onsdag den 29. juni 2022

Using today's words & IWSG - July question

The last batch of Words in June was given by me, and can be found here. I repeat:
     Humdrum, Hapless, Righteous, Puny, Troubled, Quirky.

I am - once again -  continuing the story of the mysterious examination in transformation and using the words in the order they were given. 
I'm still not satisfied with the story or my writing skills. But I want to tell this story!
Bits and pieces are missing. This whole chapter is in for a solid re-write before making it into the book. But as I can't just leave out a bit of the story, here we go:

The humdrum process of reading through pages and pages of encyclopedias on mammals, marsupials and other animals in Australia, was interrupted at regular intervals by someone reading aloud when they found a relevant passage.
"Tigers!" Kalle said, "There is an Australian tiger." He paused looking down into the book again: "The Thy-la-cine, wow hope I said this right - is an extinct, or possibly extinct - this means died out, doesn't it?" Knud nodded and Kalle read on: "a carnivorous marsupial that was native to the Australian mainland and the islands of Tasmania and New Guinea. It is commonly known as the Tasmanian tiger or the Tasmanian wolf. The Tasmanian tiger was relatively shy and nocturnal, with the general appearance of a medium-to-large-size canid." He stopped. "What's that?"
"Canid?" Hilde said, Kalle nodded his blonde head and Hilde continued. "Canid is the adjective to canine, meaning as or of a dog. That means dog-like, or a member of the dog-family!"
"Thanks," Kalle said and went on: "This then means that it looks like a medium sized dog except for its stiff tail and abdominal pouch similar to that of a kangaroo."
He drew a deep breath: "The Tasmanian tiger was an expert predator; but exactly how large its prey animals were is disputed. Its closest living relatives are the other members of Da-sy-u-ro-mor-phi - another of those big words," Kalle said with  sigh "including the Tasmanian devil - good old Taz!"

"Are they extinct or are they not?" Hilde asked impatiently.

"The last hapless specimen, a male, died in a zoo in 1936. Since then people claim to have seen some, but none have been photographed or caught."

They read on in silence.

"When is our deadline?" Kirstin suddenly asked.

"I know!" Hilde said with a righteous mien. "Today, just before lunch!"

"We're in deep trouble," Kirstin answered. "Lunch is at one o'clock as always. Now it's almost eleven. Two hours to solve this. Our puny magic is not up to this!"

"Earth!" Knud exclaimed. "That was what was troubling me. We're missing the last clue from Jon, the last element!"

"You sure have a quirky mind," Susan said.

"You're right," Hilde said to Knud and at the same time a stone came in through the window. Kirstin looked out, but she could only see the empty yard below and the branches criss-crossing overhead.


- - - - -

July 6 question - If you could live in any book world, which one would you choose?
This is an impossible to answer question!
   I would like to live in several book worlds, the Hobbits' Middle-Earth, the magical world of Harry Potter, Laura Ingalls Wilder's prairie home, Paksenarrion's mediaeval world, the high fantasy "Earth" of Paul Anderson's Three Hearts and Three Lions, The Broken Sword, or Operation Chaos, or the Avalon from People of the Wind. Or the musroomy village of the Smurfs. Or the forlorn planets of Enemy Mine.  Or the Palumbian rainforest where Marsipilami are to be found. Or the world where the right dime handed to a newspaper man is a portal to a parallel world. Or Xanth. Or Landover. Or Araluen, home of Rangers' Apprentice. Or the Ringworld. Or Kardemommeby. Or the underseas colonies of a short story the name of which eludes me. Or Pern, as described in the first books and the Harper's Hall series. Or Salzburg and surroundings from The Sound of Music. Or the sewers of New York together with the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Or the cosy town of Bullerby. Or some of the worlds invented by Olga Godim. Or the postapocalyptic, world from The Waveries. Or my own Unicorn Farm ...
  Do you see a common trait? Worlds with magic, friends and family, and order fighting chaos.

