A week ago

I couldn't shift my brain into a 55 gear so it's a picture today...



The cherry outside my flat was still in full bloom. Today there's not a petal left and the leaves are all over. A few weeks from now blackbirds will be feasting on its fruit.

We've had a couple of days that really felt like spring. I worked all of them. Tomorrow is a holiday (alas a Saturday so no extra free days) and the weather is already beginning to change. Sigh...

For a change

Just gotta love the lyrics...

haiku my way

waiting for his call
knowing it won't come again...
withering iris

ToT - My Favourite Martian

He snores (especially when he falls asleep before me).
He farts and belches and smells of garlic (not all the time but...).
He spends an eternity in the bathroom (particularly when I have needs).
He spurts toothpaste all over the bathroom mirror, up to the boiler, some specks even reach the ceiling (I'll never understand how he does it).
He leaves the toilet seat up and sometimes remnants of his scatological activities remain to be seen after he's finished (possibly thinking he's a dominant male marking his territory).
He doesn't hear very well when something is required of him but catches all the nonsense he isn't supposed to hear.
He leaves all the decision making to others so that he can later complain he never has any say in the matter.
He refuses to acknowledge others' ideas but comes up with them a little later as if they were his own.
He's obsessed with football (yes, football - the game where the ball is actually played with feet) and doesn't miss a game on TV regardless of what else is on and what others may be interested in.
He doesn't leave the remote control out of his sight and even if he dozes off he'll register if someone has touched it and feel offended if they have switched channels while he's 'watching'.

If all this (and there's more) sounds like a male specimen of Homo Sapiens, you're right. But don't they say men are from Mars and women are from Venus? Well, I still wouldn't trade my human Martian for any alien.

Microfiction Monday

Are they coming yet? Phew, can't trust those young folks. They promise you a goatfriend then go snogging in the copse. How about my needs?

The way the sun reflects...

...off my telephoto lens. This is a shot taken almost directly towards the late afternoon sun through the greening linden tree. I only added some contrast.

...

I don't do this stuff but will make an exception this time.
A blogger, and much more than that, is having a birthday today.

Quilly, I hope you have reached the best time of your life. Happy birthday!

55 on Friday

She was bored. Her notebook filled with doodles: a flower with improbable petals, then a dot with a circle around it. She added another circle, and another, and more; expanding circles, looking increasingly like a stump of a gnarled old tree. The meeting ended. She knew they would fire her. She’d be free at last.

3WT - Rainbow

Previous installments here, here and here
~

Days passed and life settled at Pagan's farm. The diet of eggs and goat milk seemed to suit Emerald (as Pagan decided to call the creature for its colour) and although it didn't grow much, it looked healthy and content. During the day it would stay in the shed. The farm was isolated enough but Pagan didn't want an occasional passer-by to see the creature, at least until she was sure what to do next. Internet wasn't much help and she still didn't know what she was dealing with. But she believed the secret would reveal itself when the time came. However, Pagan felt it was right to leave the door open after dark so Emerald would be able to go out if it wanted, and sometimes the shed was empty when she woke up at night and looked but the creature was always back before dawn. If Pagan may have had any doubts, Nelson accepted Emerald swoopstake and the two became fast friends. The dog would spend hours lying beside the creature and they seemed to communicate in their own secret way.

One morning while Pagan was in the middle of milking the goat a strange cry startled her so she almost spilt the bucketful of milk.

"Gardyloo," echoed through the meadow as if the source of the call was coming from somewhere above.

At first Pagan saw nothing but then a whirl of colour appeared before her until it materialised into the strangest looking man she had ever seen. He would be average in every aspect if it weren't for his emerald green hair and iridescent beard. His cloak was almost too bright to look at, so intensely it glistened in the morning light.

"Wha... who are you? How did you come here?" Pagan couldn't hide her astonishment. She glanced secretly towards the shed's closed door but averted her eyes in an instant and, before the man could say anything, added: "How can I help you?"

"I believe you have something that belongs to me," he replied.

"But let me introduce myself first. My name doesn't matter, it is unpronounceable for you anyway. For convenience's sake you can call me Rainbow. I am... hmmm... how should I say it without complicating too much... well, where I come from I am some sort of what you call a policeman.

"Oh, you may find my appearance slightly disturbing. My apologies, I should have taken care of that before but I needed the thing to get me here."

