TELLING THE STORY

Posted on June 19, 2013 by Mother Love

We tell stories.  Stories in poetry, stories at the water cooler.  Yeah, we tell stories.  I like to tell stories in poems.  I’m always encouraging children to write a poem because through poetry we can get our feelings out, words to heal ourselves.  Some of my favorite poetry tells stories, like the Highwayman, or The Raven.  I admire those who can tell a story.

Have you told yourself a story lately?  Have you bore your deepest feelings, your heart pumps and after you read it a few times you can rest.  That is what it’s like for me when I write a poem, a story or a speech.  I wake up in the night and words come in my head and run down to my fingers.  I find that the desert is great inspiration, especially in the morning, quiet a few sounds around me.  I’m not the only one who writes poetry stories.  Here’s one by a local girl who already graduated.

“First day jitters”

By: Stephanie Stever

Its 4am wake up! What should I wear? Stumbled out of bed, “Oh lord look at my hair.”

Its 6am catching the bus, off to high school would I fit in? Would I be cool? Or dull.

Its 7am and the bell has rang. It all of a sudden hit me like a big bang.

My nerves rattled and I shook. Time to sit in class and hit the book.

Entering this new world of peers. Had me questioning myself as I look in the mirror.

Am I good enough? Will I seize the day? Or will I crumble under pressure and lose my way.

Much more work to be done here. Unlike middle school where the fear felt less near. As the day went on my thoughts became afar. I had become relaxed and less jarred.

Its 2 pm time to go home back to my roots where I know I could roam.

The first day was rough but I was tough

All I know is I survived Serrano high.

Categories: A Writers' Conference, Any Age Blogging, Blog Networks, Bloggers and Writers in the High Desert, Blogging, High Desert, Phelan, Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Tuesday at the Heart of Poetry

Posted on June 18, 2013 by Mother Love

All you poetry fans, we’re waiting to hear from you.  Are you sitting in the corner and trying to compose your poem?  Did you know that your poem does not have to rhyme.  For me I just naturally rhyme.  I’ve been writing poems since childhood and some moons ago I used to be involved with local poets in Long Beach.  My nickname was The Rhyming Queen of Long Beach.  I was involved and ran several poetry readings and even a poetry theatre in Hollywood.  No it wasn’t that glamorous because it was housed in an old theatre on Hollywood Blvd and the owner couldn’t get his venture off the ground.  I had some fine poets play there, telling their story with poetry.

Tuesday made me reflect on that time in my life because my poetry theatre was every Tuesday night.  Fun, fun, fun was it to come from a long day of working my nine to five job and open the doors to people on Hollywood Blvd to come in and hear the spoken word.  I miss that and if I ever can promote this feeling again I’ll duplicate it.  I tried going online and researching whether or not there are any poetry readings up here in the high desert but everything listed is near to the high desert, 73 miles away by the beach, in Riverside, Fullerton, etc.

The closest thing I found was listed under the High Desert Writer’s Club in Apple Valley which I belong to.  If I could find a coffee shop willing to support a little spoken word I’d be glad to organize, advertise and recruit poets in the high desert.  It has to be a Saturday reading because I drive a long way every day to work.

Here’s my nature pick poetry for the day.

Red Morning

The sun wakes up the sleepy clouds

Parts them softly with her light

Colors glistening beaming through

A red morning, new for you.

By Mother Love

I love morning and poetry.  Leave us a comment and tell us what kind of poetry you love.

Categories: A Writers' Conference, Any Age Blogging, Blogging, Blogging and Linking, Coffee Shops, Food | Leave a comment

DESERT POETRY

Posted on June 17, 2013 by Mother Love

Poetry is alive and well, here in the High Desert.  How do I know this; it  is because I love to write poetry.  Sometimes poems are sad and sometimes they are happy.  I decided to do some research about desert poetry and one of my favorite poets is Robert Frost.  Of course he maintains all rights to his poetry as every author does.  I’m not sure if you are familiar with his work but I wanted to give you a few lines from his desert poem, the last stanza actually and then tempt you to go on line and find the entire poem.  Robert your words move me and are breathtaking.  For all you desert fans here is the last stanza downloaded from http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/desert-places/.