Words for Wednesday -- The Words -- June 29

This meme was started by Delores a long time ago.  Troubles led her to bow out, but the meme was too much fun to let go, and now Words for Wednesday is provided by a number of people and has become a movable feast. With Elephant's Child as our coordinator.

  Essentially the aim of this meme is to encourage us to write.  Each week we are given some prompts. These prompts can be words, phrases, music or images.
  What we do with those prompts is up to us:  a short story, prose, a song, a poem, or treating them with ignore...
  We can use some or all of the prompts, and mixing and matching is encouraged.

  Some of us put our creation in comments on the post, and others post on their own blog. This fun meme includes cheering on the other participants.
  And the more the merrier goes here as well, so if you are posting on your own blog then please tell us in the comments, so that all other participants, can come along and applaud.


Humdrum
Hapless
Righteous
Puny
Troubled
Quirky

And/or this photo:


tirsdag den 28. juni 2022

Using the Words - June 22

At midnight my last batch of Words for Wednesday will be auto-posted here.

Before this happens, I need to use last Wednesday's Words. They were posted here.

Dozen, Tiger, Redundancy, Mile, Confuse, Equinox
   and or
Mountain, Treaty, Suspicion, Strategic, Investigation, Light

I am continuing the story of the mysterious examination in transformation. I used the words in the order they were given.  I'm not satisfied with the story or my writing skills. But I want to tell this story! I hope to continue soon.

An arrow came through the window.
"Air!" Kirstin cried and plucked the arrow from the door frame. Around the shaft a blue slip of paper was tied Kirstin untied the knot and handed it to Susan, who looked at it and said: "Jon's scribblings once again."

"Please read!" Hilde commanded and Susan obliged: "I have a dozen questions for you!" she read on, unconsciously aping Jon's diction. "Some of them are irrelevant, some of them stupid and some are the right ones. Which is what? You have to find out.
1. Are there any tigers in Australia?
2. Are marsupials and mammals a sign of creativity or redundancy?
3. How long is a mile?
4. Can you confuse Ayer's Rock with a giant Opal?
5. When is Summer equinox in Australia?
6. The highest mountain of Australia is Mount Kosciuszko - true or false?
7. It is in the Snowy Mountains. Do you know this mountain range from somewhere else?
8. Is a treaty valid without a royal signature?" Susan quickly placed the paper in the middle of the tables, this time it just evaporated.

"I have a suspicion that the one with the treaty is a trick question," Hilde said. 

"This needs some strategic investigation," Knud said and Susan nodded agreement: "We have to go to the library to shed some light over these questions."

mandag den 27. juni 2022

Poetry Monday :: The Birthday Song

Because it's Poetry Monday today,  Diane - who has taken over the hosting of  this challenge - and Mimi of Messymimi's Meanderings - who supplies us with many of the topics - are also writing wonderful, funny, thought-provoking, ingenious and honestly well written verse. Go and read them!
  Karen of Baking in a Tornado has joined us in this crazy pursuit, and promises us at least a poem a month!
  SpikesBestMate often publishes a nice verse in the comments.
  Jenny at Procrastinating Donkey who has been a faithful participant, is slowly returning to blogging after her husband's passing from this world. Let's continue to send warm thoughts, good energy, and lots of prayers her way, now her mum needs a serious prayer too. But still we dare hope that she will join Poetry Monday again.

Todays topic is The Happy Birthday Song. Apart from a Danish birthday sone,  we also sing this one for birthdays in Denmark, and we sing it in English. We learn it in school, and we sing these two birthday songs for everybody, children and grown-ups alike - and even the queen - on their birthday.

But today is not my birthday, nor is it the birthday of anyone I know. Ergo most of us are probably celebrating our unbirthdays today.
All I can do today is a Haiku:



Happy Birthady song
Is for that one, special day
Today - Unbirthday song.