Having said which, he took off the dazzling cloak, folded it carefully and tucked it into a pouch hanging loosely from his shoulders. Pagan heaved a sigh of relief as her eyes stopped hurting but she remained apprehensive. Was he referring to Emerald? She still had more questions than there were answers but was hoping it wasn't with a wanion that the strange man materialised into her life. Part of her wanted him away but the other part was eager to discover his secrets. She asked him into the house but he said he'd rather sit on the bench and savour the sunshine and would she be so kind as to bring him a mug of goat milk. She obliged and he invited her to sit beside him. It would take a while, he said, before he would tell her all she needed to know.

haiku my way

a 5-7-5-er for a change



fiery sunset
from the treetop the blackbird's
agitated chirps

Tuesday Tales - All in the Family

Nessa hosts this new meme where the idea is to post a short (500 words or less) story based on the week's theme which is a title of a TV show. The story, however, doesn't have to have anything in common with the show.

Another somewhat depressing story this time but at least this one's fiction...




She was a waste. Mark told her so. Her bruises reminded her of it. She sat in the dining room, staring blankly at the opposite wall. A once white wall spattered with grease stains, streaked with cobwebs. She didn’t notice. She didn’t care. She was a mess. Mark was right. She was no good. Her dad had told her so. Her dad also told her she was not supposed to have an opinion of her own. He told her that she was clumsy. That she caused damage. That she couldn’t do one thing right. That she had no taste in music. That she was a waste. That nobody would ever love her. She believed what dad had said. Even when Mark came she believed what she’d been told ever so often. Still, Mark loved her. He said so. But she was no good. She knew it. And if she happened to forget for a moment, Mark reminded her of it. She never said the right things. She couldn’t keep the flat tidy. She couldn’t make a decent lunch. She never bought the right things. She was no good. And now there was this cluster of cells multiplying inside of her body. Growing ever so slowly. Becoming another human being. Another good-for-nothing human being. She’d carry it through. She’d give birth to it. Then… Then she’d disappear. End her life. Just like her mother had done before. She’d never known her mother. But she’d heard rumours. The neighbours talked. It wasn't right. It was all supposed to stay in the family. Dad had told her so. And this time she’d make sure she wouldn’t disappoint him.

Microfiction Monday - unofficial

I was busy over the weekend. I have been busy today. Had a story to write in French (rather simple but a story nonetheless) for the first part of the exam which happened to be this afternoon. Hence no time to write a proper MM and I'm not sure I'll be able to write something for tomorrow's prompt.

I'm not officially signing in today but here's what I managed to come up with (not too happy with it)...



WHAT? This can't be... My sisters - practicing for the audition?
They must have found out I'd signed up and want to beat me to it again!

The morning after the sunset

yep, rain again...

Ashes to ashes

The cloud of volcanic ash from Iceland which has been wreaking havoc with the air traffic throughout Europe has reached us as well this morning. For once the sky belonged to the birds again.
I can't say for sure whether the sky looked any different than usual as I hardly had any opportunity to see the clear sky in ages. There were clouds today, too, but there was also some pale azure in between, perhaps paler than it would have been normally. What I do know is that the sunset looked pretty.

55 on Friday

The pond was bathed in the morning light and an odd pink cloud drifted on the glassy surface. Bart normally enjoyed such serene mornings but this time he had things to do. He’d made sure his wife would never again reprove him for his fishing trips and was about to feed her to the fish.

3WT - Dragon?

continuing on from here and here

The creature in front of Pagan was a curious sight. It was smaller than she'd expected given its weight but stoutly built, its body covered in dark emerald scales, almost black on the back and the muscular tail but brighter and almost iridescent on the belly-side and around the thropple. The creature's hind legs were massive and looked packed with power but Pagan was perplexed by the lack of any front extremities. Aren't dragons supposed to have wings? Or was the creature something else completely?

She tried to recall what she'd read about dragons. She never liked the idea of them being mindless voracious beasts defedating everything within their reach and she immediately dismissed the thought. She wanted to believe they were highly intelligent beings capable of telepathic communication. She kept snilching the creature in front of her and tried to focus a thought: "You must be hungry. Will you absquatulate if I leave you here and get you something to eat?" Seconds passed and nothing happened. Then, suddenly, Nelson the three-legged dog approached the creature, his tail wagging, and curled next to it. The creature lowered its bulky snout and touched the dog gently, then lay its head beside him. Pagan, in spite of not wanting to be robleted by the dog's behaviour, realised instinctively she could trust the creature. She would milk the goat and collect some eggs and feed it first. Then she would try and gather as much information as she could on dragons and similar creatures.


the words:

thropple -1. The throttle or windpipe; 2.To throttle; strangle. [Provincial English]
defedate (v) - to defile, to pollute
snilch (v) - to eye someone or something
absquatulate (v) - to depart in a hurry; to die
roblet (v) - to lead astray

haiku my way

spring wind
the way his shirt dances
on the clothesline

In Search of The Invisible Man and how much more miserable can it get

It has been raining sans cesse for the last two days again, the sky draped in an impenetrable layer of the miserablest grey there is, the temperature never exceeding 7°C. In the last five months we have hardly ever seen the sun for more than a few hours on end (with intervals of several days in between) and my level of frustration has soared beyond every limit. I am officially desperate!

