Love, Laughter, and Life

Adventures With a Book Lover


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Haiku Moment: playtime

i often wonder

why the couch looks like this-yikes-

playtime strikes again

playtime by Angie Quantrell

inspiration: Monet, destroyer of couch and assorted other household locations

I woke up one morning composing this haiku in my head. I was literally playing with words and counting out lines while I was in that between fully asleep and fully awake stage. That’s never happened before. I grabbed for my phone to take notes before my eyes were even fully open. LOL. My honey thought something was wrong, I grabbed the phone so fast.

Have you ever sleep-dreamed a poem or story idea?

Monet would like to know. And wonders if you have a couch she can destroy, or at the least, rearrange.


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Haiku Moment: downside up

three little drops hang

downside up, gazing balls show

sky view around me

downside up by Angie Quantrell

Yakima Valley


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Haiku Moment: autumn’s end

purple-y icing,

frosted blooms hanging on for

dear life-autumn’s end

autumn’s end by Angie Quantrell

Yakima Valley


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Haiku Moment: life spark

seven years it took

from walnut to parent tree

life spark so divine

life spark by Angie Quantrell

photo and art by Angie Quantrell

Yakima Valley

Seven and a half years ago, my husband found this walnut (seen in sketch) wedged in a small flower bed at work. Whether accidentally dropped or carried and deposited by an animal, the walnut had that spark of life and sprouted right where it could never survive due to the rest of the surroundings. So he brought me home a baby tree. A BABY baby tree. I was holding a baby tree in my hand, one that would possibly outgrow me if it survived, grow to both amazing heights and depths, and produce hundreds if not thousands of new offspring.

This year, year seven, my husband found a walnut near a fruit tree as he raked leaves to put on the garden beds. Hmmm. And then he realized the connection between the nearby walnut tree and the walnut. He found a total of three, though we’ve been watching every year to see if “this” was the year of harvesting walnuts. We nearly missed it! There could have been more, but we have an active wildlife scene going on here in the pasture.

Each walnut is filled with potential, and the spark of life given from God, to grow, reproduce, and fulfill its purpose. We are the beneficiaries. Shade, leaves, wood, food, beauty.

Life spark.

Our baby walnut tree, which is indeed taller than me, is resting for the winter so it can grow more babies. Meanwhile, it adds a festive touch to the pasture as it wears Christmas lights.


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Haiku Moment: heart chewing bug

a random leaf i

think not, rather a love note

signed, heart chewing bug

heart chewing bug by Angie Quantrell

Yakima Valley


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Haiku Moment: out to dry

the rain is sopping

wet; must clip it on the rack,

hang it out to dry

out to dry by Angie Quantrell

photos by Angie Quantrell

Yakima Valley


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Haiku Moment: laundry day

rain shower spinning

jewels glisten to and fro

fairy laundry day

laundry day by Angie Quantrell

photo by Angie Quantrell

Kilkenny, Ireland

I was fascinated by the beautiful rain encrusted spider webs we discovered as we explored Kilkenny, Ireland. Our tour driver shared that he had learned as a young child that the webs were out when the fairies were doing laundry. Enchanting!


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Haiku Moment: too much

garden explosion

overzealous fruiting plants

can one say too much?

too much by Angie Quantrell

Yakima Valley tomato harvest


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Haiku Moment: cat eye stare

look into my soul

human prey, should i pounce, run?

beware cat eye stare

cat eye stare by Angie Quantrell

featuring Lily, the kitten


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Haiku Moment: beauty reigns

where did you come from?

you pretty pinks and purples,

garden beauty reigns

beauty reigns by Angie Quantrell

photo by Angie Quantrell

Yakima Valley

I have no memory of planting these gorgeous garden queens. In fact, the colors are so brilliant the flowers seem artificial. But they are real, bugs and all. And apparently, prolific seeds and all, because these returned from last summer, and the summer before that. My best guess is there must have been some seeds in the packets of wildflowers I once spread hither and yon. They grow crazy all summer, and then by late summer, bam, crowds of beauty.