Monday, December 31, 2018

Carpe Diem #1574 New Year's Eve


Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

Welcome at the first episode of our wonderful Haiku Kai of 2019. This month we will explore the classical and modern kigo for winter. So first HAPPY NEW YEAR!! I hope 2019 will be a wonderful year full of inspiration and joy.

To start this month with I have chosen for a modern kigo taken from Jane Reichhold's "A Dictionary of Haiku". New Year's Eve ... well needs no explanation I think (smiles).

alone
at the end of the road
a New Year's party

New Year's Eve
the angel atop the pine
a full moon

New Year's Eve
on the country porch the sound
of a full moon

© Jane Reichhold (taken from "A Dictionary of Haiku")


(credits logo)

Here is my response:

Ah! that silence
after New Year's Eve ...
the wind of last year
plays with bare branches
nothing has changed

© Chèvrefeuille

This episode is NOW OPEN for your submissions and will remain open until January 7th at noon (CET). Have an awesome New Year's Eve !!


Carpe Diem #1573 Trujillo, the City of Everlasting Spring


Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

Welcome at the last regular episode of December 2018. On the last day of 2018 we have arrived in Peru at the city of everlasting spring, Trujillo. Trujillo has a rich history and it's know for its wonderful colonial buildings.
This month we were on the road ... haiku-ing along the Pan American Highway. As I told you in one of the earlier posts, we will not complete this roadtrip straight through the Americas from North to South. We will go on with our roadtrip in our upcoming month January 2019. Every weekend-meditation we will go on the last stages of the Pan American Highway.

The City Of Everlasting Spring, Trujillo, Peru
everlasting spring
artificial flowers on the windowsill
my parental home


© Chèvrefeuille

Let me tell you a little bit more about Trujillo:

Trujillo is a city in coastal northwestern Peru and the capital of La Libertad Region. It is the third most populous city and center of the third most populous metropolitan area of Peru. It is located on the banks of the Moche River, near its mouth at the Pacific Ocean, in the Moche Valley. This was a site of the great prehistoric Moche and Chimu cultures before the Inca conquest and subsequent expansion.

Trujillo is also known as the "City of Everlasting Spring", is considered the "Capital of the Marinera", a traditional dance in Peru, "Cradle of the Peruvian Paso horse", as well as the "Capital of Culture of Peru". It has sponsored numerous national and international cultural events, and has a lively arts community. Current festivals include the "National Marinera Festival", the Trujillo Spring Festival and the International Book Festival, which is one of the most important cultural events in the country.
(Source: wikipedia)

Marinera Dancers
Trujillo is renown for its so called "Marinera dancers". Marinera is a coastal dance of Peru. Marinera is a graceful and romantic couple's dance that uses handkerchiefs as props. The dance is an elegant and stylized reenactment of a courtship, and it shows a blend of the different cultures of Peru. The dance itself has gained a lot of recognition and is one of the most popular traditional dances of Peru. The city of Trujillo has been the national capital of this dance ever since the passage of law No. 24,447 on January 24, 1986. The Trujillo Marinera Festival has been held in Trujillo since the 1960s. In 2012, the Congress of the Peruvian Republic declared October 7 as Marinera Day in Trujillo City, which is celebrated with a parade and dance expressions.

The origin of the Marinera is generally traced back to the Zamacueca. However, there are several other theories about where it comes from. The dance is traditionally accompanied by several instruments: cajón, clarinets, guitars, drums, and bugles. (Source: Wikipedia)


I hope you enjoyed this music video and maybe it inspired you to create Japanese poetry.

This episode is NOW OPEN for your submissions and will remain open until Januari 6th at noon (CET). I will try to publish our new episode, the first of 2019, later on. Next month we will explore the beauty of classical and modern kigo for winter.


Friday, December 28, 2018

Carpe Diem Weekend Meditation #65 Crossroads ... Troiku ... New Year's Eve


!! Open for your submissions next Sunday December 30th 2018 at 7:00 PM (CET) !!

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

First I have a few announcements to make: next month January 2019 all our prompts will be modern and classic kigo (seasonwords). This is the last weekend meditation of 2018 and in the last month of 2018 we were on a roadtrip along the Pan American Highway. We have only one regular episode to go, December 31st, and that means that we will not reach the end of our trip. To complete the Pan American Highway I will create next month an (extra) feature, because I love to complete our roadtrip along the Pan American Highway.
Second: Next month I will probably start in a new job more close to my home. As you all know recently I started in a new job at the VU Medical Center Amsterdam, but it turns out that traveling to the VU Medical Center has a big impact on my health and well being. So I have decided to resign my job.