*

I was looking forward to this week's Nessa's prompt, The Invisible Man. I had a few ideas I wished to pursue but nothing ever came out. The elusive Invisible Man refused to reveal himself and remained invisible to me.

Then I felt an urge to write something I didn't really want to write which somewhat fit the theme. It is not fiction although I allowed myself a little bit of creative freedom.



He was firmly nestled in my life and then, one day, he wasn't. I knew it would happen at some point - he'd told me so himself - but not so soon, not like that. He didn't just gradually dissolve into oblivion as I quietly hoped would happen some time in the distant future. No, he had to go with a bang, never looking back as he left behind a body with the chest ripped open, the heart torn out; a tangled mess of emotions lying bleeding in the middle of the debris of a shattered relationship.

Since then I ceased to exist for him (I almost ceased to exist, period). I doubt he would as much as flinch if told I was no longer alive. And part of me did die that day. What exactly had happened and why remains a mystery to me. I wish I could understand but I doubt I will ever find out about the true reason. The fact is, he’s gone, disappeared from my life, become forever invisible. On the physical level, that is. And yet, how could I ever forget the laughter, the silliness, the views on life the universe and everything that we shared so freely. How could I forget his empathy, his kindness, his willingness to accompany me on my journeys into the deepest realms of my psyche, to stand by my side as I faced some of my demons and exorcised them, as I made progress… ever so slowly but progress nonetheless. I’ve lost much ground since he’s gone.

We were friends. As simple as that. Nothing physical or romantic about it. We were but transient companions on our journeys through life. Yet the love that I felt… still feel… for him transcends the realms of the physical. He will always remain my invisible companion. Along with the memories of the fleeting joy. And the infinite sorrow…

Microfiction Monday

This fun meme is hosted by Susan at Stony River




My feet are cold and the water is freezing. And she wants me to help her build the nest now! I wish i'd met a chick from the south instead!

April

Today I squinted in the blistering sunshine, shivered in the chilling wind, watched clouds shifting shapes, drove through a downpour, watched curtains of rain descending on the landscape, sought shelter from a snow shower that caught me in the open... and even managed to take a few photos. It was a good day, unlike the dreariness of the dismally grey sky of all the day yesterday.

Reflection in rain water

55 on Friday

They're at it again, the cheeky bastards, applying their usual tactics: one stands guard while the other dives into the garbage bin to retrieve everything that looks like it could be used. And they always leave the rubbish scattered all around. Bloody crows! They don't leave a decent bum like me much to choose from.

At last - the sun!

Actually, today was the third sunny day in a row, and if my memory serves me well, we haven't had such privilege since October. And a few sunny days is all it took the nature to wake up. The grass turned greener in an instant (even though the mornings are still frosty) and the first (still shy) blossoms have appeared.

However, this isn't to last. We have one more fair day ahead at best before more rain is forecast for the weekend and beyond along with much colder temperatures (topping only around 10C/50F). I'll refrain from further comment!

3WT - Arrival

Since you asked for it, the story continues. I was hoping to finish it this time but the story refused to turn in the direction I initially wanted it to...

Pagan kept staring at the creature in disbelief. She was used to picking up stray and abandoned animals and finding them new homes or, if that didn't work, keeping them with her. However, the strangest thing she'd found thus far was a caricature of a dog with dreadlocks which, as she found out later, was a puli, a Hungarian sheep dog, and was supposed to be an acersecomic. But this... how can this be? Dragons don't exist! There must be an alternative explanation.

"Oh well, let's take you home", she sighed and lifted the sack along with its unusual content onto her pickup truck. Her home was just a few minutes' drive away; a small cottage at the edge of a chestnut grove surrounded by y neatly cultivated garden where Pagan uberated her crops. Some fowl scavenged the yard and a goat stood tethered in the middle of a meadow. Two tabby cats and a scruffy three-legged yellow dog lay on the veranda, soaking in the warm sunshine. The house was bright yellow with large windows. The sunny side of the slanted roof was covered in solar cells and the ridge sported a satellite dish.

Pagan pulled up in the driveway and shut the engine. She reached for the sack and harled it over to a shed at the back of the house. All the time the dog hopped around and yelped excitedly at the sack.

"It's alright, Nelson," Pagan tried to calm him down but the dog wouldn't stop.