 

They cannot scare me with their empty spaces,

Between stars-on stars where no human race is.

I have it in me so much nearer home.

To scare myself with my own desert places.

Robert Frost

So if you read this poem in it’s entirety you will see how deep, sensitive and amazing poetry can be.  Express yourselves with words and lift up your deepest feelings and desires.  Your love for the desert, your home, your soul mate.  I’m declaring this to be a week of poetry that makes me reflect on my surroundings.  Look for some amazing words coming your way and hey if you are a poet maybe you can comment with a few words of your own.  Get out the sentiment and tell us why you love poetry, which poets move you and make you smile.

Robert Frost lived from March 26, 1874 to January 29, 1963.  He won the highest award for his work, The Pulitzer Prize for Poetry and was one of the most well known American Poets.  Pick up one of his books today.

Reference:   http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/desert-places

Categories: A Writers' Conference, Any Age Blogging, Blog Networks, Bloggers and Writers in the High Desert, Blogging, Coffee Shops, Uncategorized | Leave a comment

FATHER’S DAY IS HERE

Posted on June 16, 2013 by Mother Love

Father’s day has arrived.  It’s Sunday, it’s the day to remember father’s and to love them unconditionally the way they have loved you.  In my last Father’s day post I gave all of us some easy, inexpensive tips to honoring our father on Father’s Day.  It’s 7:52 a.m. so maybe you can start cooking that breakfast.

My father was an early riser and it didn’t matter what day of the week it was he still loved the morning hour.  He cherished that quiet time and didn’t care to interact until he’d read his paper and drank coffee.  He’d come alive about 8:00 a.m. which tells you how early he got up.

In his later years he couldn’t drink coffee, due to a heart condition.  He’d still get up, read his paper or a good book and then he’d check his blood sugar and see what he could have for breakfast.  He liked making his own breakfast because then he could get his eggs exactly the way he liked them.  Two pieces of bacon and two eggs, easy over, and one piece of toast.  He was not really a bread fan; he just needed something to sop up his egg yoke.

Sometimes I look at myself and I smile at how much I’m like him.  I love rising early and enjoying the quiet.  No little grandchildren saying, grandma, grandma and no responsibilities except to myself.  I love spending that time, meditating, writing, blogging, or reading a good book.  I’d  add doing my homework, college, but who really wants to do homework?

My father loved the high desert.  He always called it God’s country.  We lived down the hill all of my growing up years but when he moved up here he said this is the place to be.  The sky is clear and blue and a small community is better than a large one.  We are a small community but there is a lot going on in the high desert.  More than we think about.

On this Sunday, Father’s Day Sunday, we reminisce and cherish our Father’s.  Many of us will go to church and we will hold our father’s hand, happy that they are by our side.  Many of us will go home and we will celebrate with food, laughter and family and make Father’s Day memories that we will long reminisce.

HAPPY FATHER’S DAY IN THE HIGH DESERT!  MAKE SOME MEMORIES.

Categories: Any Age Blogging, Apple Valley, Bloggers and Writers in the High Desert, Blogging, Blogging and Linking, CA, Coffee Shops, Hesperia, High Desert, High Desert Living | Leave a comment

CHEAP FATHER’S DAY PRESENTS? WHAT DID YOU SAY? CHEAP!

Posted on June 15, 2013 by Mother Love

Tomorrow is Father’s Day.  That’s the day we honor those father’s and all that they do for us.  Yep, they are amazing.  Hey, contrary to what the news tells us everyday, the economy is still not flourishing.  I listen to those words everyday as I travel the three hours one way to work and I wonder who has money, extra money?

We can still give our father’s a great day.  Here are ten very reasonably priced presents we can give him:

1.  Breakfast in bed.  (Cost, price of breakfast, the same price you would spend anyways.  A little pampering is appreciated.)

2.  Before breakfast, bring in a pan of hot water and a washcloth.  Give his face a wakeup washing, gently now, he’s not all the way awake.

(Cost, a small amount of water, an item added to the regular washing.  Loving gesture appreciated).

3.  After he eats his breakfast, lead him to his favorite chair and hand him his newspaper.  Make sure he has thirty minutes at least uninterrupted

with his reading.  (Cost:  Quiet time cannot be measured especially if his children are toddler age.)

