Colorado – Colleen M. Chesebro

A #Colorado Spring – A #Tanka

Welcome to my contribution to my weekly #Tanka Tuesday poetry challenge. This week, I tweaked the prompt word of “fire” to “fiery,” and I left the word “rain.”

Both words have many connotations. Depending on how you use your synonyms you can alter the meaning of your Tanka poetry in many ways. Don’t be afraid to experiment with synonyms. Sometimes subtle meanings pack the most punch in your poetry. Play with the words for different reactions.

The best poetry has layers of meaning.

Image credit: NotableQuotes.com

Please link your #Tanka Poem contribution to my post found here.

Blown by winter gales –
field grasses dry and fallow,
fiery flames devour.
The meadow choked with dark smoke
mourns the delay of spring rains.

“Use these hashtags to tag your post and to Tweet each other’s poems: #Tanka Tuesday, #micropoetry, #poetry, #5lines, #Tanka, #poem

Go on Twitter and search for these hashtags. There are tons of great poems to read and retweet.”

Don’t forget to join in and share your #Tanka #Poem using the words: FIRE & RAIN, or if you need some visual inspiration write your Tanka poem and tell us of the feelings and descriptions from the photo below:

SPREAD THAT LOVE AND JOY ALL OVER THE PLACE!

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I WON!

I had to share my great news! I never win at contests or drawings… but today I did! I won an Amazon Gift Card!

Author, Lorinda J. Taylor

Meet Lorinda J. Taylor, the author of:

The Termite Queen, Vol I, The Speaking of the Dead, and The Termite Queen, Vol II, The Wound That Has No Healing.

“In the 30th century, an off-world expedition returns to Earth with a specimen of giant termite whose behavior suggests intelligence. Kaitrin Oliva, a strong-willed and ambitious young linguistic anthropologist, is charged with finding a way to access its unique form of bioelectric communication. However, the insect dies and the team members realize too late that they have unintentionally murdered an intelligent lifeform. A second expedition is mounted with the purpose of making first contact and reparations. Griffen Gwidian, the entomologist heading the expedition, is a complex man with a dark personal secret. He falls in love with Kaitrin and against her better instincts Kaitrin responds. The result is a love story by turns turbulent and funny, passionate, tender, and troubled.
Meanwhile, civil discord is brewing on the termite planet. Mo’gri’ta’tu, the Queen’s Chamberlain, resents the power of the Holy Seer Kwi’ga’ga’tei and plots to assassinate her. She has engaged the services of an outland Champion, Ki’shto’ba Huge-Head, to fight this terrifying entity which has descended on them from the skies, murdered one of the fortress’s citizens, and abducted another. This alienates the aging Commander Hi’ta’fu the Unconquered, who is lured by the word-crafty Chamberlain into joining the conspiracy.
At the very moment that the murder is about to be committed, the second expedition arrives at the planet …
Discover the exciting conclusion of the adventure in Volume Two, “The Wound That Has No Healing.”

“In The Termite Queen: Volume One: The Speaking of the Dead, the death of a specimen of intelligent giant termite impels a team of scientists to mount a new expedition to the alien planet where the specimen was captured. During the voyage out, the linguistic anthropologist Kaitrin Oliva and the expedition’s chief, the entomologist Griffen Gwidian, fall in love and form a union, after which Prf. Gwidian begins to exhibit some troubling changes of mood and behavior. Meanwhile, on the alien planet, civil discord is brewing among the termites; Mo’gri’ta’tu, the Queen’s Chamberlain, hatches a plot to murder the Holy Seer Kwi’ga’ga’tei, a plot foiled only by the sudden reappearance of the Flying Monster.
In Volume Two, the team arrives at the planet to a combative reception, but, aided by Kaitrin’s insights into the termites’ unique language, the “Star-Beings” and the Shshi are soon communicating and learning to know each other. The Shshi accept Kaitrin as a friend and even come to revere her as the Mother of her people. Meanwhile, Griffen’s inexplicable insecurities escalate, while the dastardly Mo’gri’ta’tu continues to foment conspiracies. Ultimately, the two plotlines intersect in an explosive climax, after which the team must return to Earth and try to come to terms with what they have experienced.”

