The Renku Sessions: A Day of Snow 35
Greetings and welcome to The Haiku Foundation’s Fourth Renku Session: A Day of Snow. I am Marshall Hryciuk of Toronto Canada and i will be the leader of a 36-link Kasen renku. I’ve led over 40 of these linked-poem gatherings and my latest book, from Carleton Place, Canada is a selection of 15 of them, called petals in the dark.
Hello there renku lovers and readers of all that is haiku! We have our crescendo blossom verse. It is:
wooded dunes
in dappled sunlight a stand
of Indian paintbrushes
- Betty Shropshire
Here the evanescence of an airy scent that wafts among the intermittent chirps of unseen frogs links to dunes of sand that can change shape or placement with tides or winds; whose position is makeshift at best.
Already within an amorphous setting, “in dappled light” extends this impermanence while reinforcing the influence of overhanging boughs connoted by “wooded”. Then, at the end of this same line we have the firm “a stand” whose concluding ‘d’ sound, the sixth in two lines, solidifies this image for us, one that provides the new setting for “indian paintbrushes” that do bloom in spring, on this kind of marshy site as ‘volunteers’; not necessarily planted by people.
That the bloom of this flower is often bright red brings to a climax the colour progression from previous verses without denoting that colour or even saying the word. ‘colour’. An added twist is that “indian” could be taken to indicate our North American First Nations, in their closeness to nature, or as an indicator of a distant origin in Asia. “Paintbrushes” could also be taken as the source of spreading and celebratory colour; the source of visual imagery in general. Thank you very much, Betty.
So we’ve come to our final verse, my fellow travelers. For this one i’d like to not so much leave our renku behind as to let it lift off from our hands and minds out into the fellow beings of the universe. So, 2 lines, spreading astronomically. Resist the urge to conclusion, just let our renku go.
Happy linking,
Marshall
A Day of Snow to Date
a day of snow
no one else
has come to the door–Marshall Hrycuik
coyote song closer
this longest night–Judt Shrode
incense lit
the scent of sage
lingers in a crowd
–Maureen Virchau
bales of the second haying
stacked to the rafters–Paul MacNeil
dust from travelers
makes its slow descent
in the moonlight–steve smolak
faded jeans, school colors
and granny’s specs to match–Betty Shropshire
facing me
a hairy bunyip points
the bones
–Barbara A. Taylor
balls of moss
exit the quaking forest
–Carmen Sterba
in the garden shop
seed packets
arrayed alphabetically
–Marilyn Potter
glasswing on the handle
of my butterfly net
–Karen Cesar
a gypsy’s forecast
uttered to the sound
of rolling dice–Lorin Ford
trick-or-treaters skip
under a new moon
–Maureen Virchau
horses’ foggy snorts
lead our morning jaunt
along the track
–Marietta McGregor
scanning an empty platform
as the train chugs off
–Shrikaanth Krishnamurthy
I sit in silence
behind the steering wheel
awhile–Paul Geiger
the ewe gently nudges
her lambs to move on
–Mary Kendall
one white tulip
in a sunlit border
glows against the green
–Marietta McGregor
another soul in the limelight
of #blacklivesmatter
–Agnes Eva Savich
Bastille Day
fireworks
extinguished
–Marion Clarke
recruitment of volunteers
for the hospice New Year’s Eve–Gabriel Sawicki
beaming with joy
the first visitor presents
a tray of passionfruit–Barbara A. Taylor
the commuter car full
of personal devices–Michael Henry Lee
with a touch of her finger
the goddess of wind
marcels the tall grasses–Patrick Sweeney
a gull’s wings barely moving
in the midday heat–Polona Oblak
if only I could fit
an arm chair
into my wine cellar–Liz Ann Winkler
a dust caked child
turning a dry spigot–Judt Shrode
week after week
the geyser spout remains
frozen solidBarbara A. Taylor
skiers debate
violet wax or blue special–kj munro
twelve breaths
moving as one
hour of tai chi–Michael Henry Lee
along the Sheboygan
salmon anglers drift fishing–Betty Shropshire
this eclipsed moon
suddenly the colour
of fallen leaves–Marietta McGregor
striking the hunting camp
no deer in sight–Paul Geiger
every quarter
the gentle chimes
of our antique–Barbara A. Taylor
the scent of rain wafts
among peepers–Theresa Cancro
wooded dunes
in dappled sunlight a stand
of Indian paintbrushes–Betty Shropshire
This Post Has 206 Comments
Comments are closed.
