Home is for the Birds

There's never a dull moment around our place. We were only home for one day, long enough to wash the laundry from one trip and hit the road again. I was folding and packing clothes, only vaguely aware of the consistent 'peep,peep' from the backyard. The kids were out there playing and I did notice that the squeals and giggles took on a new, excited pitch just before they called out 'Mom! Dad! Come quick!'

Two baby birds had found their way into our yard. One was perched on the very edge of our roof. The other was sitting, rather dazed, on our deck. As we stood there watching them, the one sitting down below fluttered up and landed on Hubby's chest.



At this point birds, kids and husband were all in a flutter. The little bird (we're thinking they were Goldfinches) hopped his way to Hubby's shoulder, peeping all the time in response to his sibling on the roof.



I let the little guy hop onto my hand, and he sat there completely unconcerned. I brought him to our bench where I had spilled some birdseed earlier in the day. He wasn't interested in eating, or in getting off my hand.



The bird on the roof eventually came down to our deck railing and after a few moments, our little feathered friend flew off to join his nest mate. They made their way along in short, uncertain flights, from the deck railing to the fence to the tree and finally on down the street.

Between moose, ducks and now baby birds, I'm starting to think we should open our own wildlife sanctuary.

Sunny Spot

Sometimes, I wish I could just curl up there with him.

Waiting

So much of time is occupied by waiting
For the train somewhere down the track
For the right person to come along
For the pot that refuses to boil

I ignore the slow moving second hand
And busy myself pretending to be busy
While the phone sits stubbornly silent
And I wait.

-----
This could be an extension of bad poetry day, but it's not.

It seems I've been waiting for so much lately. Waiting to hear about submissions, waiting for news, waiting for advice. It got me thinking about how much of life is spent just waiting. Like death and taxes, waiting is an inevitability. Thank goodness for the writing that helps occupy that time.

Happy Bad Poetry Day

I've been informed that today is bad poetry day. It's a day to take up your pen and write poetry. Badly. Why? Because not everyone can be a Frost or a Plath or a Whitman. Plus, bad poetry is kinda fun. And it helps you better appreciate the good stuff.

So this is your chance, all of you who say "I just don't get poetry" or "Poetry is not my thing". No one will care if the one you write today is bad. It's supposed to be.

Here is my contribution to bad poetry day.

This poem here is really bad
I hope when you read it, it won't make you glad
that you didn't read more of my poetry
Because if you had,
you'd see that this poem is
not very good.

Feel free to leave your own bad poetry in the comments.

Best of #fridayflash Anthology

The Best of #fridayflash ebook is now available on Smashwords! The collection is available in several formats (online reading, Kindle, Sony Reader, etc.) for the low, low price of $2.99.

Congrats and thanks go out to Jon Strother for all his hard work in getting this collection of stories together, and congrats to all the authors included within the pages. I'm proud to say I was a part of this project, and a member of the community that saw it happen. Love to all.

Wedded Bliss on the Muskoka River

The ever gregarious and always hilarious Cathy Olliffe is counting down the days until she says I do (only 41 to go!) and in the process she is featuring stories of the meeting and weddings of other couples. Today it was my turn to share my short and sweet tale. There are some other names you will recognize as well, such as Laura Eno and Lily Mulholland. In between these stories of love and marriage are some great bits of fiction by Cathy herself. You don't want to miss them because this woman can write. Heck, it's worth it just to see her blog which looks amazing. Cathy doesn't do things half-way.

Cathy and her Darling hubby, Dave, will be travelling to Newfoundland for their honeymoon and I will finally get the opportunity to meet her face to face.

Here's wishing this wonderful woman and her Prince Charming a long and happy life of wedded bliss.

Sunday news

I got a fun little bit of news this week. My story Bump in the Night was accepted for Pill Hill's Daily Bites of Flesh anthology. This was an extra treat because I totally forgot that I had sent anything.

Also this week came the news that the Best of #FridayFlash Anthology will be released this coming Tuesday. A big congratulations to Jon Strother, the proud papa of this project, and of #fridayflash which has grown exponentially. My story, Waiting by the Window, is included, as well as sixty-six other outstanding tales. There's something for everyone included here, from horror to heartwarming, from funny to thrilling. It will be available on Smashwords and Amazon in both ebook and trade paperback format.