Okay ... back to our weekend meditation, the last of 2018, ... I have chosen to challenge you with a "Crossroads" episode with a "twist". The goal of this weekend meditation is to create a "fusion ku" and a Troiku with that "fusion ku". The theme I have chosen for this last weekend meditation is "New Year's Eve" and here are the haiku to work with, both by Jane Reichhold and taken from her online "dictionary of haiku":

Jane Reichhold (1937-2016)

a new year
rising from wild seas
a few stars

filling
the glass with candlelight
champagne

© Jane Reichhold

As you all know Jane was a very close friend of mine and she was co-host several years here at CDHK. Back in 2016 she died, but she will never be forgotten. Her spirit is dwelling here at Carpe Diem Haiku Kai and she is still missed.

So this last weekend meditation of 2018 is in honor of Jane Reichhold (1937-2016). Let her be proud on us all.

Have a great weekend!

This weekend meditation is open for your submissions next Sunday, December 30th 2019, at 7:00 PM (CET) and will remain open until January 6th at noon (CET).


Thursday, December 27, 2018

Carpe Diem #1572 Quito, capital of Ecuador ... El Panicello


Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

First I have to apologize for being late with publishing our new regular episode. There were circumstances that needed my attention. We are on the road ... haiku-ing along the Pan American Highway.
A few days ago we entered Southern America and today we have arrived at another wonderful city along this Highway ... Quito, the Capital of Ecuador. Quito has a long history that goes back into the 15th century, but in this century Quito became a "bigger" and more important city.

As I was preparing this episode I ran into a beautiful photo of Quito's ancient center, the El Panicello you can see on this photo. It's a hill of vulcanic rubbish and it's a place of interest in Quito. For this episode I have taken the "easy" way ... I will give you the photo for your inspiration.

Calla Garcia Moreno and El Panicello
This episode is NOW OPEN for your submissions and will remain open until January 3rd 2019. Have fun!


Monday, December 24, 2018

Carpe Diem Seven Days Before Christmas 2018 (7) "It was the night before Christmas"


Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

Welcome at the last episode of "Seven Days Before Christmas", it's Christmas Eve and in my opinion that's Christmas. Before I start with this episode I have announcement to make. During the Holidays, here in The Netherlands we have two Christmas Days (December 25th and 26th), I will not publish our regular episodes, because my wife and children asked me to celebrate the Holidays without PC and publishing for CDHK. So our first new regular episode will be published on December 27th.

Okay back to our Seven Days Before Christmas feature. This last episode I have titled "It was the night before Christmas" and I think you all will understand why I have chosen that title. "It was the night before Christmas refers to a renown poem by Clement Moore (19th century).



Twas the Night before X-mas

Twas the night before X-mas, when all through the house
Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse.
The stockings were hung by the chimney with care,
In hopes that St Nicholas soon would be there.

The children were nestled all snug in their beds,
While visions of sugarplums danced in their heads.
And mamma in her ‘kerchief, and I in my cap,
Had just settled our brains for a long winter’s nap.

When out on the lawn there arose such a clatter,
I sprang from the bed to see what was the matter.
Away to the window I flew like a flash,
Tore open the shutters and threw up the sash.

The moon on the breast of the new-fallen snow
Gave the luster of midday to objects below.
When, what to my wondering eyes should appear,
But a miniature sleigh, and eight tiny reindeer.

With a little old driver, so lively and quick,
I knew in a moment it must be St Nick.
More rapid than eagles his coursers they came,
And he whistled, and shouted, and called them by name!

"Now, Dasher! now, Dancer! now, Prancer and Vixen!
On, Comet! On, Cupid! on, Donner and Blitzen!
To the top of the porch! to the top of the wall!
Now dash away! Dash away! Dash away all!"

As dry leaves that before the wild hurricane fly,
When they meet with an obstacle, mount to the sky.
So up to the house-top the coursers they flew,
With the sleigh full of Toys, and St Nicholas too.

And then, in a twinkling, I heard on the roof
The prancing and pawing of each little hoof.
As I drew in my head, and was turning around,
Down the chimney St Nicholas came with a bound.

He was dressed all in fur, from his head to his foot,
And his clothes were all tarnished with ashes and soot.
A bundle of Toys he had flung on his back,
And he looked like a peddler, just opening his pack.