Thank you to our sabaki Marshall, and thank you to everyone else for a fantastic 36 weeks of thinking and linking. Loved it! And I learned so much along the way.
*
the dust of molecular clouds
swept away
hi Liz Ann -no, i wanted our renku to be ‘swept away’ with its ‘passion-within-elegance’ -not the interstellar molecules -thanks for the effort, though
It’s been great fun and a real challenge to be part of this wonderful renku, so thank you Marshall and all the gifted poets who have participated. I’ve learned so much.
.
My last offering (quitting on a ‘high’ note) 😉
.
.
imagination soaring
beyond the stars
.
or
.
.
imagination takes flight
beyond the stars
.
.
beyond the stars
imagination takes flight
Hey, Mary, it’s been such fun to be here with you! 🙂
been fun to be out here with all of you as well,starting with everybody -keep linking -there’s still more time -MH
the “imagination soaring” one is very nice, Mary -thanks for ‘getting loose’ so often -it helped everyone feel free to post and comment -and thanks for this last one -i’ve got few hours to consider which of three i’m going to use -while looking out for new ones
so Mary, i took another offering that carries the same exhilaration as yours, only with (slightly) less abstraction -thanks again to you and everyone who offered their hearty participation -i’m proud of what we accomplished together -kampai -i salute you -Marshall
leap note by leap note
a celestial song begins
deft cadencing for an ending, Debbie -unfortunately “fingertips” after “paintbrushes” just too close -and it really is -i couldn’t stop thinking of ‘fingernails’ when i read this combined with the previous one
lovely summary, Mary -but the music would be interposed
Beautiful verse Betty, packed with so much! Thank you!
—————
fingertips reach
for the stars
deft cadencing for an ending, Debbie -unfortunately “fingertips” after “paintbrushes” just too close -and it really is -i couldn’t stop thinking of ‘fingernails’ when i read this combined with the previous one
ups and downs
of life beyond ours
.
or
.
ups and downs
of life beyond
sounds like a sad conclusion, only looking ahead, Mary -keeping it light . . .
the weight of this world
now left behind
naw, can’t close with a comment as in this one’s first line, Mary, even if it’s true
LOL, I was alluding to gravity, not the sad state of the world. I get your point, though. 🙂
leaping from star
to star and beyond
“leaping” could be subjective, but getting closer to what i’m looking for, Mary -feel like i’m missing some feeling of exhilaration i should be receiving from this verse
at tether’s end
the great beyond
.
(probably not because of the end words being too close?)
.
.
at the end of our tether
the great beyond
don’t need to worry about “end words being too close”, Mary -but i would avoid phrases such as “end of our tether” because of their commonplace usages as expressions of emotion like ‘i’m at the end of my tether’ that load up the phrase emotionally before their literal meaning can be examined or felt
beyond our wanderers
an other-worldly echo
“other-worldly” doesn’t add anything here, does it Marietta? hard to come up with something sensual suggesting eeriness, i know, but that’s what this needs
**
the desert night sky
opens with a single star
beautiful solemnity to this one Liz Ann -good as a haiku or at the beginning of a renku -not so much as the last verse -but thanks
ineligible but who can resist a last go:
…
orb-weaver’s spiderlings
off on a galaxy quest
…
or
…
the dharma bums
with their hitchhiker’s guide
or
orb-weaver’s spiderlings
leap to the heavens
first line way over the top, Betty -kind of a Ariadne-Penelope creator myth -second line keeps it up, though
so the first one you made even wilder -the second would be pretty good without the “the” at the start -or for those who sat this one out ‘galaxy hiker-guides/ on their bums”
the balloon man releases
his inner child
nice senryu, Michael -seems to have put us all in ‘farewell mode’ -as a link, can’t use “child” so soon after v. 26
fountaining meteors
just before dawn
feels more like they’re approaching than that our renku is leaving, Judt -and geez, i hope they were only meteorites
a commentator exclaims
heavens above
Sorry, couldn’t resist after Judt’s last one!
?
better than our hockey commentators, Marietta, who try to call the play before it happens
downside up
in deep space
.
.
Sorry, Marshall. I promise to straighten up after this. (not even drinking)
hahahahahaha 🙂
heck, maybe you were listening to “Major Tom” by D. Bowie, Judt
our universe spinning
in a widening gyre
.