 - - - - -

Next Mondays topic is a two-in-one: Independence Day (US) or Sidewalk egg-frying day.

Spam - Spam - Spam

There's lots of comments on my blog still marked as spam.At least one comment a day, but often as many as three. But I do not get any spam-comments, or hardly ever. This is to say that you, all of you, regularly end up marked as spam.

I do my best to set all comments free as fast as possible, but with time differences and life happening, some comments are bound to stay in limbo for hours!

I can only promise to do my best and hope that Blogger will soon get wiser!

søndag den 26. juni 2022

Quiet Sunday after a Busy Week - Sunday Selections

Monday:
I was at a meeting, leaving home in cloudy weather clearing up. When I left the train with my bike, the clouds opened, and after some preliminary errands, a dripping MotherOwl arrived half an hour later at the meeting.
We met in a church, no not in it, but where you gather for activities not masses and such.
I found an icon of my favourite saint.

Tuesday:
Marsupilami had his last exams after High school ... He did well!

Wednesday:
Pirate ended  his 10th school year and is after the holidays going to visit the same High school Marsupilami just left.

Thursday:
The Writer was at a meeting in Copenhagen. He was brought home by BigSis who helped us celebrate in the evening. We celebrated Midsummer. The Writer once again held the speech.

Then we sent off the witch to Brocken; an old tradition symbolising the victory of good and light over evil.

Friday:
Marsupilami had his graduation ceremony.

And then they celebrated ...



Saturday:
We baked a cake, went shopping and then went to Copenhagen where mass was celebrated for the last time before the summer holiday in out Parish church.
    Our priest is from Vietnam, and he has friends with a restaurant, so we celebrated, talked and ate Vietnamese food amid great joy. Marsupilami had yet another party in the evening and did not join us.
  I forgot to take any photos, but waiting for the train on our way home I photographed the survivor tree at the station in the evening sun.

In between has been all the everyday work and busy-ness the chicken choose this week to have fleas and had to be treated! - then more meetings, visits to PE, Chiropractor, Optometrist - everything is well with the Writer's eyes after cataract surgery - Yay!

Today we slept in, The writer rode his bike to a nearby town for cakes, then we had cakes and coffee in the shade in the Owlery. We took it easy, either savouring the wonderful summer weather, or moaning over the heat after each inhabitants' disposition.

torsdag den 23. juni 2022

Gode, dårlige nyheder -- Good, Bad News

     This is my last photo from the OwlTV livestream. Yesterday evening the owlets fought over a root, trying to eat it and the biggest of them took a tumble down the slope. Klaus went there today with the double purpose of picking it up and checking the owlets' health.
    They were dehydrated and starving and were put in crates and carted off to somewhere, where nice people will feed and care for them. When they are able to find their own food, they'll be transported back again.
     Thus ends this year's dramatic live Owlstream with a happy, unhappy ending. 

-- 🦉 -- 🦉 -- 🦉 --

UgleKlaus skriver:
Ugleungerne i UgleTV får ikke føde og væske nok efter uglemorens død. På den baggrund har DOF valgt at bringe ungerne til en vildtplejestation og slukker derfor for UgleTV.
     Læs mere om hjælpen til ungerne og afslutningen på årets UgleTV her.
     Miljøstyrelsen har torsdag formiddag godkendt, at DOF BirdLife kan ”transportere de 3 nødstedte unger til nærmeste vildtplejestation, der kan håndtere ugler”.
     Nu får alle tre unger professionel hjælp og vil blive sat tilbage i redeområdet i grusgraven, når de er udvokset om cirka fire uger og kan klare sig selv, siger Klaus Dichmann, ugleekspert og hovedmand bag UgleTV.
     Dermed er denne dramatiske sæson af UgleTV nu slut for i år. Mange tak, fordi I kiggede med.

onsdag den 22. juni 2022

Words for Wednesday -- The Words -- June 22

This meme was started by Delores a long time ago.  Troubles led her to bow out, but the meme was too much fun to let go, and now Words for Wednesday is provided by a number of people and has become a movable feast. With Elephant's Child as our coordinator.