4.  When you look over and see that daddy has fallen back asleep, let him.  He’s done reading the paper, gets up every day at four to go to work

almost never gets a nap.  (Cost: Zero.  Benefit:  A less cranky dad.)

5.  Get out the lotion and see if he wants a back rub.  Yes, use the lotion because we want it to feel good.  (Cost:  A handful of lotion.)

6.  Make him his favorite peanut butter sandwich.  Don’t forget the jelly.  Present it on a paper plate, he hates dirty dishes. (Cost:  You’re mom

already bought the ingredients.)

7.  Let him watch, what he wants to watch on TV.  No nagging about yard work, housework or daddy work.  Even if you detest golf, or any other

sport, he likes it.  (Cost:  A little extra electricity.)

8.  Make him his favorite dinner.  Yes, his favorite dinner, not what you think he enjoys, what you know he enjoys.  (Cost:  Arbitrary, what you

have already incorporated in the grocery price this week).

9.  Give your dad a hug, pretend to hear the interesting story he has to tell you.  (Cost:  A little ear wax.)  Remember don’t turn up your I pod to

drown out his words.

10.  Keep a smile on your face all day. No whining, no complaining, no yelling, no hitting your brother or sister, no tattling, and no crying. (Cost:

peace of mind for your father.)

 

These are some tips that can make a better day for your dad.  He works hard to make sure that we are clothed, that we are properly nourish

and that we have all that we need.  Most of all a simple I Love You can go a long way!

Categories: Any Age Blogging, Apple Valley, Blogging, Blogging and Linking, CA, Coffee Shops, Food, Garden Decor, High Desert, High Desert Apple Valley, Holiday, Phelan, Victorville | Leave a comment

WHERE IS THE WATER?

Posted on June 15, 2013 by Mother Love

Another week has come and gone and there is no rain.  Everywhere in the rest of the country people are wishing for relief from the water, from the rain and the flooding.  Here in the High Desert, we’re parched.  Plants look thirsty, the sky is blue, clearly hot and even the white clouds which float by look like cotton balls in the sky.

I remember back to my childhood and it seemed that California had it’s share of rain.  As a matter of fact the year we arrived in California it rained for many days.  I was in kindergarten and we lived in Downey, California.  It rained so hard my first school day that the streets were flooding.  I stood on the corner and waited for my aunt to pick me up from school.  I looked over from my perch, as I patiently waited, and she could not go through the wall of water with her car.  I remember thinking, I’ll go to her.  I stepped off the curb and from a distance I could see the horror on her face.  The water was moving.  Yes, I had my little rubber boots on but they were quickly filled with water.  I was five.  She stopped her car in the street, got out of her car and proceeded to rescue me.

Growing up I reminisce about many rainy days.  Now it seems that when we have a drop of water, we complain about the traffic, the difficulties, the being late to work.  I for one, look around me and wonder, “Where is the Water?”  It’s hot, it’s getting hotter and my plants are thirsty for some of Mother Nature’s natural sky water.  Oh well, we’d better give them another drink because I don’t see any rain in the sky today.

Categories: Any Age Blogging, Bloggers and Writers in the High Desert, Coffee Shops, Garden Decor, Gardening | Leave a comment

3 Simple Ways to Improve Traffic Flow to Your Blog

Posted on June 14, 2013 by Guest Blogger
Traffic Flow

Traffic Flow

As a blogger, finding traffic is vital to success. While part of this success comes from a monetary perspective, a big part is much deeper than that. As a former mommy blogger, I found that reaching my audience on a parental level was most important. Second, I looked to provide them with consumer deals. And third, I aimed to improve my own personal finances.

If you have landed on this page the chances are pretty good that you either are currently looking to add followers to your digital space or you are looking to start a blog of your own. Either way, if you are anything like me you are looking to start your own blog based on the many things you have learned through the trial and error adventure we call parenthood.

Submit Your Blog

I am not talking about anything fancy. Submit your site to the different search options that people use to find credible sources of information. Most search engines such as Google provide a “Submit link” option. Follow the instructions and get your URL involved with all major engines.

Blog Linking

Blog Linking

This doesn’t mean you will automatically appear at the top of the page, it means that your blog will stand a chance when it comes to the competitive world of blogging.

