Today's sandbox at my poet's playground. I hope you enjoy it. Be sure and let me know if there are types of images or poetry that you'd like to see, or not, and I'll try to accommodate at least once a week.

Claudsy

There are times when creativity overwhelms other considerations. Hence this bit of poetry with image.               

View From the Road

I wanted to show you all the kind of autumn day that comes our way here in northwest Montana. With Jo's permission, I put  this together with a poem I wrote for the occasion. I hope you all enjoy it on this marvelous Sunday afternoon.

Think of this as my little postcard to you all.

Claudsy

Stepping Out

In the past several weeks I’ve found myself standing on the edge of a cliff overlooking the rushing possibilities of my life.

I know that I night fall down and skin my knee, but it’s better than ramming my head against a stone wall.

I could paint my nails after a good shower. Then I could dress in my best color and go out to smell the flowers.

 I could find a cool spot to reflect on my future and perhaps come to see the path that I must take from here.

There is a light to guide me, one which can illuminate the mundane and create art.

I’ll take the high road, though I may flounder a bit, and I’ll scale the walls of opportunity.

The mountains of work before me feel as if they could fill a valley.

Yet, at the end of the day I will have accomplished something, even if small, and that’s what counts when I sleep.

At last the day is done. Until later folks, have a good end of the week. Try something new. You never know when inspiration will strike. Whether it works the way you anticipated doesn’t matter. All that matters is that you tried something different by stepping out.

Claudsy

All photos are with permission of BJ Jones Photography

Another Departure Looms

Yes, we're leaving first thing in the morning for parts north. We've been dawdling in Central California. Our friends here may miss us after we leave, but we’ll certainly miss them more. They’ve spoiled us rotten. The kids (read that as one dot and two exotic birds) have kept us entertained each day. And we’ve had wondrous weather while we were here that we could not fail to miss our resting time here.

My writer friend, Mikki, and I have had the opportunity to talk writing, and projects, and gripe about all those things that writers feel the need to vent about. It’s been marvelous. I don’t get the chance to do that face to face normally. It’s gonna hurt, giving that up.

After our opportunities to roam beaches, watch elephant seals, and tour local wineries, we have plenty of material for whatever projects we wish in future. We've sampled local produce from the open air market, enjoyed meals at the local eateries, and generally luxuriated in California's Central Coast environs. That's not bad for an otherwise stormy April in the rest of the country.

Were we privileged? You betcha, and we don't feel one whit of guilt over it, either. Oh, yeah, we've enjoyed ourselves very well, thank you very much.

So, today we’ll get the last of our laundry done, repack the car toward evening, get ice in the cooler tonight, get final showers taken, and God willing, get my hair cut. Before bed, we have to get the car gassed up as well. We’ll pull out first thing in the morning, coffee in hand, and good-byes on our lips.

We’ll try to remain smiling, but it will be hard. We’re part of their herd now, according to Dylan, their Corgi. He believes we belong here, not out wandering the highways in search of new sights and interests. And we feel the same way about Mikki and Richard.

Once we get on the road, though, and point the car north, we’ll do Monterrey first, where we hope to do the aquarium during our stop. Neither of us has seen it. Now’s our chance.

From there we’ll move on to the Redwoods where we plan to camp for a couple of days at the least. Of course, assuming the primal urge doesn't force us to remain longer so that we can soak up all that serenity, we’ll try to keep it down to a couple of days. I’ve camped there once before, back in the nineties¸ and know the spell with which the forest blankets the area.

We’re not putting an itinerary on the calendar this time in any form. When we feel like stopping, we will. When we need to move on, we will. Much of our return will depend on how we feel on any given day. We’re old enough now to allow ourselves that luxury.

So now you know why we’re taking our time going back. We want to spend a few hours in San Francisco, too. We’re both looking forward to that.

The Oregon coast calls to us along Highway 1, the scenic highway. Sunsets along there and the lighthouses there make for great photo ops. That drive also allows for great photos.

In the Tacoma area we’ll take the time to see Jo’s kids and family for a couple of days before heading east along I­-90. We’ll see her oldest son in Central Washington during that trek. We won’t be able to get into an apartment until the middle of the month of May, so there’s no real hurry. It’s not snowing here at the moment. It is up there.

And there you have the situation with us. We’ve had our ups and downs, mostly with the weather and the continuing rising costs of gasoline and, consequently, everything else. We just didn’t budget for that kind of rise in costs.