  Essentially the aim of this meme is to encourage us to write.  Each week we are given some prompts. These prompts can be words, phrases, music or images.
  What we do with those prompts is up to us:  a short story, prose, a song, a poem, or treating them with ignore...
  We can use some or all of the prompts, and mixing and matching is encouraged.

  Some of us put our creation in comments on the post, and others post on their own blog. This fun meme includes cheering on the other participants.
  And the more the merrier goes here as well, so if you are posting on your own blog then please tell us in the comments, so that all other participants, can come along and applaud.


Dozen
Tiger
Redundancy
Mile
Confuse
Equinox


Mountain
Treaty
Suspicion
Strategic
Investigation
Light

mandag den 20. juni 2022

Poetry Monday :: No Poetry Edition.

Once again I will have to pass on today's Poetry Monday - with the theme of World Refugee Day - because as I have written before the differential treatment of Refugees in Denmark makes me ready to explode. And this is no good for poetry writing. I'll repeat my 'drawing' from April 1st.



The speech bubbles say: I'm a refugee. ...  I'm a refugee too.

And they probably dream of what every refugee ever dreamt of: Peace and a chance to rebuild their country.

 - - - - -

But because it's Poetry Monday  Diane - who has taken over the hosting of  this challenge - and Mimi of Messymimi's Meanderings - who supplies us with many of the topics - are also writing wonderful, funny, thought-provoking, ingenious and honestly well written verse. Go and read them!
  Karen of Baking in a Tornado has joined us in this crazy pursuit, and promises us at least a poem a month!
  SpikesBestMate often publishes a nice verse in the comments.
  Jenny at Procrastinating Donkey who has been a faithful participant, is slowly returning to blogging after her husband's passing from this world. Let's continue to send warm thoughts, good energy, and lots of prayers her way, now her mum needs a serious prayer too. But still we dare hope that she will join Poetry Monday again.

 - - - - -

Next Mondays topic is the less controversial Happy Birthday Song. I hope to join then.

lørdag den 18. juni 2022

Sunday Selection - Eulogy Rewritten.

Det her bliver et indlæg med mange billeder. Jeg tror nemlig at det i uglereden på UgleTV er Uglemor, og ikke Uglefar, der er død, og det vil jeg gerne vise her.

Og Ups, jeg kom til at udgive i stedet for at planlægge. Det bliver stående, men der kommer atlså ikke et nyt i morgen - med mindre jeg finder et super-uglebillede selvfølgelig.

- - - - -

This will be a very picture heavy post. Bear  with me while I tell you why I think it's Mommy owl, not Daddy owl that died in the OwlTV nest.

And oops I published instead of planning this post. Well it stays, but do not expexct a new post tomorrow- unless that is, that I find something really owly-interesting.
Begge ugler, Uglemor i reden mens Uglefar kigger på.
Both owls in the nest, Mommy inside with Daddy watching.

Først en  række billeder af en rugende Uglemor:
To begin with, some picthures of an incubating Mommy owl:







Så mit sidste billede af Uglemor. Desværre er hun næsten skjult af det grønne, men det skulle med.
My last picture of Mommy owl. I'm sorry she's half hidden by the greenery, but I had to show this.
12. juni 2022 kl. 13.42


Tre små ugleunger alene hjemme og venter på mor eller far.
Three little owlets waiting for mom or dad to show up.
12. juni 2022 kl. 20.50

     Fra de næste fire dage har jeg kun et par billeder af nuttede ugleunger alene i reden. Den overlevende ugle kom forbi flere gange og smed bytte ind i hulen, mus, rotter og en musvåge. Så fløj den igen. 
     Ugleungerne  nappede lidt i byttet og fik et par bidder, de få mus blev slugt hele. Men det gik ikke så godt med at få hul på rotterne. Uglen halverede en eller to af dem, og det hjalp.
     Den 16. om aftenen var Ugleklaus i reden, han skar det grønne ned, ringmærkede, tjekkede og vejede ungerne. De var fine.