.
I don’t know…just because.
you’ve been to W.B. Yeats’ “Vision” and back -not so reprehensible, Judt
wooded dunes
in dappled sunlight a stand
of indian paintbrushes
*
–Betty Shropshire
*
first nations meetup
on a galaxy-wide transmit
sorry, Carmen, “meetup” and “transmit” just not words that fit with our renku or my feeling for haiku in general
*******
Pleiades spiral dancing
in the arms of the galaxy
“arms” one of those sleeping metaphors, Liz Ann, that we use so often we don’t recognize as such -I love the Pleiades, the seven sisters that the old stone age people lived by for 600,000 years -in another renku i would suggest just ‘The Pleiades/ spiralling’ as an ending but too abrupt for this one -but you can understand i find this offering too overwritten
Yes, I get it. Perhaps
*
Pleiades
spiral through the galaxy
Or
*
Pleiades
spiraling through the galaxy
not bad, Liz Ann -i’m thinking now of one that could include our renku travelling as well -why i said above, “in another renku”
wooded dunes
in dappled sunlight a stand
of indian paintbrushes
*
–Betty Shropshire
*
first nations meetup
on a galaxy-wide telecast
kind of a first-nations skype, eh, Carmen -not really what i’m looking for in reaching out to the unknown in this last verse
next destination
interstellar space
sounds sumnary and could be from a ‘loudspeaker’, Marion
🙂 I’ve probably watched way too many sci fi movies for my own good, Marhsall, but your comment made me think of that film The Fifth Element.
waving goodbye
to the asteroid belt
and a ‘cheers’ to Orion too -like the other ones better, Marion
bursting out of gravity
in a trail of stars
this one has possibilities too, Marion -i was thinking it sounds as if the trail was made by the “bursting” -but maybe leaving gravity behind is part of how stars are generated -so, thanks
a stream of charged particles
flowing outwards from the Sun
besides being a bit too long, Marion, this one is too clinical for our renku
travelling 26,000 light-years
from the the Milky Way
that’s really out there, Marion -though i’m sure there’s a ‘there’ there, this is too exaggerated for our ending
kicking up interplanetary dust
as they take off
this one not so successful at being “interplanetary”, Marion
the exhilaration
of interstellar wind
worth another look, Marion -long words feel like breathing in space, thanks
just liked the “bursting out” one better, Marion
leaving the solar system
in a whoosh
don’t really want to have “whoosh” as the last word in our renku, Marion
Awwww 🙁
reading the Milky Way
on a silent beach
nice touch, Marietta -the implication of the “Milky Way” as a book leaves me uneasy, however
asking the stars
who else may be out there
personification of the stars, Marietta
paper lanterns vanish
among the stars
nice touch, Michael -“paper lanterns” linking with “paintbrushes”, but right now, it reminds me too much of Marietta’s moon verse, “this eclipsed moon . . . ” so, i’ll look at it again later and see if it leaves me with the same impression then, thanks
yeah, Michael -still lovely and still too close to the eclipse and its muffled colour
beyond the cloud bank
a supermoon is rising
would leave the “a” out, Michael for a good one-liner haiku -too much of a jolt for a renku-finishing verse though
yes its is, Marilyn -should be spectacular around here if the sky is clear at night -but our last ‘moon verse’ was at 31 -no repeat here, even if “super”
symbolic runes of DNA
way beyond our star system
super-charged with signifiers, Marietta just too over-the-top with imagination
a bottle rocket
when it’s least expected
would leave the “a” out, Michael for a good one-liner haiku -too much of a jolt for a renku-finishing verse though
however many worlds
in a grain of sand
yes, nice William Blake, Marietta -but don’t want a “however” here at our celebratory ending -or to be looking at the “palm of our hand”
at times we imagine
the music of the spheres
oops, I repeated “the” twice…let me rephrase it to:
.
times when we imagine
this music of the spheres
.
or
.
planets and moons
circle round in starlight
.
or
.
what heavenly notes
this music of the spheres
.
or
.
sun and moon and planets
in this celestial dance
so, Mary, in order of appearance: top one is too subjective as a figure of imagination, 2. it’s a variation on many elliptical orbits that the planets ‘travel round’ the sun, so “circle round in starlight” though it sounds “actual” is really a subjective commonplace ‘saying’, 3. is an imagined presence made tangible but still too commonplace for the ending i want and 4. has the delightful cadence of “celestial dance” but a first line that doesn’t leave our solar system -which is what i want to do
Orion stands guard
as we study the stars
.