About Lorinda J. Taylor

“A former catalogue librarian with two graduate degrees, Lorinda J. Taylor was born in Colorado Springs, Colorado, and worked in several different academic libraries before returning to the place of her birth, where she now lives. She has written fantasy and science fiction for years but began to self-publish only in 2011. To this point, she has published eleven science fiction/fantasy novels, including seven volumes of a series retelling myths in terms of her intelligent termite civilization. Her writings combine many aspects of science fiction, fantasy, literary fiction, future history, off-world adventure, psychological fiction, and even a love story. She always strives to engage readers emotionally and give them something to think about at the end of each book.”

I met Lorinda on Facebook last year and have watched her writing progress as she pens novel after novel. Currently, she has written 11 books.

The best part is we live in the same city of Colorado Springs but have never met. I can see that changing in the near future.

If you are looking for a great science fiction/fantasy series to read please check out Lorinda’s books. You can find her on her blog at termitewriter.blogspot.com or on Facebook at Lorinda J. Taylor (Termite Writer).

Thank you again, Lorinda. You made my day!

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Colorado Garden Update July 2016

Just as I promised back in early June, here is the status of my Colorado gardening experiment. The other day, we got this cool sign to hang in our living room. I really love it!

I am learning much about the climate and elevation. I spoke with a neighbor the other day and she was telling me how babies born here in Colorado Springs are born at a lower birth weight. The elevation affects their development. That got me to thinking about my vegetables. They are a tad smaller than normal.

Tomatoes and squash

Left to right: peppers, mint, and zucchini

Left to right: peppers, basil and a small zucchini, peppers

My tiny harvest: green pepper, orange cherry tomatoes, and a small zucchini

We have tremendous heat. It has been around 90 degrees F. daily now for a couple of weeks. My garden began to explode with growth. I thought the thunderstorms were torrential in the South. They are nothing compared to the storms that brew over the Rocky Mountains.

Last night, the wind howled and torrents of rain lashed at our windows. A couple of times, I feared they would break. The lightning was the most spectacular I have ever seen. Just south of us, there were reports of golf ball sized hail. Windows were blown out of houses. Numerous cars sustained hail damage. Hail piled up in the streets!

This is a picture of the hail from just south of us, courtesy of the KKTV Facebook page

The storms here are violent. Here’s a great PDF article about the climate in Colorado and how the mountains dictate what happens to our weather.

So, all in all, I would say my gardening venture is working out. The veggies might be smaller, but that doesn’t affect the taste.

Have a great weekend. I am still in editing mode. Thanks for stopping by!

The Summer Heat Descends – A Haiku

It’s the time of the week I love! The RonovanWrites #Weekly #Haiku #Poetry Prompt #Challenge #103 Summer&Fun! This week the words are summer and fun.

Early summer in Colorado has been spectacular. The days are warm, and the nights are cool. We have only used our air conditioner once so far. I love these nights with the windows open.

Last night, encouraged by the heat of the afternoon, a thunderstorm rolled down from Pikes Peak. Thunder rumbled and echoed through the meadows and fields surrounding our neighborhood. Rain pelted the windows. Lightning flashed and disrupted my sleep.

After a few hours, it was gone, having played itself out; leaving a cool breeze to push the curtains out into the middle of the room. It was then, I heard the yipping sounds, from a pack of coyotes, as they roamed the nearby fields pursuing their prey. It was a wild sound which haunted my dreams. The meadow fairies called to me and whispered tales from long ago…

Thanks for stopping by! See you next week.

A New Addition to the Family

Good Tuesday morning! I wanted to share the new addition to our family – an Ohio Buckeye tree! This tree will replace the oak tree the builder planted in front of our house last summer. Unfortunately, the tree did not survive the winter. The main truck was damaged. We knew it had to be replaced. We visited our local Colorado Nursery to select something different.

Here is the half-dead oak tree

Here is the Buckeye tree coming off the truck

The tree is placed in the hole.

The tree is staked against the hot/cold winds that blow with a fury up and down our street (north-south)

Our new tree! An Ohio Buckeye.

This is the tree we picked from the nursery. It was in full bloom. We had to wait a few weeks for it to be planted. The flowers are a lovely yellow. I wanted a spring blooming tree that was yellow in color to complement the colors of our house.

Thanks for stopping by to take a peek at the new addition!

Don’t forget to sign up for my monthly newsletter where you will find exciting reads from across the web plus a few creations of my own. Written, just for you, with fairy love, each month. Just fly over to my sign up page and enter your email. ❤

Distance… Over Yonder!

Hugh’s Weekly Photo Challenge: Week 26 – Distance is all about choosing a photo that shows an object that is in the distance. Maybe it’s a building or a wonderful view that contains an interesting object or scene that, although it is in the distance, shows up really well in the photo? Maybe you can spot where you are headed to from a plane or train and you’ve managed to capture it?