Yet, when we look back, we managed to huge amounts of material and experience  in 20 states in five months, and much of that while stationary in only a few of them. That’s not a bad track record, don’t you think? The really hard part will come after we re-establish ourselves in Kalispell. Jo gets to put in months of work in PhotoShop while I work on the book and the articles for magazine submission. If luck and writing perseverance prevail, those articles will help us put money back in the savings account. So, keep those fingers crossed.

I can’t promise when I’ll get to post on anything again after today, so you’ll just all have to keep an eye peeled for the slightest blip on your radar screens. I’ll try to pop in again before getting back to Kalispell.Take care and God bless.

Claudsy

Time Out

Yesterday turned into one of our traveling days. I’d suggested it the night before because I felt restless. Neither Sister nor I could think of anything that absolutely had to be done at home that day. So...

We started out just after 8:00 am with one ultimate goal in mind -- a small close-by State Park named Lake Mary Ronan. We had the whole day, though, so we decided to drive down the scenic east shore of Flathead Lake and “make the loop.” Since this was a photo-op day, Sister was particularly interested in all things photogenic and had both cameras at the ready, just in case.

We’d sailed through our lunch-time refueling stop in Polson due to the still-early hour. Nothing struck us as photo memorable throughout the loop until we got to that small lake on the western edge of Flathead Indian Reservation. We wanted pics that we could use later.

Besides, Sister Jo loves water -- not uncommon given her Zodiac chart.

We pulled into the park, stopped with the car facing the sun-splashed lake and breathed deep. It smelled  clean and piney. People in the parking lot, if they talked, did so quietly. The beauty of the day lent itself well to that deep blue water with its reed-strewn shoreline.

A floating dock with fishing deck at the end waited for trollers. A few rigs towing small boats dotted the parking lot. Lingering fall colors reflected from the surrounding hillsides. All was well with the world in that moment.

Sister grabbed camera and off she went. This was a new destination. WITH WATER! So many possibilities, so little time to use the best light. She snapped pics contentedly, zooming in and out as needed. And when she noted an older man sauntering toward the fishing deck, rod in hand, she couldn’t resist the challenge. Action pics had arrived with the possibility for information.

I had my own contentment, listening in on conversations around me from the newly arrived, who were intent on launching their boats. I couldn’t listen in on Sister’s conversation with the fisherman. They stood too distant.

I did learn all about the relationships between those new arrivals, though. The two groups had known one another for ages, often did things together, appreciated one another’s talents, knowledge and resolve to enjoy life. The conversations were enlightening, to say the least. They would make for great story fodder.

Before long boats moved on their trailers toward the ramp. As they did so, Sister took the opportunity to finish her own conversation and moved back toward the car. She took more photos from that vantage point before we left.

Once we were back on the road, she told me of her conversation with the fisherman. She said that freshwater salmon were spawning below the fishing deck and at the end of the boat ramp. Once the boat trailers started into the water there, spawning efforts at that location halted. All fertilized eggs there would be disrupted at best, destroyed at worst. We agreed to its being an example of “progress” in action.

During the last step of our drive back home, we also agreed to take lunch and then wind our way back up to Glacier Park. That is, after all, one of our favorite haunts. Having a permanent park pass is such a blessing.

The big park was almost deserted, though several enterprising people had taken a Friday off and gone exploring in the lower realms of the park. Some college-aged visitors walked the trails between highway and hidden lakes. Middle-aged sight-seers and retirees moved along many of those same trails, testing new camera equipment, oo-ing and ah-ing about the differences between seasons at Avalanche Falls and among all the vegetation.

This was our last good camera day for a while and we knew it. A big storm front was moving in that would keep us stranded in our apartment for more than a week.

Hence, Sister managed to get almost 400 shots yesterday. Some would be eliminated due to poor quality/lighting. Some would go to her photo stock sites, and many would come to me for either one book of poetry or one children’s book. We do try to share with each other along the way, you know.

We arrived home nearly twelve hours after beginning, tired and sated from our day in the fresh air and sunshine. We’d each learned something along the way.

She’d learned a new setting on her camera and what it did for her photos. It was something she could pass on that same afternoon to a novice who’d just bought the same camera. That moment made the whole day worthwhile for her.

Me? I learned something that I’d never come across, which would give me a good beginning for a children’s informational article for boys. That’s always a good market. I could use much the same info for an article for adults, as well. I already had publications in mind. Not bad for time spent listening.