  From the next four days I have only screenshots showing cute, downy owlets at home alone. The surviving owl brought prey to the nest. A buzzard, some mice and rats, and left again. The owlets ate from the buzzard, and swallowed the mice, but could not tackle the rats. The big owl bit a rat or two in halves, and this helped.
  Klaus was at the nest June 16 in the evening, he cut down the greenery, put rings on the owlets and weighed them. They were fine.
16. juni 2022 kl. 21 42.

     Næste gang uglen (og senest herfra var jeg sikker på at det var uglefar, så det er han fremover)  kom forbi, havde han vist forstået, at Uglemor ikke var der mere. Han parterede byttedyrene og fodrede ungerne.

When the owl (and at least here I was certain that the survivor was Daddy owl, so this is what I call him from now) next visited the nest, he had realized thet Mommy owl was not there to do her job. He split up the prey and gave some choice bits to the owlets.
Det ser ud som om de siger til Uglefar at han skal blive her og give dem mere mad og mere end mad.

It looks as if the owlets are telling Daddy owl that they need to be fed more, and more than to be fed.

Så fredag blev uglefar længe hos ugleungerne, først fodrede han dem, og så stod han bare i reden sammen med ugleungerne, der ser ud til at nyde det. Man kan se de fine ringe på ugleungernes ben.

Friday Daddy owl first fed the owlets, and then he just stayed in the nest, standing, but what. The owlets sure seem to enjoy his presence. Notice the rings on the owlets.


Denne del af indlægget slutter med et billede af tre stopmætte ugleunger, der døser  i aftensolen.

This part ends with a picture of three sated owlets dozing in the evening sun.
Friday June 17 at 19.48


- - - - - Uglemor eller Uglefar - - - - - Mommy or Daddy owl - - - - -

Der er et kommentarspor på UgleTV, og den 16. juni sagde jeg: "Uglefar er en gammel, erfaren han, der har været ved denne rede i mange år.
  Uglemor er en ny hun, der var 'nybegynder' sidste år, hvor hun blev skræmt af reden.
   Så skal jeg være helt ærlig, håber jeg at det er uglemor, der er omkommet. Uglefar har vist sine evner til at både tiltrække nye hunugler og være et ordentligt "skaffedyr". "
     Og jeg tror faktisk at jeg har ret, det ER uglefar der er den stadig levende voksne ugle.


OwlTV has a possibility for comments, and the evening of Jun 16, I said that "Daddy owl is an old, experienced male who has been at this nest for many years.
  Mommy Owl is a new female who was a 'newbie' last year when she was scared off the nest.
   So to be honest, I hope it is the female owl that has perished. Daddy Owl has shown his ability to both attract new female owls and be a proper 'scavenger'."
  And it seems I was right that Daddy owl is the one still surviving.

Billede fra 17. juni Uglefar nidstirrer os. Så vi kan rigtig se hans ansigt.

Picture from June 17. Daddy owl is staring at us. Here we have a chance to see his face properly.

Close up Uglefar - Daddy owl:

Close up MorUgle - Mommy owl.

For mig er det helt klart, at det ikke er samme ugle. Læg især mærke til farverne rundt om næbbet, Uglemor er helt grå, mens uglefar har et brunt 'overskæg'.

To me obviously not the same owl. Notice the colouration around the beak, Mommy owl is grey, whereas Daddy owl has a brown 'moustache'.

onsdag den 15. juni 2022

Words for Wednesday -- Eulogy and Telling-off

This meme was started by Delores a long time ago.  Troubles led her to bow out, but the meme was too much fun to let go, and now Words for Wednesday is provided by a number of people and has become a movable feast. With Elephant's Child as our coordinator.