Want to join the fun? Here’s what you need to do.

1. Take or choose a photo that you’ve taken which defines Distance.
2. Create a new post on your blog entitled “Hugh’s Weekly Photo Challenge: Week 26 – ‘Distance’
3. Add the photo(s) you have taken to the post and tell us a little about what you are showing.
4. Create a pingback to this post or leave a link to your post in the comments section so other participants can view the post.

Not sure how to create a pingback? Click here for a step by step guide on how to create one.

This is a photo of Pike’s Peak which is visible a couple streets over from our house here in Colorado. I took this photo in the dead of winter and as you can see, our housing area is new and still under development.

This is a photo I took in 1996 of a cattle branding at the Dearborn Ranch where I worked in Montana. It was a hot dusty job and made me happy that I worked most of my days in the office in Great Falls taking care of the administrative side of things.

Thanks for popping in to see my take on “distance!”

Hugh’s Weekly Photo Challenge: Week 24 – Hats

Hats come in all sorts of shapes and styles and, for this week’s challenge, Hugh would like to see what hats you can share with us. Maybe it’s the baseball cap you wear to protect the top of your head from the sun or a thick wooly bobble hat that keeps your head warm during cold winter months? How about a hat you or somebody else wears at work or a novelty hat you’ve never worn which is stored away at the back of a drawer? Dig out those hats and share them with us.

Want to join the fun? Here’s what you need to do.

1. Take or choose a photo that you’ve taken of a hat or hats.
2. Create a new post on your blog entitled “Hugh’s Weekly Photo Challenge: Week 24 – “Hats”
3. Add the photo(s) you have taken to the post and tell us a little about what you are showing.
4. Create a *pingback to this post or leave a link to your post in the comments section below so that other participants can view the post.

Not sure how to create a pingback? Click here for a step by step guide on how to create one.

HATS! YIKES! Silver goes incognito when she wears a hat!

I am not much of a hat person. Sure, I wear them when it is freezing out and I don’t want to get cold. I also wear a gardening hat to keep the sun off my lily-white skin! Do I look good in hats? Absolutely NOT!!

So… I had to get creative. This week I am sharing a photo of our sun umbrella with the hnot Colorado sun beating down!

I figure anything that saves me from sunburn can be considered a hat and this works!

We had our first day of over 78 degrees F. yesterday (Happy Cinco de Mayo). Ron and I celebrated the day with a Mexican luncheon, margaritas, mojitos and some gardening! I planted three lovely Euonymus bushes whose leaves have a sunny yellow and emerald color that will compliment the colors of my house perfectly! I even decorated the oak tree which I thought had died! There are tiny buds appearing so it might make it after all.

Such is Colorado. One week a blizzard, the next week it is almost 80 degrees F.

Thanks for stopping by,

A DAY LATE!

Solitude – Hugh’s Weekly Photo Challenge

Hugh, from Hugh’s Views and News, asked for examples of solitude. That I got…

Solitude at Pensacola Beach

Solitude along a country road

The solitude of a Colorado Highway

I hope you enjoyed my interpretation of solitude. Many thanks to Hugh for sponsoring such a fun photo event! I love it.

Do you want to join in?

Here’s what you do:

1. Take or choose a photo that you’ve taken which, for you, shows Solitude.
2. Create a new post on your blog entitled “Hugh’s Weekly Photo Challenge: Week 20 – “Solitude”
3. Add the photo(s) you have taken to the post and tell us a little about what you are showing.
4. Create a pingback to this post or leave a link to your post in the comments section below so that other participants can view the post.

Not sure how to create a pingback? Click here for a step by step guide on how to create one.

RonovanWrites #Weekly #Haiku #Poetry Prompt #Challenge #86 Flash & Dance

Ronovan’s words for this week’s haiku inspiration are “flash and dance.” I used ‘glimmer’ for flash and let the word ‘dance’ stand by itself. I really had to pause because I immediately got a vision of a flash dance in my head…

O.K. well, maybe not! Anyway, here is my contribution for the week called,

“A Glimmer of Hope.”

A glimmer of hope –

nature’s last dance with winter,

brings balmy spring rains.

I am patiently waiting for springtime in the mountains. Our lawn is mostly brown but I see a hint of green at the roots. Rain is predicted for Sunday! I am excited to see how our Colorado blooms in the spring! BRING it ON!

Thanks for stopping by. I enjoyed seeing you all!

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