hippohank

Oh, nose!

2010-01-31T23:20:14Z

OH, NOSE!

Birthday Girl!

2009-12-21T00:30:33Z

Here is a poorly edited, poor quality video I made for my birthday girl. Happy birthday, 9 year old!

Sounds of Snow

2009-12-14T01:53:45Z

This tree, and my children, are happier than I...

Sounds of Snow
My feelings toward snow
are as varied as the flakes.
Gentle dustings of
early snow adorn naked
trees left bare by autumn winds.

Snowing makes a sound
like wind from butterflies' wings
scattered across windshields.
Cause poor visibility
as they sparkle in the sun.

Come February
ice storms, wind chills, scrapping, and
slipping on the walk,
cease the thoughts of flutterings.
The sound of snow drowned by plows.

Turkey

2009-11-28T16:13:03Z

Hank hopes you had a gratifying turkey day.

Flirting with Dragonfly

2009-10-17T21:07:43Z

Heard the news today
and it wasn't good.
Couldn't get the radio switched
off fast enough.
Death tolls continued to ring
in my ear.

Got out for coffee.
Every laptop on most tables,
more details revealed.
One lonely newspaper in the corner,
old news already.

Escaped outside, free of wifi
and those leashed to it.
By myself until a dragonfly delicately landed
on the brim of my cup
and seemed to say, "You're silly."

Dragonfly wings remind me of paper kites
lost to trees.
Things that tear.
But the dragonfly defies that,
hovers around my head
like laughing.

"You're right, I am silly."
Strange that today of all days
is the day I flirt with a dragonfly.
I smile, despite myself.
I smile to spite myself.

A Birthday

2009-10-14T23:26:11Z

When I tell mom I love her, she says, "I love you more."
I say, "No way," but I know better because when my son was born I discovered she was right.
Now when my children say, "No Way, " I look at them the way my mom still looks at me, with that bit of weariness around the eyes that says, You have no idea.
My son turned 10 yesterday, but I remember it all as if it were yesterday.

Tunneling through the valley
with the sway and a clack, clack
a rock-a-bye for my submerged Peanut
also dreaming of trains.

Zigzags of cinderblock gray burst open
with light and color of backyards along the track.
The intimacy of a clothesline, while shouldering a stranger
with the rhythm of the sway

and the beat of my heart soothes the one close to me,
I've yet to meet, while I nod along with the clack, clack.
The first leg of our journey is a peaceful one,
displaying the signs of life revealed to us along the way.

Then
cast through the air, flung back to the desert,
I'm the only one not singing Viva Las Vegas.
Patchworks of growth below become dusty, revealing less signs of life.
"No, thanks" to the fourth offer of a drink. "I'm pregnant," works on the fifth.
Viva Las Vegas, your birthplace,
but don't worry, Peanut, we won't stay long.
You can take the Valley Girl out of the valley,
but never, like totally,
remove the valley from the girl.

Today I celebrate the both of us... the three of us... the four of us... the six of us...
all of us.

Little Frog!

2009-10-08T17:51:03Z

Hey look, I found a little frog!

We Need To talk

2009-09-10T12:45:44Z

Red Bird :(

2009-07-23T23:17:09Z

If this wasn't irritating enough...

... the red bird has been at the wild berries.
I know this because there is berry colored poo all over our window ledge, deck, and bench as well as berry bird slobber all over our windows.
Hank loves those berries.

Good-bye Red Bird, I'm very sorry about the hippo

What am I going to tell his wife

and kids

That's a really bad hippo!

Random Hippo Sighting

2009-07-02T13:16:32Z

Don't drink the water!

photo by mom

hank's lesson in sharing

2009-06-12T21:04:59Z

Cats played by Chamomile and Inky.
hank as himself

Ask Alice

2009-05-23T17:29:21Z

If I could shrink, just a little, would it be worth it to not hit my head on something, as often as I do?
Would I still be able to reach items on top shelves, for myself and for random strangers in super markets?
I don't know.
I do know that some people with straight hair wish they had more wave while some with curly hair wish theirs was straighter.
Some people with red hair wish their hair wasn't red, while a lot of brunettes dye their hair blond.
Some go grey and others cover it up.
Hitting my head hurts, but if I was shorter, would I wish I was taller?
There are many examples of this sort of questioning going horribly wrong in film and literature.

Hank *is* a very small hippo,
so you can't really blame him for trying.

Thank you Zo for the comic!

hank and kids

2009-05-14T21:12:30Z

Hank, tiny and cute, but not very good with kids.

new friends

2009-05-10T21:26:49Z
We've been in this house almost 2 years now and, finally, my hippo is starting to make new friends.

Hi, I'm Hank! I recommend the granola!

Lily of the valley

2009-05-09T14:40:52Z

Who rang that bell?