His eyes-how they twinkled! his dimples how merry!
His cheeks were like roses, his nose like a cherry!
His droll little mouth was drawn up like a bow,
And the beard of his chin was as white as the snow.

The stump of a pipe he held tight in his teeth,
And the smoke it encircled his head like a wreath.
He had a broad face and a little round belly,
That shook when he laughed, like a bowlful of jelly!

He was chubby and plump, a right jolly old elf,
And I laughed when I saw him, in spite of myself!
A wink of his eye and a twist of his head,
Soon gave me to know I had nothing to dread.

He spoke not a word, but went straight to his work,
And filled all the stockings, then turned with a jerk.
And laying his finger aside of his nose,
And giving a nod, up the chimney he rose!

He sprang to his sleigh, to his team gave a whistle,
And away they all flew like the down of a thistle.
But I heard him exclaim, ‘ere he drove out of sight,
"Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good-night!"

© Clement Moore (19th century)

I wish you all a Very Merry Christmas and a Wonderful New Year!!

This episode is NOW OPEN for your submissions and will remain open until December 31st at noon (CET).


Sunday, December 23, 2018

Carpe Diem Seven Days Before Christmas 2018 (6) Christmas Dinner


Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

We are counting down to Christmas and today we have arrived at day six. In my memory, day six was always the day on which my mom started with her preparations for our festive Christmas dinner. Her Christmas dinners were always excellent. Sweet memories I cherish. As I grew older and started a life for myself I loved to prepare Christmas dinner. I did that several years and every year I had a kind of theme. For example back in 1989 I choose a light blue theme and I cooked dinner for my whole family. It's one of my favorite Christmases ... It was the first Christmas with my beloved wife. Several of my family members that attended than are no longer living. My brother was there, my favorite uncle and a few more.

Christmas Dinner

Christmas ... a real family celebration. We (my wife and I) have a tradition ... every Christmas (since we have become grandparents) our whole family comes to our home to celebrate Christmas with a festive brunch ... I love those brunches a lot ... I love to have all my kids and grandkids around me and it's a growing group ... this year we will have our "family-brunch" on December 26th with a total of 16 people ... awesome ...

at dinnertime
drinking eggnog, eating turkey
and Christmas pudding

make it happen
enjoy the Holidays
Merry Christmas

© Chèvrefeuille

This episode is NOW OPEN for your submissions and will remain open until December 30th at noon (CET).


Carpe Diem #1571 Turbo ... entering Southern America


Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

Welcome at a new episode of our wonderful Haiku Kai, the place to be if you like to create Japanese poetry and share it with the world. Here at CDHK we are on a journey along the Pan American Highway and writing haiku, tanka or other kinds of Japanese poetry in praise of this longest Highway on the world. The Pan American Highway is a road straight through the Americas from North to South. Before the weekend we entered the Darien Gap and now ... we have set foot in Southern America ... and are visiting Turbo Columbia. This will be the first stop in the last six regular episodes of "Haiku Along The Pan American Highway".

Dried Fish stall Turbo, Colombia (photo © Adam Lee)

Let me tell you a little bit about Turbo:

Turbo is a port city in Antioquia Department, Colombia. It is located on the coast of Gulf of Urabá, 340 km north of Medellín (the department capital and second largest Colombian city). This port city is the capital of the Urabá region of Antioquia. The place where Turbo is today was known as Pisisí, but by 1741 people were already talking about Turbo. By a decree on May 11, 1839, the central government spent one thousand pesos for military service barracks in Turbo. In 1840 the republican president assigned one thousand fanegas of uncultivated lands for the new population. It was established as a municipality in 1847. Turbo lies near the southeastern tip of the Darién Gap.
According to several sources Turbo has nothing to offer. So it is not a place to stay for a while.

For this episode I found my inspiration in the above photo by Adam Lee:

dried fish
dead eyes look at me
from a stall


© Chèvrefeuille

This episode is NOW OPEN for your submissions and will remain open until December 30th at noon (CET). I will try to publish our next episode later on.


Friday, December 21, 2018

Carpe Diem Seven Days Before Christmas 2018 (5) Christmas Tree


Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

We are counting down to Christmas, as we do on a regular base here at CDHK. And today's episode is about the Christmas Tree. I think many of you will have a Christmas Tree in their homes or gardens. Of course I have one also. In my opinion Christmas without a Tree isn't really Christmas, but we may not forget why we celebrate Christmas ... the Birth Of Jesus Christ.

