Category: Walkabout

A Spring Day

On By Al W GalliaIn God, Haibun, Haiga, Haiku, Louisiana, Nature, Uncategorized, Walkabout2 Comments

Spring has sprung here in south Louisiana and it is so welcome! As I walk along the gravel road bordering the cypress filled Lake Martin, almost every step exposes another sign of new life! My camera stays at the ready as my eyes search out Mother Nature’s fresh tidbits of color and textures. Wildflowers with their faces turned sunward, greening trees and lotus pads, the calls of nesting egrets and herons, a sunning alligator, and smell of bedding fish overwhelm my senses. Thank you, Lord, for this day!

spring morning…

flooding the cypress swamp

sunlight and birdsong

©️Al W Gallia 2021

The Dandelion

On By Al W GalliaIn Aging, COVID-19, Faith, God, Haibun, Haiga, Haiku, Life, Nature, Simplicity, Spirituality, Uncategorized, Walkabout2 Comments

One year into our Covid-19 pandemic lockdown, how the priorities of my life have changed! No longer do my wife and I plan fun shopping trips, cafe lunches, or casual visiting with family and friends. Add to that the stress of politics and the realities of turning 80, and we are now living in a new ‘normal’, maybe forever.

The one thing that makes our situation bearable is an unwavering FAITH in a loving, caring God, and the love and companionship we give each other! And one of the best ways to feel and hear Him is in the solitude and beauty of nature, where no words are needed but only awareness.

winter walkabout

among the dead leaves

a dandelion shoot

©Al W Gallia 2021

Haiku: A Chance Encounter

On By Al W GalliaIn Haibun, Haiga, Haiku, Nature, Serendipity, Uncategorized, Walkabout5 Comments

They say she is a ‘whisperer’ and that she can ‘talk’ to God’s smallest creatures. I saw her today while wandering a nearby woodlands trail with my camera as I looked for that elusive nymph, Serendipity. She was picking wildflowers in a field, wearing a blue and white gingham dress, and carrying a half filled basket. A late summer breeze frolicked across the field and the flowers bobbed their heads at her as if asking to be picked too! Dragonflies and butterflies flitted about her while a pair of doves watched from an old wooden fence. She saw me and smiled sweetly as I walked past on my search for Serendipity.

picking wildflowers…

a blue dragonfly lands

on her small finger

©️Al W Gallia 2020
A Chance Encounter

Haiku: Faith is a Forked Path

On By Al W GalliaIn Faith, God, Haiga, Haiku, Nature, Peace, Uncategorized, Walkabout2 Comments
©️haiku by Al W Gallia; photo by Teresa Richardson

A quiet walkabout in the woods, along a stream, or even in a garden is a necessity for me. With the stresses and anxieties of our world, seemingly always in constant turmoil, I often search for the grail of inner peace in the solitude of nature. There I feel God’s nearness and sense the warmth of his love as he speaks to me in bird songs, cricket chirps, rustling leaves, whispering breezes, and trickling streams. Wherever the path winds, there is no loneliness…only a feeling of peace, hope and trust that all is well and in accordance with God’s will.

the wooded path splits…

one way a wood gate

the other a stone bridge

©️Al W Gallia 2020

Why it took most of my 79 years of life to fully open God’s gift of faith is a mystery. Why did I waste so much time, especially when he also gave me my most treasured earthly gifts, my precious wife and children? Perhaps it was always his plan, as time and space is irrelevant to God and only how we use His gift of faith is.

Note: Thanks to my good photographer friend, Teresa, for her wonderful photo which inspired this haiku poem.

Haiku: The Store Window

On By Al W GalliaIn Acadiana, Haibun, Haiga, Haiku, Uncategorized, Walkabout

The streets in one of my favorite walkabout areas, a business and professional community called the Oil Center, are lined with upscale cafes and shops. I never know what or who I might see while roaming the landscaped sidewalks. Celebrities often visit too and and don’t hesitate to greet common folk like me!

storefront window…

smiling through the glass

familiar faces

© Al Gallia 2019

Marilyn, Elvis and Elvira!