.
or
.
.
Orion stands watch
as we study the stars
does reach to ‘the watched’, Mary -with we watchers being watched ourselves by the guardian, Orion -still a kind of barrier though -want to just have our renku let go without self-consciousness
floating on night water
we watch the stars
off of “the watching”, Mary -want to focus on the ‘watched’
wooded dunes
in dappled sunlight a stand
of indian paintbrushes
*
–Betty Shropshire
*
first galaxy-to-galaxy
peace pipe interaction
so, Carmen, “peace pipe” would link to the “Indian” -but then you’d be summing up what i’m asking for instead of ‘performing’ it
enjoying the dizziness
from looking at stars
we make ourselves dizzy
from star gazing
off of ‘first-person’ finishing links as well, Marion
through the roof garden telescope
you explain where you’re going
lines getting long now -i’m totally off of “telescopes” for this, Marion
not long before leaving
you point out the planets
has more of a pathos to it, Marion than an exhilaration
only with haiku paper
stranded astronaut
don’t want to be this self-conscious of ‘haiku-like’ writing -especially not as a final impression, Todd
child holds up a radiometer
beyond the Perigee Moon
“child” and “Moon” are repetitious, Todd -and i don’t want mention of ‘measuring devices’ here
at the speed of light
our voices swell the cosmos
a reflection of what this renku as a whole might be doing, Todd -but i still want us to ‘stay-within-the-renku’ while we’re completing it
Thank you, everyone! I feel blessed to be in such great company!!
?Betty
Betty, a very lovely verse indeed. I’m in awe of you and all the amazing poets in this renku.
speeding away with a wave
to the blue planet
not comfortable with “away with a wave” in our final verse, Marietta -nor sure about ‘looking back’ either to “the blue planet”
new sunspot patterns
today on the heliostat
don’t really care for the “heliostat” either, Marietta
the spectroscope tuned
to a trillion other spheres
have to move on from optical devices, Marietta -for this verse anyway, it’s not about the seeing but about the seen
from Aquarius
a burst of shooting stars
this is good, Carol -will have another read of it before choosing -thanks
shawls of light
flicker over the tundra
.
eleven years marks
the cycle of auroras
be great to introduce the Northern Lights here, Marietta -but the first has an explicit metaphor and the second repeats a time measurement of our verse 31, “every quarter” -but the borealis has been shining quite often north of here
through a dome’s oculus
sun, rain and snow
Or:
through a dome’s oculus
pillars of sun and rain
these two focus on the subject and the occulus, Marietta -we want to focus on the ‘spreading out-there’
the sound of stars
still pretty out-there
good double-entendre, Judt -maybe referring to the ‘pings’ they’re hearing around the arctic -probably Putin building a polar ice-station -anyway, this isn’t the verse for ‘off-the-cuff’ observation
astronomical cost
of the space program
good one, Judt -question is does nasa = nsa?
sifting through my fingers
a million years gone by
yeah, Barbara, astronomical time is astounding for humans -dinosaurs ruled the earth about 55 million years ago? -shades of a reference to William Blake’s beautiful lines as well -but not for here
ablaze with dreams
opening skies again
dims beside your “sparkling”, Barbara
sparkling out of control
on the outskirts of the sky
like this one alot, Barbara -waiting to see what else comes in -the only drawback might be that the last time we had a cognate of ‘shiny’ was your “beaming with joy” in verse 21 (though metaphorical)
also, Barbara, though i liked the double edge of “out of control”, the adding of two more prepositions in the second line after the two in this phrase rankled me on re-reading
all of us now left in awe
of a charged universe
upbeat, agreeable sentiment, Barbara -still has ‘concluding properties’ though
Thank you, Betty, lovely verse.
