

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Thanks for all the kind words this month.  It has been a fun 26 days!  I hope you will keep in touch with continued visits.  I will try to get around to doing the same!  There are so many good blogs out there, and so little time!  But I'll do my best!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

More of Zee info:

Zoe A. Zanidakis (ZAZ), Monhegan Island’s only woman sea captain and a contestant on Survivor.
Larry Mills  and his son Gary, in 1976, designed and built a steel lobster boat named "Zephyr."

And in case you are coming to Maine this summer:

Here is the schedule for the 2013 Lobster Boat Races in Maine this summer.  You may see some of the lobster boats I've written about this April.  If you get a chance, stop by Maine sometime...the bad part, is you can't easily get here on your way to somewhere else.  You have to come here on purpose. Next stop Canada or the Atlantic Ocean!

Y is for YYY

My theme for April, Poetry Month and the A to Z Challenge: Maine Lobster Boat Names A to Z with poems for each...
Now this next boat...YYY may just be a no name and the YYY is part of the registration number.  But since there were no other numbers there - I'm taking it!  I haven't found any other Y names yet, so this is what I'm going with!
I think it is a question...or three questons: Y? Y? Y?  (Why? Why? Why?)
Isn't she cute?  She reminds me of Sunrise, my S boat, only a little deeper yellow and a dark red bottom.  She looks more like a sunset to me.

YYY

It's Time to Go Home

All day out at sea
with little to show,
we've had a long day
    so,
       it's time to go home.
The gulls overhead
entreat us to stay                      
"Stay here in the bay",
       no,
           it's time to go home.
The shadows are long
the day is now short;
"Day's over" we sigh,
        then
            it's time to go home.
We head in before
a crimson sunset,
and gold on the hills,
        says
             it's time to go home.
Bow pointed to sun
dark creeps up our stern,
hot supper awaits,
        yes,
             it's time to go home.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

And tomorrow, (drum roll) the letter Z for z end!  I cannot believe that I found it!  Well, I didn't find it.  A friend found it and sent me the url.  Thanks, Ree!

X it for Xtreme Measures

X has been found, really found!  It's the A to Z Challenge, and letter X is for today.  I have been searching for a lobster boat that begins with the letter X for quite some time.  and I found it a couple of days ago.
I have not yet met Xtreme Measures in person, but found its news article online.  It is a lobster boat that was lost off Spruce Head in a blizzard.  It had been lost for 10 days in February, but was located adrift about 150 miles away.
Story here: Bangor Daily News.

"Xtreme Measures"

The night was dark
And fearsome;
No stars to
Guide the way.
The sky was thick
With snowflakes;
No twinkle
Nor moon ray.
The waves were cold
And mighty;
No rest for
Boats this day.
With blust'ry winds
For weather,
The snow could
Hide a stray.

The boat was tossed
And tugging;
No hope to
Hold her tight.
The ropes were frayed
And loosened;
No crew to
Head her right.
The craft was sure
And worthy
As winds would
Give her flight.
The boat would go
Unnoticed
Until the
Next daylight.

For days no one
Could find her,
But still she
Tried to cope.
She wandered far
And yonder,
Until she
Felt taught rope;
A bit relieved
And tired
About to
Give up hope.
She gave in to
The guidance
No more to
Blindly grope.

At last this boat
Was rescued
From out the
White-cap foam.
The captain was
Excited,
His boat was
Guided home,
The miles of isles
and shoreland
He no more
Had to comb.
Still even keeled
And steady
She never
More would roam.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

L is for Lil Dipper

Lobster Boat Names from A to Z - 

Click on the A-to-ZChallenge tab above to go links to more A to Z posts!

Today's post from me is brought to you by the letter L!   First up is "Lil Dipper" and below an original poem for her.  Then there is Lasca J, a slightly larger boat with her own original poem.

Lil Dipper

"Lil Dipper"

                                           I'm a bobber, dobber, lobster boat
                                           Who bounces atop the sea
                                           I may look small but I'm no joke
                                           There's no one catches me!

