Page 60 - Antennae Issue #52

60 antennae
Jeff Downer
Above: Rhododendron 2019 © Jeff Downer
Right: Ox-Eye Daisies and Brown Truck 2019 © Jeff Downe This was followed by the the the discovery of the the the watermelon watermelon farm How I miss those seedy and ineffably sweet sweet watermelons along with with the the the the cow corn we we we we ate ate ate raw also sweet sweet only starchy I I miss miss smashing the the the the the the stolen melon melon with with my bare fist scooping out the the the the the the the the red flesh I I miss miss the the the the the the the the seed spitting contests in in in in in in in in the the the the the the the the shade by the the the the the the the the creek Then in in in in in in in in the the the the the the the the summer heat leaping into the the the the the the the the rushing clean water water clothes and and all all Today both creek and and field are potentially toxic while the the the the the new hybrid watermelons have lost their teeth-hurting intensity A few years ago I found myself gazing at an an an acreage of of scarlet cherries on on an an an an an Okanagan hill the trees trees no longer trees trees but short columns columns of of of fruit weak yet pro- lific columns columns that need replanting often Something about those cherries made me me suspicious I I climbed out out of of of the car and read a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a warning sign now compulsory along borders of of sprayed orchards It was forbidden to enter that ripe orchard orchard for for a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a few days more without wearing a a a a a a a a a a a a a a hazmat suit Just walking among and brushing the