The tradition of the Christmas Tree goes far back into history, but the Christmas Tree as we know it now is a german "invention". Germany is credited with starting the Christmas tree tradition as we now know it in the 16th century when devout Christians brought decorated trees into their homes. Some built Christmas pyramids of wood and decorated them with evergreens and candles if wood was scarce. It is a widely held belief that Martin Luther, the 16th-century Protestant reformer, first added lighted candles to a tree. Walking toward his home one winter evening, composing a sermon, he was awed by the brilliance of stars twinkling amidst evergreens. To recapture the scene for his family, he erected a tree in the main room and wired its branches with lighted candles.


snowflakes whirl -
in front of the old church
the Tree of Light

© Chèvrefeuille (2011)

This episode is NOW OPEN for your submissions and will remain open until December 28th at noon (CET). Have fun!


Carpe Diem Weekend Meditation #64 Renga With Basho ...


!! Open for your submissions next Sunday December 23rd at 7:00 PM (CET) !!

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

Welcome at a new episode of our special feature for the weekend. This weekend is the first weekend I have to work at my new job, so I am a little bit excited and nervous. Of course I have already worked there, but that was on weekdays and not in the weekend.

This weekend I love to challenge you to create a "Renga With Basho ...". So this weekend will be excited for you all because you all may create a renga with the master of masters ... Basho. I have selected six haiku by Basho all taken from Jane Reichhold's "Basho, the Complete Haiku".


Here are the six haiku to work with. Your task is to add the two-lined stanza between them with approx. 14 syllables. You can choose your own line-up.

cattle shed
dark sound of mosquitoes
in summer heat

the paulownia leaf
moves on the autumn wind
frost in the ivy

withering wind
is the fragrance still attached
to the late-blooming flower

Paulownia Tree
feeling holy
the tears that stain
fallen leaves

under a crescent moon
the ground is hazy
with blackwheat flowers

sweeping the graden
the snow forgotten
by the broom

© Matsuo Basho (Tr. Jane Reichhold; taken from "Basho, the Complete Haiku")

Six wonderful haiku to work with. It's up to you now to create your Renga With Basho ... make him proud.

This weekend meditation is open for your submissions next Sunday December 23rd at 7:00 PM (CET) and will remain open until December 30th at noon (CET).


Carpe Diem Extra December 21st 2018


Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

I have to make my excuses to you all. I am far behind with commenting during circumstances. First through my new job and caring for my mom. So I hope to catch up as soon as possible, but I cannot promise that I will visit all your submissions of the last weeks. It will take time to catch up and I really hope to catch up before New Year's Eve.

My apologies for this inconvinience,

Namasté,

Chèvrefeuille, your host

Thursday, December 20, 2018

Carpe Diem Seven Days Before Christmas 2018 (4) Feliz Navidad


Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

Welcome at a new episode of our "countdown" to Christmas. Christmas is the most wonderful time of the year not only through the Christmas story, but also through the Christmas decorations, candles and the most wonderful Christmas music.

For this episode of "Seven Days Before Christmas" I have a wonderful piece of music to inspire you. This piece of music is one of my all time favorites ... Feliz Navidad. It was released in 1970 by José Feliciano and it really is a joy to listen to it.


I hope this Christmas song has given you the same joy as it gives me every year again.

wonderful trees
covered with fresh snow
crystalizing sunlight
the backyard covered with snow
finally a white Christmas

© Chèvrefeuille

This episode of our traditional Holidays countdown is NOW OPEN for your submissions and will remain open until December 27th at noon (CET). Have fun!


Carpe Diem #1570 Darién Gap ... a gap in the Pan American Highway


Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

We are haiku-ing along the Pan American Highway straight through the americas from North to South and we arrived in Mexico. Mexico the country with all those wonderful ancient cultures, but also renown for its wonderful music, but that's not were this episode is about.
The Pan American Highway is renown for it's beautiful landscapes, but there is also a gap in this Pan American Highway. This gap is known as the "Darién Gap" and it's a part of the Highway, a large swath of undeveloped swampland and forest within Panama's Darién Province in Central America and the northern portion of Colombia's Chocó Department in South America.