                                           I'm a whipper, dipper, lobster clipper
                                           Who works a steady pace
                                           I may look cute but watch your back
                                           I'll beat you in any race!

 

Lasca J

"Lasca J"

High water or low

I'll push on the same

Skimming by others

Who know me by name.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Legal lobster (in Maine) =

• has a carapace between 3 1/4 and 5 inches long
• is not a berried female.
• has no V-notch, nicks, grooves, or indentations of any kind along its edge on the female tail flipper.

Live-tank or Live-well = A tank filled with seawater to hold live lobsters.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I'll be posting on Sunday, though it won't be a lobster boat poem.  Sunday is a day off from the A to Z Challenge, but it will be a poem, and there will be pictures related to lobstering and Maine, so come on back then!

J is for Jacob & Rachel

The day of J-ay.
And this first poem was a first poem, scheduled and ready to post.  Then I came back to it today (which is yesterday officially for you) to check and see what I had put together.  I wasn't satisfied with it.  So I started messing with it.  I was just going to add to it, but then before I knew it:
Cut.  Revise.  Cut.  Paste in a different spot.  Cut.  Add. Edit-Undo, Edit-Undo.  Rewrite.  Add.  Think. Think.  Admonition to self - "Stop thinking and just see, feel and write".  Cut a bit, move a bit.  Done.  Whoops!  One more word change.

So the first poem just under the picture is old, below ~~~~~~ is new and revised.

"Jacob & Rachel"

1.
The lobsterman's job

To pass on to kin:

The traps are hauled up

And then tossed back in.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
2.
With barnacled hands
Sand dollar skin
 Periwinkle eyes
And rocky hard chin
He’s  a part of the land
A part of the sea
 A heart for the deep and
For his family.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
3.
Barnacled hands,
Sand dollar skin,
 Periwinkle eyes,
Rocky ledge chin;
 Part of the land,
Portion of sea;
 Heart for the deep
And for family.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

And now that I see both together, the second one is nothing at all like the original.  That's good.  Do you agree?  Or do you prefer the first?
"But I see three poems here," I hear you saying.  Okay, just came back to this, this morning, and did some cutting and resulted in #3.  That's my pick.  What a transition!  I think I'm finally happy with it.  Less is more here.  J is also for Just Do It.
I like revising.  Do you?  Have you ever started with a poem or piece and messed with it so much that it ended up totally different?

Educational Jargon:

Jumbo: A lobster that weighs over 2-1/2 pounds.

H is for Happy Crab

Each day in April, except for Sundays, we are challenged to write on a topic that begins with the letter of the day.  Sunday will have a poem maybe topic related or at least Maine stuff, but not assigned a letter.  Click on the AtoZ Challenge tab above and visit more bloggers participating in this alphabetically challenging month!

It's also Slice of Life Tuesday, so head over there when you are done here at the shore!

My topic is Maine Lobster Boat Names...with a Trawler or two thrown in for missing letters.  Photos are all taken by me, of boats on the coast here in Maine.  They are mostly on land, as this is where they are parked for the winter awaiting warmer days and lobsters to return from deeper waters.  It was fun driving around, jumping out of the car, snapping a picture and taking off to find the next one.

I love this boat!  It definitely looks happy!  Love the color.  It just seems to be smiling.

"Happy Crab"

Warmer days

Gulls winging

Sun, fog, rain
Wind singing
Boat launch May
Happiness springing

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Educational Haven:

Hands-on Education - Lobster Conservancy Educational page - Lobster Curriculum.

Homarus americanus is the species of lobster caught in Maine waters.

Hard-shell lobsters =  Black mottling on the underside of the claws of the live lobster show that it is in its hard shell. They have not recently molted and you will need nutcrackers or a rock (seriously) to get the shell off after it's cooked.

Lobsters exhibit 'handedness'.  A lobster could have the crusher claw (dominant hand) on the right side while others will have it on the left.

 

Hen = A female lobster.

Hauling traps video (it's long...watch a bit) - not my video...YouTube of a local.

