The Wordsmith's Forge

This poem is the linkback perk for the May 4, 2021 Poetry Fishbowl. It was originally hosted by Dreamwidth user Dialecticdreamer. It came out of the April 2021 Crowdfunding Creative Jam, inspired by a prompt from DW user Readera.




The raspberry patch
is swarming with bugs.

There are ladybugs
and assassin bugs,
tiger beetles and
one praying mantis
surveying her domain.

There are ants and
caterpillars creeping
over green leaves
and black fruit.


[To be continued ...]

We made Strawberry Barbecue Sauce (minus the jalapenos) and poured it over chicken thighs, currently simmering in the crockpot.  My house smells like strawberries and vinegar.  :D

Today is cloudy and mild.  It's supposed to rain later.

I fed the birds.  I've seen a flock of doves, a flock of sparrows, a flock of goldfinches, a robin, a brown thrasher, a rabbit, and a squirrel.

I dumped a bag of topsoil in the prairie garden and planted shortgrass prairie wildflowers. 

EDIT 5/16/21 -- I dumped a bag of potting soil in the septic garden and planted assorted flowers seeds.

And now it's raining.

These are the content notes for "To Feel Safe and Warm."

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These are the character notes for "To Feel Safe and Warm."

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This poem is spillover from the May 4, 2021 Poetry Fishbowl. It was inspired by prompts from nsfwords and librarygeek. It also fills the "teamwork skills" square in my 5-1-21 card for the Leaky Pipeline Bingo fest. This poem has been sponsored by nsfwords. It belongs to the Kraken thread of the Polychrome Heroics series.

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I've seen a male Baltimore oriole twice today, once in the forest garden and now feeding on an orange.  :D 3q3q3q!!!

Today is cloudy and mild, spitting a few drops of water.

I fed the birds.  I've seen doves, house finches, brown-headed cowbirds, and a male goldfinch today.

I planted 2 White Diversity Sunchokes and 1 Red Diversity Sunchoke in the prairie garden.  

EDIT 5/15/21 -- I put compost and covers on the three sunchokes.  I planted the Illinois wild blackberry, complete with compost and cover.  \o/  All the live plants are now safely in the ground.  I still have a ton of stuff that needs to be mulched, but the time-sensitive part is done.

I saw a male Baltimore oriole in the forest garden!  :D 3q3q3q!!!

EDIT 5/15/21 -- I sowed some grass seed in bare patches.  Then I hauled 3 buckets of mulch to put around the 4 Wild Ginger and 1 Edible White Violet in the forest garden, so that section is done.

EDIT 5/15/21 -- I hauled a bucket of mulch to put around the blackberry plant.

EDIT 5/15/21 -- I hauled 3 buckets of mulch to put around the wild leeks in the prairie garden.

I've also seen a gray catbird eating the orange on the iron feeder in the forest garden.

EDIT 5/15/21 -- I hauled 2 buckets of mulch to put around the 5 red sunchokes in the prairie garden.

As it is dark and I am exhausted, I am done for the night.

The May crowdfunding Creative Jam is now open with a theme of "Heroism -- Real and Perceived." Come give us prompts, or claim some for your own inspiration.


What I Have Written

"What the Cat Needs" is today's freebie.


From My Prompts

For my current set of tips, I'm using the list "101 Small Ways You Can Improve Your City.

72. Join a time bank. Think of a time bank like a community ATM where you can deposit and withdraw "hours" of skills like cash. If there’s not one near you, the documentary Time as Money highlights several successful programs around the world and provides inspiring resources.

You can do this formally or informally.  Many people trade services with each other, and sometimes goods and services.  I've traded poetry for a wide range of things, and made or mended clothes for friends -- whatever I can do that they need, whatever they have that I want.  It is much cheaper than trying to buy things on the open market.