Eastern Pennsylvania’s Pollen Extravangaza

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The past few weeks have been challenging. It’s nothing life-threatening. Just a lot of changes and stuff all crammed into a small amount of time. The rest of the summer looks like more of the same. Because my head was near the esploding point this morning from stress, I went for a longer than normal weekday hike (1.5 hours instead of 30 minutes). I worried a bit about the pollen: everything is coated in yellow goop and I breathed that stuff in as I hiked. Happily, I survived without an asthma attack. I also managed to get a good workout (I hike very fast, and most of it was uphill over rocks) and see a few birds I’d often heard, but never set eyes on before. Here’s my list for today:

Ovenbird (holy moly, so LOUD)
Brown Thrasher (sweet, sweet song)
Indigo bunting
Eastern wood pewee
Rose breasted grosbeak (female)
Scarlet tanager (female)
Pileated woodpecker
Robin (of course!)
Catbird
Red-bellied woodpecker
Northern Cardinal

I’m happy now. I have no idea what the purple flower is called. I don’t know what the one below is called, either, but they’re gorgeous, aren’t they? These are iPhone pics and I had to crouch over and avoid the poison ivy to get the shot. If I wake up itchy and cranky tomorrow, we will all know why.

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Autumn Sky Poetry DAILY is three months old

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It’s been an interesting three months. Autumn Sky Poetry DAILY is my recreation of Autumn Sky Poetry, a journal I published from 2006-2011. I missed reading poetry every day, and disliked the poems I found to read. My request for submissions brought me more poems than I’d ever hoped I would receive. Even more delightful is the quality of poems that have landed in my inbox. I am amazed at your work, dear poets. Thank you for sharing your words with me. I hope to keep publishing for a long time to come, but of course, that will depend on what I get.

So far, I haven’t found myself growing weary of reading. The accepting poems daily via publishing model seems to be working. I’m also pleased I don’t have to send out rejection letters. I read all the poems I receive. I am sad for those poets whose poems I don’t accept because I know what that feels like. I also recognize that what I publish may be only as good as what I like to read, and other readers may like different things.

As I’ve stated so many times in my past Editor’s Notes on Autumn Sky Poetry: Reading poetry is a pleasure for which too few of us have the time to spare. My aim, as editor, is to make poetry as accessible as possible: simple pages, simple formatting, exquisite poetry. I’m still trying to hold true to that. When I falter, I’ll take a break, but that time has not yet come.