G is for Great White

Today is G in the AtoZ Challenge.  Check out other AtoZ Challenge posts by clicking on the link in my tabs above.  There are so many interesting topics that bloggers have picked to write about each day except Sundays in the month of April.  Since it is also Poetry Month, I have elected to write at least a poem a day to do with my topic - lobster boats of Maine.  I found one for the letter G!  I'd been looking for quite some time for a boat with a name that started with G, so I was pretty excited when I happened upon this one.  I still have Q, U, X, and Z to find...but that's not too bad.  I'm still looking. 

"Great White"

The sea's predator -
So agile and quick,
Cutting and weaving,
Movements so slick;

Low dipping gulls will

Pick up any scraps

Of whatever's tossed

From the jaws of my traps.

Education Gallery:

Learn about the Great White Shark

and Seagulls

The House with the Straightened Wall

Today is Poetry Friday, and it's being hosted by Linda at TeacherDance.  Pop on over and read some great poetry and check out links to poetry related blogs by some pretty great teachers, poetry lovers and poets! 

The house with the straightened wall
Stands proudly
And tall
By the sea

The house with the straightened wall
Contentedly
Waits
For me

The house with the straightened wall
Sees its time
Is soon to
Come

The house with the straightened wall
Joins my whispery
Joyful
Hum

© Donna J.T. Smith, Feb.14, 2013

It's Poetry Friday and this is my poem about the house we are renovating, Gull Haven.  It sat quite sadly for a number of years, but is now getting new walls, floors, windows, plumbing, electrical, insulation and love.  It's been a long process, but it is getting close to the time when we'll be able to stay there at least for a few days at a time.  And we'll be there full time when we are both retired.
I posted the first poem here: The House with the Wrinkled Wall.  So this one is like a followup poem to the first poem that I wrote in October of 2011 when we first purchased the house.  By this October we should be finally finished with all the work there...maybe for this summer even.

More illows

Today I worked with a teen, teaching her to sew.  We sewed the first of many pillowcases to donate to the women in a residential addictions program.  I started to write about that, but when I started writing the word "pillow" it made me think of other words...

I like the sound of
pillows,
billows
and willows.

I think
there should
more illow words -
millows of them -
**********************************************************

In the lillows of the valley,
the fragrance is so sweet.

In the frillows of the brook
water splashed upon my feet.

In the nillows of the night,
fireflies glowed, and darkness lightened.

In the villows of the tree
many creatures lived unfrightened.

In the sillows of a web,
the dew drops sparkled with perfection.

In the chillows of the winter,
new snow shone the moon's reflection.

In the gillows of the rocks
little mice were nibbling corn.

In the rillows of the mind
is where mighty dreams are born.
***********************************************************

I do not know where this came from today....somewhere in the rillows of my mind.  I have perhaps been up too late in the nillows of the night.

Linked to Poetry Friday hosted by Tabitha Yeats: The Opposite of Indifference.

Up, Down vs. Down, Up

Up, down, 

Mom grips, 

Runs,

Then lets go. 

Up, down, 

Weaving wheel 

Snake prints 

In gravel and grass. 

Up, down, 

Two pedals, 

Little bike, 

On the ground. 

Up, down,

Boy’s spirit, 

Knee Scuffed. 

Up, down, 

Little bike 

Put away 

For another day. 

Up, down, 

“I will 

do that 

when 

I know

how.” 

Up, down, 

Door slams. 

Up, down, 

Mom sighs. 

There’s no 

Explaining

That you 

Need to

Do it 

To learn

How.

There’s no 

Explaining 

Down, up.

That was a hard day.  How do you convince him that he can't just not do something until he knows how to do it?  Of course, now he's grown, having learned how to ride his bike shortly after that incident, and now rides a motorcycle!

My Table

Why 

are you

on

my table

again?

 Whose table?

You
aren't

supposed

to walk on 

my table! 

 Whose table?

I

don't 

want you

on
my table...

 Whose table?

I
just

organized
all these
papers;
get off
my table!

Whose table?

Okay,

I'll move

my papers

off 

your table.

It's okay,

I think

I can

make

them work

for me.