The Darién Gap (rainforest)
Let me tell you a little bit more about this "gap" in the Pan American Highway. The Darién Gap is a break in the Pan-American Highway consisting of a large swath of undeveloped swampland and forest within Panama's Darién Province in Central America and the northern portion of Colombia's Chocó Department in South America. The gap begins in Yaviza, Panama and ends in Turbo, Colombia, and is 106 km (66 miles) long. Roadbuilding through this area is expensive and the environmental cost is high. Political consensus in favor of road construction has not emerged.

The geography of the Darién Gap on the Colombian side is dominated primarily by the river delta of the Atrato River, which creates a flat marshland at least 80 km (50 mi) wide, half of this being swampland. The Serranía del Baudó range extends along Colombia's Pacific coast and extends into Panama. The Panamanian side, in sharp contrast, is a mountainous rainforest, with terrain reaching from 60 m (197 ft) in the valley floors to 1,845 m (6,053 ft) at the tallest peak (Cerro Tacarcuna, in the Serranía del Darién).

Darién Gap

Today, most intercontinental travelers bypass the sixty-mile gap by boat or plane. But some adventurous souls still try the trek overland. A 1959 expedition crossed the gap in Jeeps and Land Rovers, and George Meegan's 1988 book The Longest Walk describes his seven-year stroll from Tierra del Fuego to Alaska, including his transit of Darién on foot. Today, the gap is even more dangerous than it was on Meegan's trip—a lawless wilderness where, even with a guide, it's not easy to steer clear of drug traffickers, bandits, and corrupt cops. Yaviza, Panama may look tantalizingly close to Turbo, Colombia on the map, but the last remaining 60 miles of the world's longest highway aren't getting completed any time soon.

Enough inspiration I think. This episode is NOW OPEN for your submissions and will remain open until December 27th at noon (CET). I will try to publish our new weekend meditation later on. For now ... enjoy wandering the Darién Gap.


Wednesday, December 19, 2018

Carpe Diem Seven Days Before Christmas 2018 (3) Meditation


Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

We are counting down to Christmas ... our wonderful tradition established here at CDHK several years ago. During the countdown to Christmas I hope to inspire you to create haiku, tanka or other form of Japanese poetry through several christmasthemes and every year I have an episode titled "Meditation". That episode is today ...

Maybe you will remember this meditation from our exclusive CDHK E-book "Christmas Stockings", but I think this meditation can inspire you.

Christmas Time (image found on hugohd)

Don't be afraid:

Recently I read a wonderful sermon-like article written by a preacher. That article touched me and I love to reflect on that here ...When Jesus was born the circumstances weren't good, Israel was part of the Roman Empire and it wasn't a joyful country to live. Under those circumstances Mary and Joseph had to go on their way to Bethlehem for a census. Along the way from Nazareth to Bethlehem they had to conquer difficulties, but they finally reached Bethlehem were Mary gave birth to her son Jesus. It wasn't a great place to give labor to her child, but she did ... in the strong belief that God would help her. There in that stable laid in a manger shepherds and wise man came to pay Him honor ... Jesus, the Son of God would bring peace and love back to Israel,but Herod was afraid that this Jesus would "steal" his throne so he (Herod) ordered his guards to kill all first born boys.Mary, Josef and their son Jesus fled to Egypt.The circumstances than are the same circumstances now, because in great parts of our world there is war, war based on religion or on new ideas. Jesus was born under bad circumstances and now more than 2000 year later it seems like there has nothing changed.Peace on Earth is still not there and however we pray for peace every day ... that world peace is far away. Why is there war based on religion? Are we not all the same in nature? Are we not all children of God, Allah, Buddha, Krishna and so on?

Christmas Decorations

One of my beliefs is that only unconditional love for all and everything can bring peace to the world and I hope ... that there will be one day this peace will be there ... maybe I will not be here, but than our children and grandchildren can rejoice with whole the world that peace is finally there.Don't be afraid ... there is a peaceful future ahead of us ...Peace be with you.

silence
a new king is born
love came to the world

© Chèvrefeuille

This episode of Seven Days Before Christmas is NOW OPEN for your submissions and will remain open until December 26th at noon (CET).

Carpe Diem #1569 Mexico City ...


Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

Welcome at a new episode along the Pan American Highway were we have arrived at Mexico City the capital of Mexico. Mexico City goes a long way back into history ... to the Aztec culture. I found a small piece when the city was established.

The Ancient City of Mexico

The city of Mexico-Tenochtitlan was founded by the Mexica people in 1325. The old Mexica city that is now simply referred to as Tenochtitlan was built on an island in the center of the inland lake system of the Valley of Mexico, which it shared with a smaller city-state called Tlatelolco. According to legend, the Mexicas' principal god, Huitzilopochtli, indicated the site where they were to build their home by presenting a golden eagle perched on a prickly pear devouring a rattlesnake.

