A Poetry Friday Post Two years ago, I tutored an Afghan student. She was living abroad as a refugee from her home country. We tackled an 8th-grade curriculum together, which included algebra, English as a second language, geography, and science. It was a fulfilling role for me. Towards the end of our year together, her…
Humanity
Every Good Turn Deserves Another
And other sayings…. The phrase, one good turn deserves another, is ancient. Used since the 1400s and found in a book in 1546 by John Heywood, it can also be attributed to Aesop in the 500s B.C., through one of his stories. I’ve found lately that by being a good person, trying to help those…
Monarch Butterflies…A Compilation of Past Articles
The summer we moved to the Northwoods, I wrote an article about monarch butterflies. My writing was prompted by concern. I had noticed that the milkweed was not being eaten, and we saw only a few adult monarchs flitting around. This started to change my thinking about how we humans should help this iconic species….
Why Wasn’t the North Rim Fire in the Grand Canyon More Visibly Reported?
Knowing only politics makes us ignorant. My husband was the one who saw the news brief on his phone yesterday morning. He told me that a wildfire had destroyed the lodge at the North Rim of the Grand Canyon and that part of the park was closed. Searching my phone and social media, I couldn’t…
National Poetry Month, Day 14: Freedom Speaks
Today’s prompt word is resist. The statue, whose name is Freedom, sat outside the Congressional Auditorium in 2019. She is the same statue whose form sits atop the Capitol Building in Washington, D.C. Today, I’ve pretended that she is speaking to her sister, Justice, to resist. We need the Congressional (Legislative) and the Judicial branches…
National Poetry Month, 2025. Day 11, Cascade
Waterfalls are soothing, inspiring, and sometimes triggering. Today’s post is brief. I wrote (and said) too much yesterday. Thanks for stopping by. I love waterfalls. We’ve seen some beautiful ones in Hawaii, Colorado, and Minnesota. The word for today’s poetry prompt is cascade. The haiku came easily today; I am awash in emotion. Note: I…
National Poetry Month: Day 5
I’m continuing with the prompts I’m using for National Poetry Month. I wish the word for today were disgruntled because that is how I’m feeling. Yesterday was a very frustrating on many levels, including (or maybe, especially) writing and poetry. Here is today’s poem for those who are interested. (Thank you.) Tomorrow will be a…
Poetry Friday Is Day Four of National Poetry Month
Welcome to the Poetry Friday Community! All are welcome here. This week’s host is Matt Forrest Esenwine, children’s author extraordinaire! He has the round-up at his blog Radio, Rhythm, and Rhyme. Please join us at his page for more poetry goodness. For Poetry Month, I’ve been writing a poem a day based on the Verse…
Poetry Friday: The Round Up Is Here!
Hello, Poets! This week’s Poetry Friday Round-Up is here on The Apples In My Orchard. If you want to know what Poetry Friday is check out this explanation by Renee M. La Tulippe. Thanks for participating! I’ll try to keep my post short but bring you up to date on my story about caring for…
Poetry Friday: Irish Inspiration & Authors
It’s been a few weeks since I participated in Poetry Friday. Mostly, that’s because we’ve been getting ready for a vacation and then traveling. Where did we go? We spent two weeks in Ireland! Our trip was in three parts: The trip came about last spring when I was planning for us to go to…





