And You Call This Spring?

on the last Saturday in March 2018

"I wonder if the snow loves the trees and fields, that it kisses them so gently? And then it covers them up snug, you know, with a white quilt; and perhaps it says, 'Go to sleep darlings, till the summer comes again.'"--Lewis Carroll, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland

It was almost like Alice's adventures around here over the weekend, a glorious gift wrapped up in wonder and glee. All that snow at the end of March, coming down in such huge flakes and with unbelievable packing ability...who would have guessed it?  And so the adventure unfolded--filled with sledrides, snowballs, snowmen, three children, their daddy, and a grandpa. The only thing missing was Carroll's March Hare but the fact that the fun all happened in the month of March, when it's supposed to be spring, makes up for the hare's absence.

Classic quote of the day, this from five-year old Ceci: "Building a snow man is hard work. But I'd rather build a snowman than wash the dishes."

A winter wonderland in spring, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, a child's sense of wonder: can we capture some of that wonder in our writing?

It sure beats washing dishes :-)

Any adventures in your life recently? How do you maintain a sense of adventure in your writing? When was the last time you read Alice's Adventures in Wonderland?

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Thirty Words for Writers

" 'O Tiger-lily,' said Alice, addressing herself to one that was waving gracefully about in the wind. 'I wish you could talk!' 'We can talk,' said the Tiger-lily, 'when there's anybody worth talking to.' Alice was so astonished that she could not speak for a minute: it seemed to take her breath away." --Lewis Carroll, Through the Looking Glass

My tiger lilies have done just that for me this year, taken my breath away. I have one particular orange clump in a small flower bed that has thirty blossoms on it. Thirty! Astonishing. Each day a new bud opened up until the whole thing seemed to be on fire.

In honor of my tiger lily and her thirty blossoms--in no way do I have a green thumb so this is just a marvel to me--and in honor of words that might, just might, help us writers bloom, here's my version of "Thirty Words for a Writer."

May they help plant seeds for worthwhile gardens of words to come...

Thirty Words for Writers

                                                                         1. write                              

                                                                         2. read                               

                                                                         3. play                               

                                                                         4. persevere                      

                                                                         5. ponder                           

                                                                         6. wonder                          

                                                                         7. experiment                    

                                                                         8. create                             

                                                                         9. catch                              

                                                                       10. toss    
                                                                       11. dig
                                                                       12. expand
                                                                       13. visualize
                                                                       14. imagine
                                                                       15. feel
                                                                       16. care
                                                                       17. compose
                                                                       18. type
                                                                       19. breathe
                                                                       20. rest
                                                                       21. refresh
                                                                       22. return
                                                                       23. reach
                                                                       24. question
                                                                       25. wrestle
                                                                       26. revise
                                                                       27. stay
                                                                       28. nail
                                                                       29. hope
                                                                       30. smile        

The words are not new--but always pertinent. (Don't you just love word association games?)

Would you add any words, delete any? How is your garden growing? Any tiger lilies talk to you lately?

"Tiger lilies--the panthers of the meadow." --Titus Munson Coan

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