.
wooded dunes
in dappled sunlight a stand
of indian paintbrushes
–Betty Shropshire
.
journeying on a comet
scatters startrails
Or,
journeying on
a comet scatters startrails
think we could lose the “journeying”, Marietta -comets just ‘go’
wooded dunes
in dappled sunlight a stand
of indian paintbrushes
*
–Betty Shropshire
*
on another planet
the crew hears a knock
nice twist to the arriving planet’s experience -or -the experience of landing, Carmen -has drama, and links as if ‘planet-to-planet’ –but space capsules aren’t my idea of opening to the universe
I blow a feather
towards the heavens
don’t want to finish with a ‘first-person’ link, Marion
following my breath
beyond the infinite
or
.
we follow our breath
beyond the infinite
second one, Marion, more exactly what we’d want to say -but a little too self-conscious, not to say ‘self-congratulatory’, i think (though i do think this renku quite an achievement)
squeals of delight
at so many shooting stars
not focusing on the subjective experience, Marion
second to the right
and straight on till morning
via the stars
.
.
(first two lines should be in italics as they are the words of J M Barrie’s character Peter Pan)
second to the right at the stars
and straight on till morning
.
okay, I’m pushing my luck!
not focusing on the subjective experience, Marion
and the owl
and the pussycat
head off to the stars
and the owl and the pussycat
head off towards the stars
just a little too long, Marion -but also sounds like a children’s story ending -which may be how we feel, but not the diction i want to finish in
they declare
the nova
super
Supernovae are more energetic than novae. In Latin, nova means “new”, referring astronomically to what appears to be a temporary new bright star. Adding the prefix “super-” distinguishes supernovae from ordinary novae, which are far less luminous. (Wikipedia)
.
Well, I think our renku is quite shiny! 🙂
Noooooo – I’ve just realised this verse should be a two-liner! Don’t know if my offerings will work now…
.
scientists declare
the nova super
like this one better, Marion “the scientists” would be a terrible way to end our renku -“they declare” is kind of sumnary , though
Great verse, Betty. I have learned yet another fact from this renku. Indian paintbrushes are completely new to me – none here in Ireland, unfortunately (and I thought the lower case ‘i’ was a poetic device)
Congrats Betty.
~
a bird on the wire
escapes to freedom
~
subsumed by nature’s
relentless beauty
~
hallelujah for our
ever expanding cosmos
~
farewell Leonard Cohen
dance me to your beauty
~
I’m so sad to hear about Leonard Cohen’s passing.
Thanks, Barbara, for adding a lovely tribute to a fine Canadian poet to our pages of comment -we have his lyrics to cherish and i believe his soul dances back into love within them
Oh no, Barbara – he was one of my favourite songwriters! 🙁 🙁 🙁
Lovely tributes, by the way.
so long, Leonard …
wishing my name
was written like hers
wooded dunes
in dappled sunlight a stand
of indian paintbrushes
*
–Betty Shropshire
*
big dipper’s well
spurting new stars
don’t want to complete our renku with “spurting”, Carmen
So is that because there needs to be a closure in the ageku or just your dislike of the word, spurt? Perhaps we (as a group) need to know more about the renku ending. Do you prefer to “return to some aspect of the hokku or wakiku in order to generate a strong sense of circularity?”
Words in quotations are from John Carley’s Renku Reckoner.
[just throwing out some ideas…
spotted koi shimmer
past the Milky Way
keep throwing, this is what we’re here for -lotsa fun -gotta think about how ‘surreal’ i want the final verse to be, Theresa -thanks
with our six-toed cat
let’s set sail for the stars
-Patrick
that’s more like it for me, Patrick -light touch -and we haven’t had any felines -thanks, will keep this one around
dawn mist rises
from hollows to the mountain
was thinking more of something leaving our planet, Paul -but this isn’t that far off as the mist dissipates into the atmosphere
Just a small housekeeping point….. to consider capitalizing Indian. If a stanza had London fog, or a a Parisian riverbank, German schnitzel, Mongol horde … would not they be capitalized proper nouns? Also a bit of respect . . . ? Nearly every Internet entry searched had it a capital I.
I’ve asked Betty what she thinks, Paul -my considerations are in the first response below -sorry, i remembered the comment wrongly as from Patrick Sweeney -no lack of respect, and what i tried to point out to Betty is that where i live calling first nations people “Indians” is a way of showing lack of respect -we prefer to call them by their own names: Delaware, Iroquois, Cree, Athabascan, Micmaq, etc. -but i do want people’s input on this, so thanks
Hi Marshall…In my experience, one perspective on the capitalization question. Currently in the US it is generally considered more respectful to use “Native American” as a general term for indigenous peoples. But in my experience in the Pacific NW, it isn’t uncommon for Natives to refer to themselves as Indians. Also, it’s my understanding that in Alaska that term is widely used.
