#wipMadness Day 26: Making Your Mark

One of my favourite sights and sounds at our remote cabin is of the loons. There is always one or two pair of Common Loons there, and soon after we arrive every summer and fall we are greeted by their unique call. My fascination with loons has grown since first encountering them when my parents took me there

#wipMadness Day 5: On the Shady Side

Every spring my hubby does battle with the invasion of moss and lichen in our lawns. He’s already making plans to do the annual de-thatching, raking and liming, and he’s muttering non-too-quietly about it. Despite the myth that says moss grows on the north side of trees, moss grows wherever it can find moisture and shade — it requires

Keeping an eye on the goal

The last day of March! That means it’s also the last day of my month-long March Madness and Speedbo projects. All the other participants will likely be joining me in a last-minute dash to the finish line, hoping to reach or exceed the goals so publicly set out before the start of this endeavour. What then? Do we heave a

March Madness 5: Believing in Yourself

Anyone who’s visited my place would understand when I say my garden beds are a little on the wild side. Not in a nice, English country garden style of wildness, but more of a weed-filled, woodsy mess. Even in the middle of gardening season they tend to get neglected and the ferns and salal that pop up in

March Madness #4: Writing as Magic or Ministry

We’re different, you and I. As readers, you may love to lose yourself in a richly told romance, while today I might prefer a faith-filled inspirational story, and tomorrow a mystery. As writers, we choose our genres based on a particular level of comfort… telling stories that may be close to our hearts or based

March Madness 3: Fragile Reflections

A couple weeks ago a granddaughter was here for the afternoon. One of her activities of choice was bubble blowing with Grampa. There are various soapy solutions and different shaped tools that all seem to work, although some produce better bubbles than others. This particular afternoon the bubbles were very fragile. After blowing them she

March Madness 2: Making a Noise

The brown and grey Song Sparrow isn’t very big. The Cornell University’s Ornithology site describes song sparrows as medium-sized but bulky, and says they are one of the most familiar sparrows in North America. If I sit quietly down by our marsh on a summer day, I’ll sometimes hear their chip-and-trill song from somewhere in

March Madness (i.e., #wipmadness) is almost here!

We’ve reached that time again — our semi-annual dip into insanity. In November it was NaNoWriMo. Now March is almost here and we’re ready (sort of) to tackle March Madness. You’re invited to join the challenge. Whatever your bookish endeavour — reading, writing, blogging or illustrating, etc. — you tell us what you want to achieve

#WIPMADNESS Final Winners

Sorry for the delay, fellow Wipsters, but I’m finally back from my week of ‘smelling the flowers’ and all the good things that entails… reading, enjoying family, relaxing in the peacefulness of our lakeside retreat,  and basking in birthday pampering. 🙂 The #wipmadness week #5 winner’s name has been drawn. The winner of a novel

#WIPMADNESS Week #5 Check-in: Growing and Timing

July is just about done. If you believe the calendar, summer isn’t quite half over, but in reality, nobody really knows what to believe. Some areas have had unbearable heat and scorching sunshine, while others have suffered through disastrous rainstorms. We had the wettest June on record here on BC’s west coast, and for a