  Essentially the aim of this meme is to encourage us to write.  Each week we are given some prompts. These prompts can be words, phrases, music or images.
  What we do with those prompts is up to us:  a short story, prose, a song, a poem, or treating them with ignore...
  We can use some or all of the prompts, and mixing and matching is encouraged.

  Some of us put our creation in comments on the post, and others post on their own blog. This fun meme includes cheering on the other participants.
  And the more the merrier goes here as well, so if you are posting on your own blog then please tell us in the comments, so that all other participants, can come along and applaud.
   In June yours truly, MotherOwl is supplying the Words, and they can be found here.


Guidance, Tea, Argument, Role, Thanks, Warning
     and/or
Leadership, Song, Nation, Highway, Piano, Owner

Normally I use the words to continue my never-ending story of Susan and her friends, but today sad news reached me. So I tell this real life story. I did not use the last three words.

Sad news from the nest
Now Mama Owl is looking for guidance and rats in vain. Daddy Owl lost his life to a length of wire some days ago.
While we sat cosily drinking tea in our garden, having a nice argument, or discussing the use of harsh language in role playing games, he was stuck out there, close to the nest, slowly dying.
We all give thanks to Daddy Owl for the many years he has supplied changing Mommy Owls with encouraging hooting and innumerable rats and other animals of prey.
Let this be a warning to us all: Leave no lengths of wire, no plastic bags or other semi-indestructible pieces of waste lying around. This might be a job for our leaderships, but as they do not listen to the song of nature and wild things, it's up to us, the inhabitants of every nation, to pull ourselves together and DO something.
The three owlets in the nest yesterday. They have been left more alone the last couple of days, Momma Owl is out hunting, we understand now. Luckily warmer weather has arrived and the owlets have grown. We can hope for their survival.
Klaus Dichmann writes: June 14 2022 a dead European Eagle Owl  was found app. 800 m. from the nest with the web-cam. The owl was stuck in a length of wire and has been dead for some days.  We believe it to be the male of the pair in the nest that has tragically died. The Web-cam luckily still shows their three owlets still being fed by the female owl. Latest feeding was June 15 in the morning.

We can still follow the nest here.

Words for Wednesday -- The Words - June 15

This meme was started by Delores a long time ago.  Troubles led her to bow out, but the meme was too much fun to let go, and now Words for Wednesday is provided by a number of people and has become a movable feast. With Elephant's Child as our coordinator.

  Essentially the aim of this meme is to encourage us to write.  Each week we are given some prompts. These prompts can be words, phrases, music or images.
  What we do with those prompts is up to us:  a short story, prose, a song, a poem, or treating them with ignore...
  We can use some or all of the prompts, and mixing and matching is encouraged.

  Some of us put our creation in comments on the post, and others post on their own blog. This fun meme includes cheering on the other participants.
  And the more the merrier goes here as well, so if you are posting on your own blog then please tell us in the comments, so that all other participants, can come along and applaud.

Guidance
Tea
Argument
Role
Thanks
Warning


Leadership
Song
Nation
Highway
Piano
Owner

søndag den 12. juni 2022

Owlets on Sunday (Sunday Selections)

This post can't really count for Sunday Selections, as it's not my own photos, only screenshots from the Owl-livestream. I promised to keep you updated. All 3 owlets are thriving.
The last peep to the nest was May 19, with Mommy Owl warming the hatchlings. Since then the owlets have been growing. Here are the best shots I have taken chronologically.


May 19 Same evening - Owlets alone. You might have to embiggen the screenie to see the owlets:


June 2 - playing peek-a-boo:

June 8, Full nest!


June 9, alone in the night:

June 10. I'm big!

... but compared to Mommy, I'm still small!