A few examples of its use in official circumstances: the US Bureau of Indian Affairs; the American Indian Religious Freedom Act; and in my area, the Puyallup Tribe of Indians and the Puyallup Indian Reservation.
Also, my Webster’s capitalizes everything from Indian bread and Indian corn to Indian summer and Indian turnip (including Indian paintbrush). 🙂
Marshall, a small contribution from a once-botanist: common names of flowers, birds, etc may be capitalised, viz., Indian Paint.
Paintbrush
Congratulations, Betty! I love the images and the sounds in your verse; they work so well.
–Theresa
Congratulations, Betty…such a distinct image. Here in the Pacific NW, I associate Indian paintbrush with mountain meadows…wonderful.
nice verse Betty
***********
in this year of the monkey
so many surprises
still kind of a summing up, Michael, wouldn’t you agree?
the crow’s ancient quest
for pure water
certainly enigmatic, Judt -but can’t get into this one after “the scent of rain wafts” being so close
Just for fun, Marshall…Apollo sent the crow to find pure water. The crow messed up and found itself flung into a constellation.
maybe i should have known -but didn’t -thanks, Judt
let us pray for peace
on earth and amids stars!
okay, Vasile, but more liturgical than poetic
just now the rain completes
the sowing compaign
I think we’ll all had enough of campaigns, Vasile, without dragging the rain into one -also “the scent of rain” was just 2 verses ago
this year reading in the Twins
only signs of prosperity
draws a conclusion, Vasile -we’re trying to avoid that, however good it may be
in the morning mist
here is the rainbow
nice image, Vasile, for another renku’s ending -but not this one i’m afraid -loaded with colour already
a cloud of brightness
between stars
yes, a little more down-to-earth here, Judt -but i still feel you’re describing our renku’s place in the galaxy -i’m rather looking for a verse that embodies the open-ended nature of the universe -don’t objectify the renku; ride its energy out blindly (while observing everything that’s not it)
glow of a nebula
between stars
uncomfortable with this, Judt, as it might imply that our soaring renku is bursting like a nebula into the universe -which is slightly over-the-top
a patch of brightness
between stars
certainly got the idea, Judt -you can be more specific though
Thank you, Marshall for the lovely honor…the revision is a great one and Indian Paintbrushes are one of my favorite spring flowers here in Texas…Betty
again, Betty, you’re most welcome – I notice you wrote “indian Paintbrushes” -in view of Patrick’s comment above, do you think it should be written in caps as “Indian Paintbrushes”? -i just thought any other species name -such as in our renku earlier, “tulip” doesn’t carry a capital -and, in Canada at least, where we have over 600 tribes still intact who haven’t officially signed over ‘their land’ to ‘Canada’, using “Indian” to refer to a native or first nations person is unacceptable -so by using small case “i”, i was actually trying to deflect the reference to this misnomenclature away -your opinion would matter the most to me as leader
again, Betty, you’re most welcome – I notice you wrote “indian Paintbrushes” -in view of Patrick’s comment above, do you think it should be written in caps as “Indian Paintbrushes”? -i just thought any other species name -such as in our renku earlier, “tulip” doesn’t carry a capital -and, in Canada at least, where we have over 600 tribes still intact who haven’t officially signed over ‘their land’ to ‘Canada’, using “Indian” to refer to a native or first nations person is unacceptable -so by using small case “i”, i was actually trying to deflect the reference to this misnomenclature away -your opinion would matter the most to me as leader here
Oh dear, I don’t know Marshall…I honestly wasn’t sure whether your intention was for lower case or a typo as it was with gentle/ gentile in a previous verse.
Indeed, all other flowers mentioned, including my nodding pogonias, were presented in lower case and as such, I feel it’s fine to keep indian paintbrushes that way, too. Certainly, I have no desire to show disrespect even unintentionally.
Betty
Gentile for gentle was my typo, not Marshall’s. It has been corrected and, if any change in the current verse is decided upon as a result of this discussion, I will be glad to make it.
thanks for responding, John -looked up nomenclature in a few dictionaries and in flower-guides such as Peterson’s and ‘Desert-flowers’ handbook and they, by a resounding majority, have “Indian paintbrushes” -so i guess i’ll ask you to change it to that for the final listing -MH