Saturday, June 30, 2007

haiku (for Jay)


You bring to me a

bunch of the wildest flowers

and you tame my heart.


Photo by: Osquer

55 Fiction Friday


“Lady Jessica, his grace was…still is entirely devoted to your mother. Her grace was the epitome of her title. No one could ever take her place…for your father…” Andrews felt he was on the verge of showing sentiment and ended his statement abruptly. Jessica, however, had already realized the butler’s admiration for her late mother.


[FIRST] [PREVIOUS] (to be continued...)

Friday, June 29, 2007

haiku


Back from the garden

with zucchini and squash worth

getting rained on for.

Photo by: Osquer

Wednesday, June 27, 2007

haiku


Only a glimpse, but

I can no longer say I’ve

never seen wild poults.


Photo by: Osquer

www.dictionary.com word of the day [factious] one minute writing exercise

“You don’t understand! It’s them or us!”

“No, I don’t think you understand. It’s not. You’re just being factious. We’re all after the same thing. We all have the same goal. You’re just fighting about how to achieve it. If we all get together and talk about it, maybe we can come up with a better solution than either of you has on your own.”

haiku


Up before the day

lilies have stirred from their beds,

I must go to work.

Photo by: Osquer

8 Random Things About Me

Because I was tagged by The Drew over at Maybe there is a dog? , here are 8 random things about me.

1. I once played Charles Dickens on stage.

2. I cannot decide if my favorite flowers are lilacs, daffodils or tiger lilies.

3. I collect dragons.

4. I once played Dorothy Gale (The Wizard of Oz) on stage.

5. My dog was named after a fictional secret society in the Anne Rice novels. I call Talamasca "Tally" because many people can't pronounce Talamasca.

6. My car is named after the HMS Indefatigable in the Horatio Hornblower novels. I call her "Indy" for short.

7. My parrot, Pendragon, was of course named after Uther Pendragon, the father of King Arthur. I call him "Scruffy Chicken" or "Little Evil" for the sake of accuracy.

8. I once played the moon on stage.

www.dictionary.com word of the day [venerate] one minute writing exercise

It is unfortunate that our society seems to venerate only youth. Barely a moment goes by that we are not bombarded by advertisements for new anti-wrinkle creams, new cosmetic treatments, injections, tucks, lifts, dies, waxes, lasers. If it is a sign of age, someone has a product to combat it. Unfortunately the only thing these products truly combat is our wisdom.

Tuesday, June 26, 2007

haiku


A stray white lily

appears in the rock garden.

I didn't plant you!


Photo by: Osquer

www.dictionary.com word of the day [abstruse] one minute writing exercise

I didn't think the man's request was abstruse. He handed me a folder full of documents and said, "I'll need you to copy the whole thing for me." I returned with the original and one copy of it's entire contents. He looked surprised and said, "Oh, you must have misunderstood me. I'll need you to make two more copies." I hadn't misunderstood in the slightest. He'd never mentioned a number of any kind let alone three. I didn't bother to argue but went back and made two more copies. If I didn't argue he'd go away sooner.

Sunday, June 24, 2007

haiku


A pale pink blossom

peeks from the shade, shy
lest the

warming sun should burn.

Photo by: Osquer

www.oneword.com - one word, so little time [jejune]

Though the beets had a profusion of greenery above the surface of the soil, below ground they were spindly, jejune little rootlings. I pulled some of the larger ones from the crowded bed to give the less developed ones a chance to grow. Tiny veggies may be in vogue, but they should at least be large enough to bite.

haiku


How does your parade

grow? With pretty little fire-

trucks all in a row...


Photo by: Osquer

www.oneword.com - one word, so little time [dolorous]

"Well, I wouldn't exactly call him doloros, but..."

"Are you kidding? That would be a complete understatement! He makes Morrissey look like Bobby McFerrin. He makes Eeyore look like Woody Woodpecker. He makes the Grim Reaper look like Glenda, the Good Witch of the North!"

Saturday, June 23, 2007

haiku


I thought I wanted

for nothing, but the tiger

lilies torment me.


Photo by: Osquer

55 Fiction Friday


Andrews’ stoic nature warred so violently with his surprise at Lady Jessica’s words that he actually got a crick in his neck. “His grace has never expressed any…that is…” he paused. He was uncertain, which was a new sensation for him and it rather excited him. What’s more, her ladyship’s candor inspired honesty in return.


[FIRST] [PREVIOUS] (to be continued...)

www.oneword.com - one word, so little time [boss]

I was really glad that my boss was going to be off for two weeks after his knee surgery. It wasn't that I wished him any pain or suffering, far from it. He's really an even tempered boss. It's just that I can get so much more work done when he's not around.

Friday, June 22, 2007

haiku - Weeding Out Thoughts


An unfamiliar

bloom greets me and I wonder,

"Did I sow this seed?"


Photo by: Osquer

www.oneword.com - one word, so little time [lion]

"Igor has the heart of a lion." she smiled indulgently.

"Your right, he does!" I replied, then turned to him and raised my voice, "Will you put that down? You know the professor needs it for his experiment! If you get it dirty before he even gets to put it in the monster he's going to be very cross with you!"

Thursday, June 21, 2007

haiku


I'm not sure if it’s

dew or rain collected on

the hummingbird vine.