Link to Other pages and Use Keywords Appropriately

This is a big one. This will help you attract random followers that don’t fall in the group of friends you tweet your most recent posts too. By linking your post to your favorite blogs you will increase awareness in the community. This could be big for you as we are wonderful at promoting one another.

Use keywords contextually. Don’t randomly throw out a coupon code without it fitting in with your back story. For example, I recently wrote a guest post for another blog that spoke about a camping trip my family had taken. In the post I made sure to add in a link to a coupon for L.L. Bean. Readers were thankful for the savings as well as the content, making them much more likely to come back.

Don’t overload your posts with links and keywords. This will be considered spamming and could cause your blog to be removed from Google completely.

Don’t be Afraid to Kill Two Birds with One Stone

Killing Two Birds at One Time

Killing Two Birds at One Time

As a general rule post quality content frequently, but sometimes it is important for you to multi-task your articles. If your site is setup to focus on all matters of the family you can incorporate savings, sales and coupons in with a story that mothers can relate too. Thus you are providing insight into your life while offering them beneficial tips.

Not every post will cater to each person individually, but if you tell a story about saving money or incorporate money into a story about a temper tantrum you may reach a broader audience. Does that make sense?

For example, I could write a story about my Christmas traditions. This is a great read for someone interested in my personal life. However, some people don’t care about that. For them I would suggest viral sales. Oh you haven’t heard yet? Well turns out some ads get prematurely released causing a frenzy over Black Friday leaks online. This is current news and one many of you will flock too. I could title this article “How Early Leaks of Black Friday Deals Changed My Christmas Traditions.”

See how I just killed two birds?!

By doing this you are opening up your schedule to engage on other blogs, using social media to promote or to write additional content.

I hope you have found this helpful. At the end of the day, you control your destiny. Through hard work and a mission to help others you will find success. Just remember that success can be measured in a multitude of ways!

 

 

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Uh Oh, Three Shrikes and You’re Out!

Posted on June 9, 2013 by A Flair For Words

We often have nests in our Mulberry tree in early summer. Just this weekend,  a pair of Shrikes took up housekeeping and were raising a noisy brood of three. A baby bird’s life is spent sleeping and opening its mouth for food. Parents diligently relay back and forth to feed these little bottomless chirping fuzz balls. Fortunately, they grow fast and within 17-20 days, they have enough flight feathers to leave home.

The fledglings began testing their wings. All was well until a gopher snake got a late night craving for the nestlings. You may not be aware that some snakes can and do climb trees to find delicacies. This was not the first time I’d seen a gopher snake climb a tree … the same tree, in fact.

gophersnake[1]

This gopher snake was determined to go after the fledglings. I moved him with my snake stick. A few hours later, the snake was prowling around the tree again.

These nestlings were living on borrowed time. The next morning a whirlwind hit the backyard and I happened to see two of the baby Shrikes on the ground. I rescued them, placing them on a towel in the bathtub. Cute little guys but I didn’t have any bird “food” to keep them quiet.

 

I was determined to keep them safe. I thought that if I could bring the nest to them, I may have a nice cozy environment for them. I went back to check the nest and Mama Shrike was bouncing from branch to branch scolding me about the loss of her babies. While staring up at her, I noticed another fledgling. This one was caught on a piece of stringy fiber in the nest. I had to cut him loose to rescue him.  He was weak and didn’t look strong enough to survive the day.

 

I got on the Internet to look for some help. Bird rescue groups flourish throughout the state of California. I chose a few numbers to call and reached a bird rescue group in Calimesa. I just needed advice. And she was helpful. She supported the idea to replace the fledglings back into their nest. When my husband returned home from work, we were able to place  the babies back into their nest. But, as birds often do, they kept flopping out and landing hard on the ground.

three shrikes and you're out_06072013

By next morning, after my drive to town for a few groceries, my dogs had caught the snake at the base of the Mulberry again. I scooted the dogs back into the house for round two with the gopher snake. I moved him away with my snake stick. In a few hours, the result of our rescue attempt was a failure for two of the birds. My husband found that the one remaining baby bird seemed to have left the yard.

We’re hopeful that he was the strongest of his siblings. Mama Shrike watched our coming and going for the rest of the day. She still thinks we are holding them for ransom.