"Now that's enough. Be a good boy and give me a break. Or have you forgotten about that bear cub you chased until his mother gave you a lesson? I was able to save your life if not your leg then but this could be just as dangerous."

These words seemed to calm Nelson down and he backed away but hasn't left the sack out of his sight. Pagan could finally untie the sack and drop it so she could snilch the mysterious creature properly.

haiku my way

old idea but a new rewrite...

lingering cold
the decisions
i never made

Tales on Tuesday

Nessa of The Chrysalis Stage is hosting a new meme. The idea is to post a short story - 500 words or less - based on the week's theme. Each time the theme is a title of a TV show but the story doesn't have to have anything in common with the show.

This week's theme: Golden Girls



An eerie sound spread across the town. A deep moan as if the Earth itself writhed in pain. Moments later the ground shook and trembled.

Josh was excited. Maggie said she'd go on a date with him and he'd just finished his shower. He had been standing beside the bathtub wrapped in a towel when he suddenly lost balance. Something was wrong. The ground was shaking and one of the walls collapsed. He instinctively crouched and protected his head. He felt chunks of material hitting his back and then everything went dark.

When Josh came to, he didn't know where he was or what had happened. He felt a throbbing pain in the head and his left hand hurt like hell. He tried to turn around and assess the damage... There's little space around me but I can move slightly. The left side of the head is wet and sticky. Blood? Something must have hit me. At least two fingers on the left hand are broken and have already started to swell. Damn! Bloody earthquake! How will I get out of here? I must be patient. They'll search for me... I'll need water, though. The towel... it's still wet. I can suck it for a while. And there should be more in the tub... if only my head didn't hurt so much...

Time passed and nothing happened. Josh became anxious. He was cold and starved and had no idea how much time he'd been underneath. Panic started to set in. He wanted to bang those crumbled walls and set himself free but could hardly move his left arm. More time passed. He spent increasing amounts of time in a state of semi-consciousness. He was beginning to hope he'd just fall asleep and never wake up again.

Suddenly he heard voices. There was barking and shouting and pounding. He was so exhausted he couldn't move and he thought he'd just imagined the sounds until... something wet touched his cheeks and a raspy tongue licked dirt from his face. The face disappeared briefly and light entered his prison. More whining, that same hairy face with big chestnut eyes again, more voices... human talk! They found him!!! He'd be alright.

Maggie visited Josh in the hospital where he recovered successfully. She told him he'd been buried under the debris for 11 days and everybody had given up hope. On their final round Lady, a golden retriever, found him.

Later Josh and Maggie would visit Lady and his owner and they became fast friends. Josh would often joke about his golden girls saving his life.


(not happy with this - needs more polishing but I'll let it stay)

Microfiction Monday

Susan at Stony River hosts this meme




And all I asked of the Fairy Godmother was a Volkswagen Rabbit, thought Ann as a huge rabbit carried her on his back across a golf course.

Stuff

Another chilly and overcast day and they seem never to end. I miss the sun terribly and, it seems, so does this scruffy little bee. It looked a bit numb as it climbed the forsythia in vain attempts to get some warmth. The forsythia's yellow blossoms are about the only bright thing around at this time when, normally, the grass should be vibrant green and the plums in full bloom with apples and cherries right behind. Instead, everything is still bare and grey, morning frost still covers the ground in the more exposed places and unless it's overcast or raining (snowing on slightly higher grounds), the fog still lingers late into the morning. It's all neither here nor there and I wonder if spring will ever come!

What I was doing today (among other stuff)

These eggs are coloured in onion peels. The intensity of colouration much depends on the colour of the egg shells. Brown eggs take on the colour much better than the white ones, and the darker the egg, the deeper the colour.

Mostly grey

The background, that is... part of which is reflected in this clinging raindrop



In other news (which feels a bit more like a rainbow), mum's home.

3WT in 55

On a remote country road a coach slowed down. A door opened and something flew out before the vehicle absquatulated.

“It’s a malison,” thought Pagan, retreiving the moving sack. “Everywhere I go I attract abandoned animals.”

Moments later she gasped in astonishment. “What are you? How should I vocitate you?”

A baby dragon growled contentedly.

Update

Thank you for your various concerns and good thoughts.

Mother suffers from a heart disease and has occasional tachycardiac attacks. The last one was so intense she had to be picked up by an ambulance and taken to hospital. She is now stable and out of immediate danger. In fact, she's feeling well enough to make plans what she'd do around house when she returns - which, barring any complications, should be in a day or two.

It was also father's birthday so sister and I simply had to spend some time with him. It is now past midnight and I can't keep my eyes open anymore so I'm off to try and get some sleep. See you soon!