Monday night we took a canoe ride after dinner on the small lake upon which our cabin sits on the shore. The water was calm and the lake was quiet with only a few other boats floating about. We paddled to the left and circled counter clockwise around the lake, opposite to the direction we…
Yesterday afternoon, I ran around town to four different stores, including Walmart, Home Depot, Farm and Fleet, and Rudy’s – a small farm and feed store about a mile from my house. I was on the hunt (excuse the pun) for one of those “ugly fake owls” that are used to deter birds and other…
This spring has been one that I’ve really stopped to observe the changes in our environment. Part of this has been due to being asked to make a video for a local school’s environmental day and part is my own interest in phenology – or signs of the change of seasons. As I’ve aged, these…
Lovely Loon In the middle of the night in early April, I heard you arrive. The darkness shrouded an ability to see So I did not look for you, my prize. But, I heard your cry. You announced your arrival boldly, without being shamed. Even the lateness of the hour could not be blamed for…
The March Slice of Life Story Challenge has ended so I’m trying to get back into my own blogging routine which means Poetry on Friday and Silent Sunday, photo only posts on the day thought of as either beginning or ending our week. This schedule, along with a Keto Monday post on occasion and a…
Birds Experiences in the Past My relationship with birds is not based on a great personal history. Growing up, I was afraid of the winged, flying creatures. I saw a red headed school girl about my age in the aviary at the Seneca Park Zoo in the late sixties be dive-bombed for strands of her…
Today is Poetry Friday. Yesterday, about this time, I glanced out my home office window and saw a flock of very active chickadees in our Norway spruce trees. They were flying from the evergreens to the bare limbed apple trees and back again to the needles for shelter. This flurry of spring activity inspired the…
When I used to write poetry with students, I tried to decrease the intimidation they’d inevitably feel about writing poetry by helping them find relatable topics – topics they already knew something about – both as individuals and as part of our group. Color, as I’ve written before, was always both an easy and and…
Sunday morning I missed a golden opportunity to take some really awesome photos of winter in the Coulee Region – where I live in Wisconsin. The conditions, over night – from Saturday into Sunday – were ripe for the development of both hoarfrost and rime ice. What? You say? What are those?! Even as an…
Today, I was going to write about crafting. The topic was inspired by my own increase in crafting this year – fabric face mask, a quilt, more jewelry (which I’ve done since 2008), and of course, crafting with words – poems, essays, prose, etc. My husband has also increased his crafting, making custom furniture and…