The Lion's Turn

The warm and cuddly lamb part of March was short-lived.  After a beautiful--though too hot for me--week where I spent way too many hours outside working, the weather has returned to a typical March climate.  Late yesterday afternoon the first of several squalls rolled across the valley with lashing rain and hail, high winds and sudden bitter cold.  The lion's wild roars continued throughout the night, which was cool really.  I love the sound of rain on the roof when I'm going to sleep...it's like a lullaby to me.

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Yesterday was my last day to work outside for awhile.  My neighbor volunteered his grandson--a really nice 14-year old--and with his help, I pretty much finished the week of hard graft and agony.  Pretty much.  I still have to mow, and the deer spray is ongoing, but the major tasks are done. Sigh. For now.

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Walking the boys this morning, I had a little glimmer of flash fiction strike me, so came home, wrote it out and posted it over at Scribbles.  Maybe that's all I can do for the moment: baby steps, a few hundred words at a time.  And no doubt it would help my creative juices if I could get off this mountain, expand my horizons. I need a road trip, a holiday, an adventure.

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I wrote awhile back about The First Line, the magazine where you are prompted with a first line and then write a story.  There are four first lines each year.  I missed the first one--"Carlos discovered _________ under a pile of shoes in the back of his grandmother's closet"--mainly because I could imagine far too many things under those shoes and couldn't pick just one.  (Feast or famine in my brain apparently).

On Saturday I got the magazine of the nine writers who were chosen from the many submissions. It's so cool to read what others interpreted for Carlos's discovery; all of them are intriguing and interesting in their own way, and I do so love a good short story.

The next first line, due for submission in May: "Please, Sylvia, give me a moment to think."  I have an idea on this one...and if I can get my head in the game, I'll be working on it.

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I was on the phone with the BFF yesterday when I happened to see this odd little...thing...on the peak of my tallest pine tree out back.  It was so small, I wasn't sure what I was seeing.  Was it a tiny budding pine cone?  I got out my camera and zoomed in.

Nope, not a bud, but a wee hummingbird....

To put him into perspective: With the naked eye he was about the size of my littlest finger. I didn't actually see him clearly until I downloaded this shot to my photo program.  What a handsome fellow...

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Since I purposefully ignored the household chores all last week whilst working outside, I have several tasks that need doing today.  If I quit procrastinating, I can get them finished in short order, then can sit back and relax with my book as the storm clouds play a mesmerizing game with the sun in flickers of light and shadow across the valley floor.