V.J.’s Weekly Challenge #88: Domino Effect

March 16, 2020.Reading time 2 minutes.

Should we cancel our community dinner? The text came in while we were watching the news. One after another, closures are happening in response to the coronavirus – schools, sporting events, legislature, etc. So far there have been no cases in our area. Our first instinct is to say no. My daughter’s company is preparing […]

Morning’s Chaos

March 15, 2020.Reading time 2 minutes.

Morning comes and the calm of night is brushed off with a moment of chaos – the dogs wrestle and shake and sneeze, as if fighting off the effects of slumber. I am not as excited to rise early, have no routine for resetting my status from comatose to awake and alert. I mumble on […]

Boom, Boom, Bye, Bye

March 14, 2020.Reading time less than 1 minute.

I’m focusing my lens when we both hear it – duck and I – a boom, like from a cannon. Rattled, Mallard prepares for take off, while I try to shake off the nerves and get the shot. The boom comes again. A hunter in our midst. This duck escapes unmarred, as I do I. […]

Red: A Welcome Sight

March 11, 2020.Reading time less than 1 minute.

For Nancy Merrill’s A Photo a Week Challenge: red.

V.J.’s Weekly Challenge #87: morning

March 9, 2020.Reading time 2 minutes.

“You do more in a morning than some people do in two weeks,” a graphologist once told me, having analyzed my handwriting. It was not news to me. I was raised to be a morning person. Waking before the rest of the family and getting ahead of the day was my way. Until I got […]

Clichéd Fun

March 8, 2020.Reading time 1 minute.

The grass is always greener –magnificent clichescarry on –the writing on the wall,a little bird told mein the nick of time,don’t cry over spilled milk –Is it cliché to saymuddied waters –me over the edge? Thank you all for keeping me entertained with your creativity. My poem is compliments of your gifted responses. Here are […]

Have a Cuppa

March 6, 2020.Reading time less than 1 minute.

I’m a mug kind of gal –Spot of tea – Earl Grey or herbal – Feet up, mug in handa warm sip and I’m calm Save the fancy chinafor the birds! (For Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge: glasses, cups, or saucers.)

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. […]

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.

Of Trauma Born

Goodbyes tarnishfaith, like ashesscattered My heart grows dismissal,craves a balm of connectionseeks quiet harbour Remind me what it feels like to be safebreath nurturing life,love a rhythmic flow In meditationI reach for peaceimagine salvation But this wayward chaosunrestrainedcements me in doubt Tainted intentionsI lift up to the Universea tempest without hope My soul incubates malicea […]

Hawk (haiku)

Relevance of Story

Stories have power. Parents, teachers, public speakers, and therapists understand that the secret to engaging an audience or connecting with others is through illustration: storytelling. I see it in the eyes of the my grandchildren, who love to hear tales of family history. I’ve seen in the eyes of students, when recognition and understanding light […]