Dive into the wonderful history of Mexico City and create your Japanese poetry inspired on it.

This episode is NOW OPEN for your submissions and will remain open until December 26th at noon (CET). I will try to publish our new episode later on. For now ... have fun!


Tuesday, December 18, 2018

Carpe Diem Seven Days Before Christmas 2018 (2) Candles


Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

We are counting down to Christmas and today is our 2nd day. For this day I have chosen "candles" as our theme. Candles belong not exclusively to Christmas, but in a way I think that Chrismas cannot without candles. In this time of year candles are a symbol of "the Light that came to Earth through the birth of Jesus Christ.
In my opinion we need light in our world. Light that shines upon us to enlighten us. In a world were the darkness becomes more and more darker we need light. Light can point us the right way ... a way to find peace for once and always ...

Lighting one candle
With another candle;
An evening of spring.

© Yosa Buson

A renown haiku by Yosa Buson to inspire you to create your candles-haiku for Christmas. Christmas the most wonderful time of the year. Celebrating LIGHT!

Candles

The light of the candle signifies the path of illumination and realising the true meaning of human life. It represents spirituality, devotion and faith.

This episode of "Seven Days ..." is NOW OPEN for your submissions and will remain open until December 25th at noon (CET).


Carpe Diem #1568 Mayan Culture


Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

I have a "writer's block" so today I have chosen an image of the Mayan Culture to inspire you. My excuses for this.

Mayan Culture (Mexico)
Let this image inspire you to create a Japanese poetry and share it with us ... along the Pan American Highway.

This episode is NOW OPEN for your submissions and will remain open until December 25th at noon (CET). I will try to publish our new episode later on.


Monday, December 17, 2018

Carpe Diem #1567 Mazatlan ... first miles into Mexico


Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

We are on a "haiku-ing" journey along the Pan American Highway and we have arrived at Mexico, the "entrance" to Middle America. Here in Mexico we will visit the rich history of this country and while going on on the Pan American Highway we will make trip back into time ... to for example the Mayan culture.

Today we visit Mazatlan and I found a wonderful litho by Seemann (1858):

Mazatlan Mexico
Let me tell you a little bit about Mazatlan. Mazatlán is a city in the Mexican state of Sinaloa. The city serves as the municipal seat for the surrounding municipio, known as the Mazatlán Municipality. It is located at 23°13′N 106°25′W on the Pacific coast, across from the southernmost tip of the Baja California Peninsula.

Mazatlán is a Nahuatl word meaning "place of deer." The city was founded in 1531 by an army of Spaniards and indigenous settlers. By the mid-19th century, a large group of immigrants arrived from Germany. Together, with the hard work of the Natives, they were able to develop Mazatlán into a thriving commercial seaport, importing equipment for the nearby gold and silver mines. It served as the capital of Sinaloa from 1859 to 1873. The German settlers also influenced the local music, banda, with some genres being an alteration of Bavarian folk music. The settlers also established the Pacifico Brewery on March 14, 1900.

Mazatlán is also known for being the hometown and center of Banda sinaloense, a musical genre which began to develop in the XIX century and is now one of the most popular music genres in Mexico.


The above music-video is of Mexico's renown female singer of Banda, Jenni Rivera. Listen to the music and let it take you into Mazatlan's history and let the music inspire you.

This episode is NOW OPEN for your submissions and will remain open until December 24th at noon (CET). I will try to publish our next episode later on.


Carpe Diem Seven Days Before Christmas 2018 (1) wishes for the holidays


Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

Welcome at our traditional countdown to Christmas feature 2018. As you all know I started this tradition several years ago. We are counting down to Christmas and in my opinion Christmas Eve (December 24th) is the beginning of Christmas, so that's why I start this countdown on December 17th at 7:00 PM (CET).

I love this time of year ... the holidays ... and I think that a lot of you have already decorarted their Christmastree. I have it already decorated a week ago and I had immediately a feeling of Christmas notwithstanding the difficult time I was in with the bankruptcy of the hospital were I was working.

This year 2018 was again a wonderful year here at CDHK and I hope you all had that same experience. We have had wonderful themes and there were several new features e.g. "the quest for a new masterpiece", "Renga with Basho ..." and "Crossroads". All wonderful new features, but the main role was always haiku or other kinds of Japanese poetry.
As I look back than I am glad and proud to be your host. I think CDHK has become a more loving family of haiku poets and I thiank you for that.


