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July: Going Dark
Going Dark Cotswold’s Oolitic Limestone is calling me back into its warmth and colour, but just for a week. J. B. Priestley wrote of Cotswold stone – “the truth is that it has no colour that can be described. Even when the sun is obscured and the light is cold, these walls are still faintly…
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2 July: A Cadralor Poem

A Cadralor Poem: Time and Tea I.Seems like just yesterdayI was wearing a woollen hat and long coat,I was hunched over a snow shovel,my grey hair, like tassels flying about,my surrender flags of whiteness. II.Summer is channelling air,warmth even in darkness,baby birds playing gramophones, sound waves,cleft mouths open and waitingfor their mothers, as soft as…
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1 July: The Long Way Round

Queue Jumping We’re driving home, the rain is biblical, lashing down. The street seems slicked with resin, and we sit in a queue of cars, red taillights blurring as the wipers squeak across the windscreen. “At least we don’t have to worry about the hosepipe ban,” I say, “this rain will wash the car, and…
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June 2023: Last Photo on the Card
This post is in response to Brian’s monthly challenge Last Photo on the Card. Brian (aka Bushboy) asks for the Last Photos on your phone/camera/SD card. Here is the last shot taken using my iPhone 14Pro Max. Shared on Twitter with @bushboywhotweet
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30 June: Flash Fiction – Eternity of Green

Day 30. Write a short story about a hidden, enchanted forest where magical creatures dwell. An Eternity of Green In the depths of the forest, where ribbons of pale sunlight tease out shadows, enchantment lives. Tree roots are chiselled, emerald mist floats luminescent, insects fly in trails of stardust singing in notes to please the…
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29 June: A Thursday Door
Bushboy (Brian Dodd) shares photos of doors, but not just any doors. Spectacular doors from his journeys. Dan’s Thursdays Doors opened the door on this. I love doors of all sorts. I’ve trawled through my holiday snaps and found a few to share. ©Misky 2023 Shared on Twitter #amwriting @bushboywhotweet and @DAntion
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29 June: Morning Grass

Day 29. Describe the feeling of walking barefoot on cool, damp grass. Morning Grass I’m a long shadow on morning,staring at the moon tiptoeingcool as a blossom underwater. Here I’ll stay in gleaming grass,in your womb of dew-drip moss,your green abyss and pastures. Morning grass, a chalice of dew,credo to a song that rakesat my…
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28 June: A Gogyōka Poem

Day 28. Write a poem celebrating the resilience of nature, even in the face of human challenges. Forest Fire Fire is reigning here aloneTrees in flames of glowing starsAsh, page after page, falling like snowTwo branches fall to earth belowSaplings see a broadening sky Poem form: Gogyōka (Japanese: 五行歌) is a five-line, untitled, Japanese poetic form. Unlike…
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27 June: Flash Fiction – Cherry Pickin’ Crows

Day 27: Imagine you are a character in a wildlife-themed adventure novel. Describe the perilous situation you find yourself in and how you escape. Cherry Pickin’ Crows There’s no writing yourself out of this one. Think. And don’t panic. It doesn’t help. Nor does shouting. Your pipes will go hoarse. I often talk to myself…
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26 June: A Letter to Younger Self

Note: I wrote this to my “younger self”. I’m old – the glass is a bit more than half empty. Day 26. Write a letter to a future self, reflecting on the impact of the challenge on your relationship with nature. To my younger self: preferable mid-20s because I’m apt to think this is from…