
between here and there;
temptress, splayed and inviting.
kitty danger zone.

by Angie Quantrell

Happy Hump Day Haiku Challenge! Have you dared to touch the danger zone? I’d love to read your haiku about facing a danger zone.

between here and there;
temptress, splayed and inviting.
kitty danger zone.

by Angie Quantrell

Happy Hump Day Haiku Challenge! Have you dared to touch the danger zone? I’d love to read your haiku about facing a danger zone.
When did I begin writing for preschoolers? WAY back when.

I’m so glad my honey took this photo. This was my first trip to Birmingham, Alabama, to attend a writer’s conference and begin writing curriculum and products for Mission Friends (preschool missions education materials).
Chelsie was three, Taylor was five, and I had dark hair (and hair, period). Judging by how old they are now, I’ve been writing for Woman’s Missionary Union for about 28 years. Time flies when preschoolers are having fun and this writer is loving every minute of the journey.
What a blessing it is to remember this opportunity from the Lord! I so love preschoolers. You know, that age is one of the funnest ever! (I know, I know. There are other ages that are also super fun. Okay, you caught me. I adore them all.)
Sweet babies, fantastic supporting husband, and dreams for endless learning activities. Now my babies have given me five grands, with three going to school this fall and only two still at home.
Enjoy those moments, mama and daddy! Those babies are gonna grow up too fast and before you know it, you’ll have a lap full of your own grands.
How about sharing a Throwback Thursday moment of your own?

surprise dinner plans
salmon encrusted
with spicy cajun tartar;
cat had other plans
aluminum foil
cooler than summer and fur;
unsupervised cat
kitty barbeque?
dare not, methinks, feline love.
new foil, fish dinner
by Angie Quantrell

BEWARE leaving the cat alone to her own devices in the RV while I’m out trotting around the pasture.
How has your cat (dog, child, husband, wife) surprised you? Share by penning a haiku!
by Angie 2 Comments

When I go to bed…

When I get up…
Sometime during the night, someone has a party in the RV. Someone short, furry, wild, and nocturnal.
Monet? Was that you? That was quite some fun you had last night. Just look at that couch! How many toys did you leave tossed here and there? Was that thuh-dump duh-dump duh-dump duh-dump I heard? Were you galloping up and down the hallway? Climbing the window shelves? Leaping from the counters?
Oh, my.
It’s a nocturnal Kitty-Cat RV Party!
Tonight, we put away the breakables.
Tell me. What happens at your house during the wee hours of the night?

Monet, sleeping during the day.

A hectic summer schedule has provided ample time for weeds to take over the garden.
Despite some attempts at control, a busy travel itinerary leaves much to be desired in the ‘finding edible items in the garden’ category. Is everything growing? Yes! All experiments and plant combinations are thriving with unbridled passion.
But alas, the weeds have accepted the challenge and are rising to the top, willy-nilly.

Enter gardening goal: Fill to overflowing one wheelbarrow full of weeds each day I am home. At this rate, the garden will look spectacular by October 1.
Gardening gone bad, you lose!
Until then, we play garden hide-and-seek for prized veg and fruit.

by Angie 2 Comments

gnarled shelves grasp earth
etched granite skin, moss blanket
tree’s knees bend and rest
by Angie Quantrell
Happy Hump Day! How about a haiku challenge? I’d love to read yours.

Bird’s Nest
by Angie Quantrell

not what you think, this;
fragile eggs offering spores
tiny fungus cups

I found these beauties in my garden! I’ve only ever found them one other time in the Yakima Valley. So excited!
What’s your Haiku for the day?

Now, mamas, I’m not going to tell you, “Don’t let your babies grow up to be cowboys,” but I will say, “Seize those moments!” I’d love to go back to this moment and enjoy that face-smashing hug a few more times!
Circa 1992, this photo shows my (our) daughter, Chelsie, loving her mama, right there in the middle of the floor. Sometimes you have to just be on the floor. Or the couch, the bed, the dirt, the tub, even, eh-hem, the potty. Wherever and whenever the moments present themselves, go for it! Abandon the to-do’s and not-right-now’s and seize the moment.
Lesson to me, the Nana. I need to remember this when my grands are all over the place. They are growing up so fast! Nothing is more important than those sweet hugs and kisses. I’d pass on the germs they share, but that goes with the territory of young children building up their immunities.
Seize a moment today.
P.S. Comment below and let me know which moment you captured!
by Angie 5 Comments

The Bumblebee
hovering fatness
worker intent on flowers
bumbling life giver
by Angie Quantrell
Do you love to haiku? Post your nature haiku in the comments. We’ll do the bumblebee dance to celebrate!
by Angie 2 Comments

It seems I always have 3 things on hand: paper, something to write with, and a camera. Those ideas and great shots aren’t going to just record themselves!
While searching photos for images of my wonderful and recently passed mother-in-love (my second mom, mom to my honey), I found this little nugget. My photo habits might just predate the need I have to write (and write and write).
What habits or hobbies do you have from waayyyy back? I’d love to hear!

Update: After messaging with Natalie (see comments), I realized I nearly always have 4 things on hand: paper, writing tools, camera, AND a book (or multiple books-one I’m reading and several on standby in case I finish reading a book and need the next read).
Reading, writing, and taking photos, those are my lifelong loves in the categories of hobbies and habits. WE go waayyyy back!