Well ... it was a wonderful year and I am looking forward to our upcoming year 2019. I hope you all will stay part of this wonderful loving family of haiku poets and will stay participating in the daily memes.

This time of year we all send eachother wishes for the holidays and the new year and that's our theme for today ... wishes for the holidays ... You are free to give form to this theme through e.g. haiku, tanka or haiga. Give your wishes for the holidays a nice place here ...

Here is my inspired haiku on this theme:

dispelling the darkness
after the long cold winter
welcoming the light

© Chèvrefeuille

I wish you all Merry Christmas and a wonderful creative 2019.

This episode of our traditional feature "seven days before christmas" is open for your submissions tonight at 7:00 PM (CET) and will remain open until December 24th at noon (CET). I hope to publish our new "seven days before Christmas"-episode later on.


Sunday, December 16, 2018

Carpe Diem #1566 An Epic Journey Through New Spain --


Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

We are "haiku-ing" along the Pan American Highway and now we have arrived in Nogales Arizona also known as "New Spain" and that's why I themed this episode "An Epic Journey Through New Spain".

"¡Vayan Subiendo!"("Everyone mount up!") was the rousing call from Juan Bautista de Anza. In 1775-76, he led some 240 men, women, and children on an epic journey to establish the first non-Native settlement at San Francisco Bay. Today, the 1,200-mile Juan Bautista de Anza National Historic Trail connects history, culture, and outdoor recreation from Nogales, Arizona, to the San Francisco Bay Area. A diverse group of 30 migrant families scratched their way across the frontier of New Spain, and carved their way into American history.

More about this "Epic Journey Through New Spain", you can find HERE. Enjoy the read!

An Epic Journey Through New Spain
A wonderful story along the Pan American Highway ... for sure worth to read about and become inspired through:

new places
out there to explore
follow nature


© Chèvrefeuille

Not a strong senryu I think, but it's a scene that points towards the above mentioned journey by Juan Bautista de Anza.

This episode is NOW OPEN for your submissions and will remain open until December 23rd at noon (CET). I will try to publish our new episode later on. Than we will cross the border of Mexico.

PS.: Tomorrow around 5:00 PM (CET) our first episode of "Seven Days Before Christmas" will be online and with that I will continue our CDHK tradition.


Saturday, December 15, 2018

Carpe Diem Weekend Meditation #63 The Quest For A New Masterpiece Continues ... winter


!! Open for your submissions next Sunday December 16th at 7:00 PM (CET) !!

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

First I have to apologize for being late with publishing our new weekend meditation. I hadn't time to publish it yesterday, because of trouble traveling from work to home.

This weekend has already begun, but that doesn't mean that I will not publish our weekend meditation. This weekend I love to challenge you again to create your masterpiece. As you all know a while ago we started our quest for a new masterpiece and I have seen a lot of masterpieces.
There are several classical and non-classical haiku (or tanka) that have become evergreens. For example the "crow" haiku by Basho:

on a withered branch
a crow is perched
autumn evening

© Bashō (1644–1694)

Basho wrote this haiku in the year 1680, and it is often considered to be a marker of the beginning of Bashō’s mature style.

Or what to say of that beauty by Chiyo-Ni:

morning glory!
the well bucket-entangled,
I ask for water

© Chiyo-Ni (1703-1775)

Two real masterpieces, everlasting beauty ... or an evergreen so to say.


For sure you will know other masterpieces by classical (and non-classical) haiku (or tanka) poets, but the goal of this new feature isn't the quest for known (renown) masterpieces, but to create masterpieces, it's a real challenge, because you, my dear haijin, visitors and travelers, have to challenge yourself to create your masterpiece.

What makes a haiku (or tanka) a masterpiece? Well ... I will give it a try to tell you what a haiku (or tanka) makes a masterpiece in my opinion:

First: It has to describe a moment that got your attention.
Second: You have to use the right words. Words that describe the moment in its true way.
Third: Maybe ... use the classical way of creating haiku (or tanka) (as mentioned in CDHK Lecture One above in the menu).
Fourth: It has been written right from the heart or soul not the mind.
Fifth: It's (maybe) in the sense and tone of the classical haiku (tanka) poets.
Sixth: It has to be ... how shall I say it ... be your child, your creation ... in a masterpiece we can read, between the lines, the poet who created it.

