V.J.’s Weekly Challenge #86: cliché

March 2, 2020.Reading time 1 minute.

This apple didn’t fall far from the tree – I am a chip off the old block,course that’s letting the cat out of the bag. Actually, I’m on the fencetrying to decide which way is upUsed to be confused, now I’m not so sure. Trying to weed through all this nonsensefind the light at the […]

February Begone So I Can Get On With My Mission

March 1, 2020.Reading time 1 minute.

I fall for the same trick every year, it seems – get all excited about Spring’s arrival and then wham, Winter returns with a vengeance. Three days it snowed and the wind blowed, reducing visibility and causing cancellations. My mission to capture the first signs of Spring has been momentarily thwarted. No matter, February is […]

Clouds Are For Dreaming

February 28, 2020.Reading time less than 1 minute.

Don’t give me the scienceI prefer to dream floating on pillows of whitecarried over land and sea lifted sunward, inspired –no, please don’t tell me otherwise Clouds transport me, Heaven bound. (For Cee’s Black and White Photo Challenge: clouds)

Older Than Old

February 26, 2020.Reading time less than 1 minute.

When I was ten, my family travelled to England to visit my father’s family. Grandmother gifted us this odd looking vase, something she claimed to be over a hundred years old. I inherited it when my mother went into a nursing home. Always a conversation piece. This 1,000 year-old tree continues to thrive on Goose […]

V.J.’s Weekly Challenge #85: mission

February 24, 2020.Reading time 1 minute.

Winters in Ontario, Canada, can linger far beyond their past due date – not a scenario I look forward to – so this week I’ve made it my mission to seek out signs of spring. While the river is still frozen, I found this break in the ice on an offshoot stream. It’s a start. […]

I Found It!

February 23, 2020.Reading time 1 minute.

What glorious posts this week’s prompt has inspired. Thank you for your conjuring, your images, and your words of inspiration. Sun God, Reena SaxenaUntil, parallaxShockingly Good Day, I Write HerPassion from the Sky, Poetry PaletteSun’s Trail, radhikasreflectionInto the Sun, bushboys worldSun, nowathomeNo Matter What, SgeoilSunny Day, oneletterUPDreaming, Stuff and what if…From Rise Till Set, Hammad […]

February 21, 2020.Reading time less than 1 minute.

A walk in nature reduces life-sized problemsto ant-like awe – an open secret often ignored. I travel back roads, am humbled bythe power of farm machines, the vastness of the sky. Gratitude larger than this limiting skin. (For Cee’s On the Hunt for Joy challenge: make yourself small; Cee’s Black & White Photo Challenge: roads; […]

Narrow Passages

February 19, 2020.Reading time less than 1 minute.

Narrow this roadinto deepening woodsintrigue commands exploration (For Lens-Artists Photo Challenge: narrow.)

V.J.’s Weekly Challenge #84: sun

February 17, 2020.Reading time 2 minutes.

Despite Ric’s protest that the light is not good, I take the camera and drive to the river. It’s February, traditionally a sunless month. I need to get out. The sky is heavy and grey, clouds undefinable. Still, the sun makes his presence known, as if he too is tired of the somber mood. I […]

Juiced Up

February 16, 2020.Reading time less than 1 minute.

Got to get me some of that juice! Some of my favourite lines from this week’s prompt (credited in order): Superciliousnessunforgettable forgottennew and improvedstarving for identitya subtle manipulation Reena SaxenaEugi’s CauserieI Write HerparallaxSgeoil Thanks to all who participated. See you tomorrow for a new challenge.

Imagine

If we could lift understandingto indigenous teachingsexpand our loveto earth, sky, and seaMake personal gain tabooand Ancients a weigh point If we could witness the mountainsslow floating across the skyand touch the dolphin’s soulanxiously swimmingwhere tuna are netted Would we cower at our insignificanceor move forward, learning to acceptthat all of life is deeply woveninto […]

Dear Child

I know a little girl,whose hair in ringletsfalls, unkempt from lackof brushing; who standswhen she should be sitting;who laughs with defiance whenchallenged, her dark eyes gleamingwith mischief; who holds her chin uphigh and stamps her feet, arms foldedin protest when she does not get her way. I see that little girl,have watched her play,with a […]

Re-de-fine-d

Ask me how I’m doingand I’ll say “fine”, notbecause I’m actually fine,but because “fine” is the onlysocially acceptable response. If I said that I have been lyinghere, for three hours now,willing my body to move,that would elicit unsolicitedadvice and tarnish my “fine”. I’d berate myself for breakingmy promise not to moan,knowing that complainingprovokes a compulsive […]