Photo by: Osquer

www.oneword.com - one word, so little time [agon]

A bitter agon between my mind and my body ensued. My mind wanted stimulus; my body wanted sleep. My mind wanted to explore all the thoughts I had forced it to put aside for other obligations all day. My body wanted to shut down and drift until morning. It was only in dreams that I could achieve both goals. My body could rest and my mind could run around in all the circles it wanted.

Wednesday, June 20, 2007

haiku


I'm sure the onion

did not plan to amuse, it's

just trying to bloom.


Photo by: Osquer

www.oneword.com - one word, so little time [peppermint]

I picked up the flower pot and carefully sawed the bottom off of it to form a cylinder. I dug a hole in the herb garden and put the pot in it. I filled it full of soil and planted the peppermint in the center. Hopefully the barrier would help deter the mint's tendency to take over.

Tuesday, June 19, 2007

haiku

My mind tries to wrap

itself around seventeen

syllables but can't.

Monday, June 18, 2007

haiku


I would lose myself

among the lobelia,

but the world finds me.


Photo by: Osquer

Sunday, June 17, 2007

haiku


My heart aches not for

the home I once knew, but for

the tiger lilies.


Photo by: Osquer

Saturday, June 16, 2007

haiku (A Very Merry Herb Garden)


Quite contrary to

convention, this garden grows

in circles not rows.


Photo by: Osquer

55 Fiction Friday




“The entire ship was lost, m’lady. It was the H.M.S. Cole,” replied Andrews, gravely.

Jessica nodded. The tragedy had been much talked about even in Egypt though the details that had reached her there at the time had been limited. She decided to dare a bit, “Have father and…my aunt announced a formal engagement yet?”


[FIRST] [PREVIOUS] (to be continued...)

www.oneword.com - one word, so little time [hip]

I don't know why but I find one of the all time funniest lines in The Muppet Show to be when Gonzo the Great says sarcastically to Floyd and Fozzy, "Oh good, yes, just what the world needs, humorous hip persons!" I love Gonzo. I think he's the patron saint of manic-depressives.

Friday, June 15, 2007

haiku


Crown vetch sprinkles the

hillside like confectioner's

sugar on a cake.


Photo by: Osquer

magnetic poetry (for Jay)

www.oneword.com - one word, so little time [threatened]

It wasn't that I exactly felt threatened by the pair of cardinals that were sitting on the lowest branch of the tree piping at me with their staccato voices. No. It wasn't until they started dive bombing me as I tried to pass under their nest that I was really intimidated.

Wednesday, June 13, 2007

Trumpet Vine [Bignonia radicaus] (aka Trumpet Creeper aka Hummingbird Vine)






Photos by: Osquer

haiku

Sumac blossoms fall,

soft snow among the raindrops.

The thunder follows.

www.oneword.com - one word, so little time [poke]

"Don't poke it!" he scolded his squire, seizing the lance from him.

"Why not, sir? I'm sure it's good and dead! You killed it proper!"

"Yes, I know it's dead but I don't want any more holes in its hide than there already are. You'll lower the value! There's a lot of money in dragon skin rugs!"

Just then the dragon's mate leapt out of the forest and ate them both. She cremated her love in dragon tradition, but according to his wishes donated his hide to a poor local family. Its profit fed them all for the winter.

haiku


I turn to the Earth

for sage advice on how to

grow strong and healthy.


Photo by: Osquer

www.oneword.com - one word, so little time [moment]

For one moment I was too stunned to speak then my head began to clear and then to hurt. "Ouch, damnit! Watch where you're swinging that thing!" I shouted.

"Oh, sorry," he replied, putting the cat down. "You're right. This is a really small apartment."

Monday, June 11, 2007

haiku


Paddlewheel, dry-docked

by history, now not means

but destination.


Photo by: Osquer

www.oneword.com - one word, so little time [killer]

"You're not a killer," he sneared at me, levelling his gun at my midsection.

"You're right. I'm not," I smiled sweetly, raising my hands, clearly showing the safety still on my gun.

"But I am!" roared a voice behind me and the look of surprise on his face was completely ruined by the shot fired at him from over my shoulder.

haiku


Squash blossoms glow in

the spring sunshine, a promise

of deliciousness.


Photo by: Osquer

www.oneword.com - one word, so little time [ramp]

I began my morning just as I had the countless previous mornings: by setting my shoulder against the side of a huge slab of stone and pushing it until my day ended. That is how I begin every day and it is how I will begin every day until the one on which I drop dead and am left in the wake of the slowly moving stone on the ramp on the side of the pyramid I will never see completed.

Saturday, June 09, 2007

haiku (for Mama Cardinal)


Baby cardinals

amuse with their ugliness.

Papa fetches seeds.


Photos by: Osquer

www.oneword.com - one word, so little time [jeopardy]

"I think your endeavor is in jeopardy," he cautioned, lifting a hand over my head to steady the terra cota dish full of water I'd been attempting to perch on the corner of the shed.

"I need a brace," I murmurred. He handed me a fairly sturdy cherry branch which was just what I needed to balance my birdbath.

haiku


I watch the squirrel

munching seeds and hope he will

leave some for the birds.


Photo by: Osquer