And June 12 - today - 3 owlets waiting for  Mommy Owl to come home and feed them!

All photos are stills from the Owl-Webcam. Courtesy of DOF (The Danish Ornithological Society).

onsdag den 8. juni 2022

Words for Wednesday -- The Words -- June 8

This meme was started by Delores a long time ago.  Troubles led her to bow out, but the meme was too much fun to let go, and now Words for Wednesday is provided by a number of people and has become a movable feast. With Elephant's Child as our coordinator.

  Essentially the aim of this meme is to encourage us to write.  Each week we are given some prompts. These prompts can be words, phrases, music or images.
  What we do with those prompts is up to us:  a short story, prose, a song, a poem, or treating them with ignore...
  We can use some or all of the prompts, and mixing and matching is encouraged.

  Some of us put our creation in comments on the post, and others post on their own blog. This fun meme includes cheering on the other participants.
  And the more the merrier goes here as well, so if you are posting on your own blog then please tell us in the comments, so that all other participants, can come along and applaud.

Death
Truth
Chemistry
Restaurant
Mom
Opportunity

Fact
Agency
Instruction
Clothes
Philosophy
People

mandag den 6. juni 2022

Poetry Monday :: Yo-Yo

  Today is Whit Monday. In Denmark this means a day off, where we're not going anywhere, so just enjoying. Shops are generally closed, we have to bake a cake later today - I think we'll end up with rhubarb tart, or maybe rhubarb muffins.
  Today is also Poetry Monday.  Diane - who has taken over the hosting of  this challenge - and Mimi of Messymimi's Meanderings - who supplies us with many of the topics - are also writing wonderful, funny, thought-provoking, ingenious and honestly well written verse. Go and read them!
  Karen of Baking in a Tornado has joined us in this crazy pursuit, and promises us at least a poem a month!
  SpikesBestMate often publishes a nice verse in the comments.
  Jenny at Procrastinating Donkey who has been a faithful participant, is slowly returning to blogging after her husband's passing from this world. Let's continue to send warm thoughts, good energy, and lots of prayers her way, now that her mum's health, and eyes are in need of a prayer too. But still we dare hope that she will join Poetry Monday again.

For today's topic, Yo-Yo, a not very rhyming painful poem on my shortcomings:


The yo-yo is a children's game
But if I try I'm put to shame.
I cannot go around the world,
I cannot walk my dog.
The string just twists
The body hits
Me on my arms and wrists.

 - - - - -

Next week we can hope for more painfree poems on Roller Coasters.

fredag den 3. juni 2022

Using the Words for Wednesday

The Words for Wednesday is a movable feast, celebrating writing.

This month, June, the prompts can be found at MotherOwl's place, that's me and they are here.


And this is a The more, the merrier kind of endeavour, so Please, remember to follow the links, go and read other peoples' stories! And please leave a comment after reading. Challenges like this one thrives on interaction, feedback and encouragement.
We ALL need encouragement.

This week's words/prompts are:


Debt
Impression
Perception
Grocery
Lake
Tale

Height
Passion
Security
Movie
Sample
Wealth

I pre-posted the Words back in January, so they are as new to me as to you, and I must admit that I do not greatly care for this set of words ;) I took up the additional challenge of using the words in the order they were given.


"What's that letter, Susan? Rósa asked. It's not from your parents or anything."

"No it's not," Susan said, "and why would they send me a letter, I saw them yesterday morning, and I'll see them again this evening. But look at those stamps! A koala! and a opal ... and then even a platypus. This is too strange."

Rósa snatched the letter and looked at the stamps. "That stamp with the koala is quite new, Look it says 'Christmas 1976', but the others look older - and that last one ..." she held the letter so that Veronika could see the stamps. "That's eucalyptus, isn't it?"

"Yes it is," Veronika said. "Susan open that letter, please!"

