The Wordsmith's Forge

 ... in case you want to know what knitters are saying.

Good news includes all the things which make us happy or otherwise feel good. It can be personal or public. We never know when something wonderful will happen, and when it does, most people want to share it with someone. It's disappointing when nobody is there to appreciate it. Happily, blogging allows us to share our joys and pat each other on the back.

What good news have you had recently? Are you anticipating any more? Have you found a cute picture or a video that makes you smile? Is there anything your online friends could do to make your life a little happier?

This is today's freebie.  It was inspired by a backchannel prompt from my_partner_doug.  It also fills the "question / request" square in my 6-1-21 card for the Cottoncandy Bingo fest.


"Not the Answer I Was Expecting"


A young mother
finds her son
sitting on the floor
with baby scissors
and scraps of paper
and glue in his hair.

"What are you doing?"
she demands.

"Making a mess."

"That is not the answer
I was expecting ...
but, points for honesty."

Today is cloudy and cool.

I fed the birds.  I've seen two squirrels -- one of them Bob, one not -- and a lot of house finches. 

I had to refill the thistle feeder after supper.  They drained it in about 3 hours.  They're pigs.  They're pigs with wings.

The Poetry Fishbowl is now CLOSED.  Thank you for your time and attention.  Please keep an eye on this page as I am still writing.

Starting now, the Poetry Fishbowl is open! Today's theme is "I never thought I'd have to say that." I will be checking this page periodically throughout the day. When people make suggestions, I'll pick some and weave them together into a poem ... and then another ... and so on. I'm hoping to get a lot of ideas and a lot of poems.

I'll be soliciting ideas for explorers, partners, housemates, siblings, parents, teachers, clergy, leaders, superheroes, supervillains, teammates, alien or fantasy species, failure analysts, ethicists, activists, rebels, other people who get into odd situations, parenting, teaching, adventuring, leaving your comfort zone, discovering things, conducting experiments, observation changing experiments, troubleshooting, improvising, adapting, cleaning up messes, cooperating, bartering, taking over in an emergency, saving the day, discovering yourself, studying others, testing boundaries, coming of age, learning what you can (and can't) do, sharing, preparing for the worst, expecting the unexpected, fixing what's broke, upsetting the status quo, changing the world, accomplishing the impossible, recovering from setbacks, returning home, the forest primeval, liminal zones, schools, churches, sharehouses, kitchens, campfires, laboratories, supervillain lairs, makerspaces, nonhuman accommodations and adaptations, stores, farmer's markets, starships, alien planets, magical lands, foreign dimensions, other places where the unexpected happens, sudden surprises, travel mishaps, the buck stops here, trial and error, weird food, secret ingredients, supplements that turn out to be metagenic, intercultural entanglements, asking for help and getting it, enemies to friends/lovers, interdimensional travel, Get a Life Program, lab conditions are not field conditions, superpower manifestation, the end of where your framework actually applies, ethics, innovation, problems that can't be solved by hitting, teamwork, found family, complementary strengths and weaknesses, personal growth, and poetic forms in particular.

Currently eligible bingo card(s) for donors wishing to sponsor a square:

Cottoncandy Bingo Card 6-1-21

Hurt/Comfort Bingo Card 6-15-20


Among my more relevant series for the main theme:

An Army of One is developing its own neurovariant culture.

The Bear Tunnels introduces modern principles to people in the past.

A Conflagration of Dragons has the Six Races (plus the dragons) who all have different cultures and climates. This often poses challenges for the refugees.

The Daughters of the Apocalypse has people trying to find enough resources to survive, when former cities are unsafe.

Eloquent Souls presents a setting where soulmarks are common, leading to many odd expressions as people try to make their Words distinctive.

Feathered Nests is about humans interacting with birdlike aliens, and their cross-cultural dynamics.

Frankenstein's Family features two scientists running a valley in historic Romania, along with a pack of werewolves, a couple of vampires, and a mummy.

Hart's Farm is a free love community with lots of interesting relationships.

Monster House is suburban fantasy with a diverse household.

The Moon Door explores a women's chronic pain group and lycanthropy.

The Ocracies has a wide variety of countries crammed together, each with a totally different government.

