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Daily Archives: April 5, 2024
Another day of Redbud WinterOr is it Locust??Will we get three of thoseSince we’re getting three hatches?Or is this just SpringAnd we need to take every dayAs it comesI think soAs I ladle more soup into my bowlMore insulation I tell myselfAnd add cheeseSo jitteryFrom too much coffeeAnd suppressed aggravationDowngraded from the rage of yesterday Looking forward to tomorrow And coffeeAnd finishing booksAnd conversations about birdsOr what have youIt is just wordsI tell myselfAs I read the story aloudFor the first timeTo the one it’s aboutEven if he insists it isn’t And I tear upAnd my throat closesIt is just wordsKeep readingDon’t you dare cryJust wordsWhy am I such a tender heart I need to stay toughNot a wimpy little girlWay too late for feelingsAdjust the armorDraw the swordAnd march forwardI hope that someday A poem reaches your heartAnd caresses your soulAnd makes you yearn For something you had long forgotLike when you stumble across a retro toyIn an antique storeOr your grandmother’s perfumeOn a scarf in a drawerIn my libraryIt doesn’t matter what winter it isIt doesn’t matterWhat time it isBut it does matterBecause I cannot keep my eyes openAnd these are just wordsSometimes It Be That Way~JewelNight with its shattered teethAttempts to speakMy pen is present butCourage left via the sinkAnd I’m sorryI snuck up on youFrom behindI’m sorry not allMy love letters did rhymeAnd I’m sorry thatJesus died for my sinsAnd I swear to…
There were no sunglasses in evidence Wednesday morning, April 3rd, 2024, when a group of students from the Culinary Arts Division of Walters State Community College met and traveled to a local beef producer’s farm just outside of Sevierville, Tennessee. The spring day was overcast, blustery, and thirty degrees cooler than it had been the two previous days. The old timers would label it “airish” but to the rest of us, it was strictly cold. But a cold day out in the field is still better than a warm day behind a desk, and we were all thankful it wasn’t raining. The landowner, Lynn McMahan, had taken the day off from trucking to host the group of students, together with organizer Mike Sharp, TN Beef Industry Council & Cattlemen’s Association; Dr. Katie Mason, a professor with the University of Tennessee; Mallory Fancher, a recent graduate student of ruminant nutrition; Sevier County Ag Extension director Adam Hopkins; and Amy Johnson, secretary for Sevier County Soil & Water Conservation District and Natural Resource Conservation Service (USDA-NRCS). Students were here to see firsthand where the beef they prepare comes from, starting with the calves born on site in October. We drove up the graveled lane to the large barn. We gathered inside, hunkered in clothes that proved inadequate against the wind that howled around the corners. From the front of the barn, the mountain was clearly visible and beginning to fill with vibrant greens as…