Susan opened the letter and looked mystified at them. "It has nothing at all to do with our test. Last summer, when we were in Italy, I met an Australian priest. I liked to talk with him. He listened to me, answered my questions and was a nice sort. I wrote him a Christmas letter, asking some more questions, and telling him a bit more about me, my family and life in Denmark. This letter is from the bishop in Melbourne, no not from the bishop himself, but from his office. They tell me that the priest is not among them any more ... strange wording. I cannot tell if he's not a priest any more or if he died. That's sad. I liked the idea of knowing a priest that far away. I feel I owe him something ... a kind of spiritual debt, maybe. But there's nothing I can do." Susan ended.

Knud had been examining the envelope. "Someone glued the address of the Unicorn Farm over your home address," he said.

"Must be my mum," Susan said, "She knows I love having letters from all over the world. And she's good at those kind of things."

"In my impression this letter came on the right day," Veronika said. "Maybe my perception of the big picture is not fantastic, that's what my mum tells me at least, but you get a letter all the way from Australia, on the day we're trying to solve a riddle including Australian elements. It cannot be pure accident."

Let's put the letter with all the other things," Knud suggested. "And what is that last thing?"

"Don't you know?" Hilde asked. "It's a boomerang."

"I don't normally do my grocery shopping in Australia," Knud said, "I do not know everything. Nobody knows everything."

"It is a boomerang," Kirstin said. "Rósa's dad once had one - he's my uncle, you know. And he said it would always return to him when he threw it. But one day he threw it over a lake, and it hit a gull and fell into the lake together with the bird."

"Yes," Rósa continued. "And then he stole a boat and rowed out to retrieve it. and  then the owner of the boat, a tiny, old lady, came running out while he was out there. Me and Kirstin and Jón, that's Kirstin's dad got a scolding from the little lady. Then Jon told about the boomerang all the way from Australia, and after that the little old lady invited us in for tea and tale swapping, as she had been to Australia as well. It ended up well enough."

"It seems that the Australia craze was on its height then, and that little old lady had a passion for all things exotic. I think uncle Sigurd ended up gifting her  the boomerang."
"He did," Rósa said. "He had friends in Security at the airport, and they got him a new one. Not totally legal, I dare bet, but then they knew him. The one he got had been confiscated from a movie star, famous them, but now totally forgotten."
"That's a sample of how much help wealth really is." Rósa said. "Real wealth is friends."

... to be continued

onsdag den 1. juni 2022

Words for Wednesday -- The words & IWSG -- June 1

This meme was started by Delores a long time ago.  Troubles led her to bow out, but the meme was too much fun to let go, and now Words for Wednesday is provided by a number of people and has become a movable feast. With Elephant's Child as our master.

  Essentially the aim of this meme is to encourage us to write.  Each week we are given some prompts. These prompts can be words, phrases, music or images.
  What we do with those prompts is up to us:  a short story, prose, a song, a poem, or treating them with ignore...
  We can use some or all of the prompts, and mixing and matching is encouraged.

  Some of us put our creation in comments on the post, and others post on their own blog. This fun meme includes cheering on the other participants.
  And the more the merrier goes here as well, so if you are posting on your own blog then please tell us in the comments, so that all other participants, can come along and applaud.

I autoposted the words for all of June long, long ago, in January, I think, so the words will be almost as new for me. I'll post my stories Friday.


Debt
Impression
Perception
Grocery
Lake
Tale

Height
Passion
Security
Movie
Sample
Wealth

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Today is also the first Wednesday of the month. Time for the monthly Question from the Insecure Writers' Support Group

June 1 question - When the going gets tough writing the story, how do you keep yourself writing to the end? If you have not started the writing yet, why do you think that is and what do you think could help you find your groove and start?

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My answer - The first thing that keeps me writing is my passion for writing. I began writing before I started school, and I just never stopped  😉
The second things that keeps me writing week after week is the Words for Wednesday and the encouraging comments from that crew! Thank you!