Getting good photos for upcoming projects filled out the day right for both of us. I hope everyone experienced as profitable a week.

Have a great weekend and remember to enjoy life. It may not seem rare, but then none of us have seen the other side of the Universe yet. Think about it.

Until later,

Claudsy

When Sarfaris Come Calling

When a writer has a sister who’s decided to become a professional fine art photographer, life changes drastically. Especially when said photographer and writer live in the same household.

Welcome to my world. 

I, as the writer, have entered into a new and mostly exciting chapter of a new writing career. You see, I tend to go with my sister on photo safari each time that camera comes out of its tidy black carrying case.

Yes, that’s right! I’ve become the photographer’s sidekick. And it’s a position at which I’m very good. I know you’re going to ask, “What’s wrong with that?” accompanied by a puzzled expression and thoughts of stupidity on my part.

Heavens, please get those thoughts out of your head. I have absolutely no problem with that scenario. I thoroughly enjoy being that sidekick. As a writer it opens up all types of new genres for me from travel writing to nature pieces to commercial work. It allows us to work on pieces together with me doing text and her doing photos.   

Anything which broadens a writer’s scope and experience base is usually a good thing. I have no complaints on that score at all.

The only complaints I have are directed squarely at myself. The problem is that I tend to get lots of ideas for stories and articles on any given day and there simply aren’t enough hours in a day to write them all down, much less work on any one of them. Add new ones generated by photo shoots and I have mayhem of the brain and then some.

Now, I can’t read, type, or research fast enough. I thought I had a problem with that before this. Yet, I can’t keep my mind from wandering onto other threads of ideas while trying desperately to work out what I’m working on that moment. I can’t keep any kind of schedule taut enough to get done everything I really would like to do. Flashes of scenes recently viewed while out on the shoot overshadow those projects I’m revising, outlining, or devising.

You see the dilemma. I either have to get very creative with scheduling or get very fast with thinking, writing, and subbing those pieces I’ve written. Which shall I choose?

Should I give up those little adventures into the outside world, which--with the exception of trips to the grocery--are the only semi-regular outings I have. After all, writers do live a mostly solitary life, even when in a house full of people. Okay, one sister doesn’t constitute a houseful, but you understand my meaning.

Part of the problem stems from the fact that I’m one of the individuals who thinks that I should be able to get anything done to perfection on that first try and do it faster than anyone else. Having grown up under the watchful eyes of perfectionists, I learned early that doing things thusly made for a calmer life all around.

I’ve taken the time to decide which arenas of writing I want to spend most of my time in, whether as the gladiator or the spectator. That was a major step since I like working in so many arenas each day. It just isn’t practical, though. It’s like trying to split an orange into 25 segments when only 8-10 came in that convenient skin package.

On top of everything else, I have difficulty just saying “NO” to all of those marvelously attractive opportunities for contests--even drawings for free books, learning new techniques for working with your blog(s), or having a new free newsletter sent to your inbox every week/month, etc. How can any writer say “NO” to all that?

I know that I have to prioritize my reading selections for each week so that most of my time is used for writing, but… (sigh) there’s so much good stuff out there to read.

Oh, well, back to the priority lists. Priority Reading list--sites/blogs/mags/… Priority writing projects--projects for submission, daily AC article for submission/book manuscripts final work to go to agents, creative nf pieces (kids) final revision, creative nf final revision(adults), short stories (kids) final revisions, poetry for online sites, etc.

There you have it. My week in condensed form. If you look closely, I haven’t scheduled any meals or sleep. Food makes me fat and I hallucinate much more effectively without sleep, which is better for story writing. Potty breaks happen when necessary and don’t get scheduled.

The photo shoots? Sis is gone on one this week with someone else. I get to work this week. I couldn’t go out to play. Too many commitments. I wasn’t even asked to go. She knows what kind of projects are sitting on my desk.

I’m trying hard not to whine. Can't you tell? I’m actually looking forward to getting some writing done today. Sometime. If I could just get my printer to cooperate, things could go much more smoothly. I just know that my phone’s speed dial will be necessary for the Geek Squad before the afternoon’s over. I have two programs that fight over defaults. Another priority has come to the foreground.

Until later, dear friend, duck when you need to, roll over and play dead when the monsters attack, and don’t stop to ask permission if you get a chance to run.

In case anyone wants to see what sis does with that camera of hers, visit: www.bjjoneseyes@shutterbugstorefront.com/ Her galleries are there with companion pics like the ones here..
Claudsy