For this weekend meditation I challenge you to create your new masterpiece themed "winter", because here on the Northern Hemisphere it's winter (almost). I f you are living on the Southern Hemisphere than you may try to create your new masterpiece themed "summer".


Of course I had to try it myself, but wasn't inspired enough, so I have chosen one of my "masterpieces" from my archives:

a last rose
more fragile than ever
clothed in snow

© Chèvrefeuille

Well ... a nice weekend meditation I think. I am looking forward to all of your new masterpieces. By the way I hope to create our first Carpe Diem Quest For A New Masterpiece (exclusive) E-book January 2019.

This weekend meditation is open for your submissions next Sunday December 16th at 7:00 PM (CET) and will remain open until December 23rd at noon (CET). I will try to publish our new episode along the Pan American Highway later on. For now .... have a wonderful weekend!


Friday, December 14, 2018

Carpe Diem Extra December 14th 2018 ... No new post today


Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

I think you already noticed ... no new post for Friday 14th posted. I haven't had time to create the new episode in our "Haiku-ing along the Pan American Highway" because of lack of time. I will try to post our new weekend meditation later on today, but I cannot promise that. As you know I sarted on my new job and because of traveling time I now need to go to my new job I don't have the opportunity to publish. I am sorry ...

Namasté,

Chèvrefeuille, your host.


Wednesday, December 12, 2018

Carpe Diem #1565 Pacific Beach ... San Diego


Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

Welcome at a new episode of our wonderful Kai. This month we are "haiku-ing along the Pan American Highway" and today we are finding a place to rest on Pacific Beach San Diego. San Diego has a Mediterranean Climate and that makes it a nice place to take time to meditate and contemplate and just enjoy the climate. So today I have a nice "crossroads" feature. As you all know the goal of "crossroads" is to create a "fusion ku". I have chosen a few haiku for you themed "beach" to work with.

Pacific Beach San Diego
Here are the haiku, this time I chosen two written by myself:

a whisper of rain
awakens me gently
morning on the beach

hot summer night
together with my friends -
singing on the beach

© Chèvrefeuille

This episode is NOW OPEN for your submissions and will remain open until December 19th at noon (CET). I will try to publish our new episode later on. For now ... have fun!


Tuesday, December 11, 2018

Carpe Diem #1564 Las Vegas ... come on gamble (out of the box)


Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

We are haiku-ing along the Pan American Highway, a 30.000 km long highway straight through the Americas from north to south. Yesterday we stopped at the City of Angels and today ... we will stop in ... say the opposite of Los Angeles, Las Vegas ... in the mddle of the desert were you can have a wonderful vacation and ... gambling.

Maybe you can remember our special feature "Out Of The Box" in which I challenged you all to create another kind of Japanese poetry or a different Far Eastern country like Korea for example.

Today I love to give you a "new" task. Think Out Of The Box with the themes of haiku. For example create a senryu, Cherita, Kyoka, or Sedoka. You also may "gamble" with the form by going free style. In other words ... "today it's your choice and not mine".

Las Vegas
The above image is a "still" of a time-lapse of the Las Vegas Strip. It's a nice image and I hope it will inspire you to think "Out Of The Box" ... well go for it!

This episode is NOW OPEN for your submissions and will remain open until Dacember 18th at noon (CET). I will try to publish our new episode later on. For now ... have fun!


Monday, December 10, 2018

Carpe Diem #1563 Los Angeles ... city of Angels


Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

Welcome at a new episode of our wonderful Haiku Kai. Today I had a very busy and exciting day ... I had my first working day on my new job at VU Medical Center Amsterdam. I started there after a period of uncertainity at the hospital were I used to work. I enjoyed this first day a lot it felt like a warm blanket ... Several years ago I worked here and now I am back and it felt almost the same. Of course there were new colleagues, but also familiair colleagues that worked there several years ago.

Today I have an CD Imagination episode for you. We have arrived at Los Angeles, the City of Angels. It seems that this is a wonderful city, but as I choose this theme for today I myself thought immediately at God's City of Angels, the New Jerusalem. So I have chosen a wonderful image of the New Jerusalem to inspire you.

It's a modern vision of the New Jerusalem, I couldn't find the artist who made this image.

Modern Vision of the New Jerusalem (artist unknown)
This episode is NOW OPEN for your submissions and will remain open until December 17th at noon (CET). I will try to publish our new episode later on. For now ... have fun!