Tuesday Writing Challenge

Devereaux Frazier and Beth Amanda are currently hosting the Tuesday Writing Prompt Challenge which was started by our star writer Christine Ray. We hope to offer all of you something that will spark your creativity and willingness to participate.

Todays prompt: Write a poem using the words “crescent”, “timeless”, and “sliver”

Crescent Light

Crescent moon rising over the Tokyo bay area by Kyoshino

I stare above at the crescent of light

Beauty so timeless if gives me freight

It reflects on the water as a silver light

With stars of heaven that seem so bright

Shining like diamonds on the darkest of night

I relax in peace at this magnificent sight.

Anita Neal

There are many things we see in the journey of life that makes us pause, staring at the beauty arounds us and make us grateful for where we are at that one moment. May we never get bored of the beauty we see. And as always, remember to always be kind. It has a beauty all its own.

FOTD, October 10, ?

This spring I planted one of those little foam strips embedded with flower seeds. Don’t know what most of them were but I enjoyed their flowers. I think this is in the mum or daisy family and its quite striking.

It has double layered petals that unfold as it opens. Maybe its in the coreopsis family as its center looks similar. Regardless its lovely.

Enjoy your flowers for just a few more weeks here in the midwest. Forecast say two more weeks of 60 to 70 and them it will drop to 40 or lower at nights. Time for them all to sleep and we will see them next year.

Here in the midwest, late fall and winter can really be dreary and gray, so try to be someone’s sunshine in being kind to them. We could all use a little extra sunshine.

The Colors Begin

There seems to be a peacefulness to fall when the leaves begin to turn. Another year of plant life now getting ready for sleep. I am enclosing the beginnings of the beautiful color I am seeing and hope you enjoy.

This tree was centered in a daycare playground. At first they were upset I was taking pictures but then they saw I only wanted the tree and the sky. the children were cute but not for this. So from there to the post office where the front and the back were full of color.

Then we head for home on a photo journey.

Since we opened with red, we will close with a huge red tree.

Fall is a good lesson taught by the trees to let go and let God. As they drop their beauty for a season of rest, we too should show how lovely it can be to let bygones be gone.

As as always, remember when we are kind, it helps others to be kind. It creates a wonderful effect proving that kindness can be contagious.

Wordle 573, October 9

The Sunday Whirl by bwarren throws us a hand full of interesting words together which bring to mind snow and forest.

Focus on the light of the shed, its close. Think of it’s warmth. Don’t think of the miracle if they let you in. They will. Tell them what happened. Pull your thread bare jacket close to you. Don’t start thinking of your car sliding on the ice. You were clear of the bridge. No one was with you to get hurt. Your wrist is in pain but you didn’t break it. Your fingers move and that should be enough to prove that. That sound you hear is just the howling of the wind through the trees, no wolves here, right?

FOTD- October 6, Marigolds

Cee has a wonderful challenge where we share the beauty of the flowers around us. This spring I was told that if you plant marigolds it will help deter the moles you have. Well, I have never cared much for marigolds for their smell is not pleasant but if that smell gets rid of moles…I am there. Flowers with a purpose…other than being beautiful.

This is my favorite of the four varieties I planted. The leaves are red but outlined with the same yellow as the center.

These are opposite in color with a red center inside petal but yellow petals and center.

These are an orange with a wider spaced petal and some blooms only have 5 petals.

The yellow ones seem to be the most popular. They are slightly larger and have eight petals to the 6 petals on the other varieties. All in all they are quite lovely and all of them stink. But they are effective in reducing the amount of moles. The dog even stinks because she gets in them barking at the cat next door. If your dog eats plants, don t plant these. They can be poisonous to dogs. Maybe that is why the moles don’t like them.

In closing I remind you again of the beauty and power of kindness. It reflects the power and beauty of you as well as making a difference in the world. And it is a gift, given from above.

CMMC October Close Up & Micro

Cee’s fun midweek challenge usually makes you think outside the box but close ups and micros are a favorite. Since I was out taking pictures for today’s FOTD, I was able to capture some close ups.

Every spring I promise myself that I will save all the little tags so that I can properly identify the flowers that I plant. And every fall I cant remember their name. 🤔

So for now I am calling this a red daisy. Its in that family somewhere. But I love the tiny white fuzzy stamen type things on this particular flower.

Here we have a bee enjoying the nectar from a marigold. He was so still I thought he was dead but no, he flew off fine, he was just busy and not bothered by me.

I love the red marigolds with their yellow trimmed petals and rich yellow center. Their fragrance is not pleasant but we plant them for that purpose. The moles don’t like their smell either, so it keeps them mostly out of the yard.

Another great capture is sharing the beauty of kindness close up. It may start with that one kind act but the affects reach past you on to others.

Tuesday Writing Prompt

Todays prompt: Write a poem using the words “notes”, “memory”, and “knife”

The Bestest Knife

With a white plastic handle it doesn’t look like much

But Mom said it was the best for such and such

I never really knew what such and such meant

But hours of its use in the kitchen were spent

I watched my mom as she studied her notes

Mumbling, she change them making new notes

Once changes were done, the busyness began

With energy and banging of many a pan

The kitchen grew warm and smells filled the house

We all watched from the doorway, as quiet as a mouse

Memories of those times still linger in my mind

As smells fill my kitchen of similar kind

I don’t use the knife, could never figured how

But refuse to toss it, as sweat drips from my brow

Memories from our past can have a powerful touch on our hearts even though sometimes they may make no sense. Enjoy those tender memories and make new ones for others and in all that you do, be kind. Kindness bring about the best memories for all of us.

FOTD, October 4, Coreopsis

Cee’s challenge of Flower of the Day always keeps me looking for the floral beauty around me. This beauty is in one of the raised flower beds at the church. We put in 4 raised beds by the community garden for people who have trouble bending over but still want to play in the dirt. Then we put two more between two parking lots for those on walkers who still want to plant or just enjoy flowers with easy access. These coreopsis are large and beautiful.

This one bloom evidently got some extra fertilizer as he was a good 4-5 inches across and shows who is boss of the flower box.

Flowers have a personality too as they share their beauty with us. They seem to smile at us as they sway in the breeze. Take a note from their beauty and smile at others. It shows amazing kindness when you do.

And So It Begins…

The change of the season is upon us. The cool evenings have seeped into the leaves of the red maples making them the first to change and my favorite fall trees.

Unfortunately some of the best trees with the widest spreads are in our cemetery. So that is usually my first stop for pictures.

Once the reds are done, the yellows follow making a bright contrast from the reds. Enjoy the season, our last colorful season of the year. While the whites of winter are beautiful in their own way, I do miss the colors of the other three seasons. And in closing I remind you that Kindness never has a season. It should always be spread where ever you can to all kinds of living creatures.

FOTD – October 3, Portulaca

Cee’s FOTD challenge reminds us of the beauty we see in the little things around us. Today the raised boxes outside the church with the portulaca, moss roses, was very colorful. These are very hardy plants that bloom all summer well into the fall and are very drought tolerant. That means they can withstand careless care taking.

They are small blooms only about 2″ in diameter but they create multiple blooms of varying colors; rosy reds, oranges, pinks, yellows and whites.

As we zoom around being busy, let’s not forget the small beauty around us. It can be in flowers, birds or the smile of a child. And as we enjoy this beauty, let’s not forget to be kind. The tiniest bit of kindness we share can sometimes break through the tremendous cloud of misery that may surround someone.