One God's Story of Mid-Life Crisis follows Shaeth as he works on becoming the God of Drunks.

Polychrome Heroics has ordinary humans, supernaries, blue-plate specials, superheroes, supervillains, primal and animal soups all trying to get along and figure out how to make a functional society.

Or you can ask for something new.

I have a linkback poem, "The Loving Embrace of Night" (11 verses, standalone).

( Collapse )

Once upon a time, there was a lovely community called cottoncandy_bingo. It hasn't been active since 2014. There is now a fest over on allbingo using some of those prompts along with similar ones, running June 1-30. These prompts angle toward upbeat content, although creators can do whatever they want with them. This fest encourages people to create and share material focused on what is variously called fluff, schmoop, gentle fiction, light reading, comfort reading, positive thinking, chicken soup for the soul, or anything else that offers a fun alternative to usual run of sex, violence, and angst of modern media. It's open to all fandoms plus original content, and all kinds of material. (See all my 2021 bingo cards.)

If you'd like to sponsor a particular square, especially if you have an idea for what character, series, or situation it would fit -- talk to me and we'll work something out. I've had a few requests for this and the results have been awesome so far. This is a good opportunity for those of you with favorites that don't always mesh well with the themes of my monthly projects. I may still post some of the fills for free, because I'm using this to attract new readers; but if it brings in money, that means I can do more of it. That's part of why I'm crossing some of the bingo prompts with other projects, such as the Poetry Fishbowl.


Underlined prompts have been filled.


COTTONCANDY BINGO CARD

Caretaking	Bad day	Unexpected love	Naked / Vulnerable	Embracing imperfection
Acceptance	Gifts	Yes - you	Opportunity	Protect
Finding home / family	Dark	WILD CARD	Victory / Success	Trust
Intimate	Reading	Wordless Communication	Magical / Soul bond	Lead / Follow
Question / Request	Knitting / Sewing / Crochet / etc.	Stars/Outer Space	Wings	Jumping / Skipping rope

I have made bingo down the I and O columns of my 5-1-21 card for the Leaky Pipeline fest. I made another 7 fills, for a total of 17. That's above my average. \o/

( Collapse )

Today is mostly cloudy and mild.

I fed the birds.  Lots of house finches and sparrows, a few doves, and a squirrel.

I planted cypress vine in the septic garden.  I also started clearing space around the anchor wire for the telephone post to plant more.

EDIT 5/31/21 -- I cleared the rest of the space around the anchor wire.  

EDIT 5/31/21 -- I planted cypress vine around the anchor wire.

EDIT 5/31/21 -- I sowed wildflower seeds in 2 spots in the prairie garden.

EDIT 5/31/21 -- I sowed wildflower seeds in 2 spots in the prairie garden.

These are some posts from the later part of last week in case you missed them:
Birdfeeding
Trailers as Affordable Housing
Birdfeeding
Community Building Tip: Presentations
Birdfeeding
Watch "High on the Hog"
Birdfeeding
The Purpose of Dreams
Moment of Silence: Eric Carle
Coping Skills: Shopping
Birdfeeding
Cuddle Party


There will be a Poetry Fishbowl on Tuesday, June 1 with a theme of "I never though I'd have to say that."


Poetry in Microfunding:

There are three open epics at present, and "Rainshadow Road" is also open but I haven't posted it yet.

"Rainshadow Road" belongs the Daughters of the Apocalypse series.  It introduces Maggot to the Clearwater Caravan.

"The Hobbomak" launches the Bear Tunnels series. Emma and Jesse explore the images on the walls.

"A Celebration and a Consolation" belongs to Polychrome Heroics. Keira comforts her mother after the breakup.


The weather has been mild here, and it rained some. Seen at the birdfeeders this week: a flock of mourning doves, a flock of sparrows, a flock of house finches, several goldfinches, a few robins, a pair of cardinals, a brown thrasher, two rabbits, and a squirrel.  I've also seen an indigo bunting in the yard.  Currently blooming: purple allium, white allium, honeysuckle, chives, bergamot, iris, peonies.  Asiatic lilies and hollyhock have buds.  Black raspberries have green fruit.  Mulberries are turning pink.

I took some pictures in my yard on Sunday, May 30.

( Collapse )