Michael Solender's Dog Days of Summer Contest has ended, so keep your eye out for the announcement of the winners and some great summer flash fiction on September 1st.

Last but not least, I have a little piece up at Yellow Mama this month. The Five was inspired by a conversation a friend and I overheard at our favourite coffee place. Be warned, it's a little on the steamy side. You might want to have a coffee before reading. Big thanks to Editor Cindy Rosmus.
(Psst, Michael Solender is over there too with his piece Pewter Badge)

Grief Observed

The morning was washed in grey and dampness crept through every crack in the house. She pulled the sweater tight around her and put the kettle on the stove.

Even as she moved to the window she could hear the wail. It could have been the wind moaning around the harbour but for the raw anguish in it. She lifted the heavy drapes and watched the scene below.

A small group stood on the weathered dock, among them a man, his arms wrapped protectively around a woman, her face partially buried in his chest. The distance made it impossible to distinguish facial features, but body language spoke of fear and sorrow. Two men knelt on the dock, arms stretched toward the dark water. Another stood on the beams below, working a rope through his hands. Others joined them, the curious and the concerned, hands to mouths, eyes cast down upon the waves.

Suddenly the woman cried out, buried her face deeper into her protector’s chest, then spun away and lurched toward the edge of the dock. Below them a blue toy boat bobbed on the water.

She let the curtain fall.

Mid-Summer Update

This isn't really much of a blog post. It's really more of a chat. Hi, guys. How are you? Come sit down, I just made some iced tea. It's so good to be back home. You'll forgive me, I'm sure, for luring you in and making like Aunt Beulah dropping by with photos from her trip to the Cape.

I'm not going to bore you with the details. We set off from home for a two day trek with three kids crammed into the backseat and every spare space filled with bags and boxes and gear. We spent five days on beautiful Prince Edward Island enjoying some much needed time away from routine. We walked the beach, swam, biked the confederation trail, went to Anne's house to see what she had to say for herself, and generally just had a good, relaxing time. That's what vacation is all about, right?

We took the long way home and stopped to camp for a few nights in Gros Morne. We picked a new site to set up and we were delighted with the absence of mosquitoes. No one wants to end their vacation covered in calamine lotion. I don't anyway. You might. Who am I to judge. I guess scratching those bites can be entertaining, but I'll pass.

So now we're back home and, truth be told, I'm glad to be here. I missed my bed. I missed my kitchen. I missed my computer. Getting away from it all is certainly a necessity in this busy world. It gives you a chance to unwind, decompress. It gave us a chance to really spend some good, quality time with our kids, doing stuff just for the sake of fun. It also reminds you that what you left at home isn't that bad, and as dull as the routine gets sometimes, it's comfortable and it's yours. It's home.

So before I get all sappy and pull out my banjo to sing old tunes about the homestead, lets talk shop. I've been reading like crazy trying to catch up on everything I've missed. I've been writing like crazy trying to get down all the things tumbling around in my head. I probably won't be #fridayflash-ing for a while. I'm working on a few stories that are bigger than my usual tiny writes.

I'll also give one last plug to Michael Solender's Dog Days of Summer Contest over at The Not. Check it out if you haven't already. 101 words, including summer and heat, and you must be a follower to enter. I'm sure you are already. Everyone who's anyone is.

Erin Cole will be running her 13 Days of Horror again this October at her blog Listen to the Voices. I almost hate to tell you about this. The more people I tell, the tougher the competition, because this year Erin has opened submissions for a spot in her lineup. I was lucky enough to take part last year, and believe me, if you have a scary story in you, this is the place to send it. Drop by for a gawk at her site, check out the guidelines, read some great horror from last year's participants, and read some top notch fiction by Erin herself.

And while you're out and about, stop by Linda's blog leftbrainwrite for her 30 Days of Gratitude Contest. Use some of those words of yours to tell her why you're grateful. You could win something to read (a good reason to be grateful) and help out some folks in need.

Thanks for stopping by, all. Enjoy the rest of your day, whatever it may bring. Don't worry about your empty glass, just leave it there and I'll take care of it. The end of summer is coming up fast, so get out there and enjoy what's left.

Contentment

My boat and I return
from long hours spent on waves
with greater blackbacks
and kittiwakes.

Salt sparkles white on my skin
as we rest on the cobbled beach
and watch ocean swallow sun.

All things should be
as simple
as this.