 

another angry bird

In nature, without our interference, bird fledglings are subjected to hunters from the air and the ground, weather, falling from the nest, lack of food if the parents don’t return, and disease. I can only hope that our feeble attempts were enough for one Shrike to grow up and stay on the ranch.

 

Rusty LaGrange

If you like what you see here, please follow me at:

www.myRustyBucketRanch.blogspot.com

www.aFlairForWords.com
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Categories: High Desert Living, High Desert Nature, Lucerne Valley, Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , | Leave a comment

Add Blogging to Your Writing Craft

Posted on June 9, 2013 by Angie
High Desert Bloggers, Bodacious Bundts, Hesperia

High Desert Bloggers, Bodacious Bundts, Hesperia

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The craft of writing covers several genres. Is blogging considered one of those genres?

Genre Styles

Each genre includes multifaceted styles. Take poetry for instance. Listening to Poet Mary Langer Thompson speak to High Desert California Writers Club in Apple Valley, CA yesterday made me aware of a particular fact about types of poetry and the people who create the craft. One style rhymes. Another doesn’t. Some poets create lines quickly. Other poets fall into the gotta-think-it-out category (I’m one of those).

After Mary talked about renowned artists and their histories, she distributed art cards with various paintings to the group of writers. Several (the quick group) read poems they had written in yesterday’s class. I was impressed by the quick group at how they could craft such poetry that portrayed specific messages from the poets to the audience.

Perception

Perception is interesting. When you first observe a painting, you see one thing. Wait a day or two or until an object catches your eye, and your perception will change.

Purple Iris

Purple Iris from My Spring Garden

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What I saw on the art card that was handed to me while Mary was teaching our writers’ group was a field of many blue irises, one white iris, green stems, a fiery bed of desert dirt – and gold California poppies. Anyone else might have seen gold irises. But in my own garden I recently pulled up a bed of blue irises because the aphids (and probably cats walking through) destroyed them. They had turned ugly, and I wanted to be rid of them. On the other side of the garden now there is a large patch of vibrant California poppies.

California Poppies with Raindrops

California Poppies with Raindrops

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

While I’m typing this blog post at a Starbucks, I’m looking outside at a bunch of gold irises in a rock bed. Ah! The art card. Blue irises. A single white iris. GOLD IRISES. Why couldn’t I see that yesterday? Two reasons. One, the gold irises were in the back of the iris field. Two, the gold flowers looked smaller than the blue and white irises. Mostly, though, I could envision those gorgeous California poppies. Later I looked on the back of the little card. Irises. Yes, the gold ones were irises. Reality has a way of changing how we perceive things.

The Craft of Blogging

Is blogging considered a genre in the craft of writing? Absolutely! Like poetry, there are different blogging styles. Let’s name a few.

  • Conversational
  • Informative
  • Political
  • Art blogs
  • Music blogs
  • Lifestyle blogging
  • Brand blogging
  • Review blogging

Which style of blogging do you prefer? I invite your comments. You may think of another blogging style not mentioned in the above list.

If you are a writer, incorporate the craft of blogging into your genres. The art of writing has been accomplished with pencils, pens, manual and electric typewriters, wordprocessors, computers, and digital writing devices. Can’t part with your old manual typewriter or feather pen and quill? That’s okay. There’s an art to them as well. Keep the old, but learn the new. Connect the dots from old to new. Blog about your talents of typing 50 words a minute on your old-faithful manual typewriter. Add another blog post on feather pen and quill history of writing.

Writing is a craft that never gets old.

Categories: Bloggers and Writers in the High Desert, Blogging, High Desert Writers, Poetry | Tags: , , , , , , | 1 Comment

FATHER’S DAY TRIBUTE

Posted on June 8, 2013 by Mother Love

“Don’t sweat the small stuff,” he said. “Look around at the big picture and see what God has given you.” Good advice from some one who knew me well. This person is my father. If you think of what a father is, you get all kinds of pictures that come to mind. My father was the Ward Cleaver of my generation, not perfect because no one is. He always gave me sound advice. As we approach Father’s Day so many memories come to mind.
He always said, “Is what you’re whining about really necessary?” My father was down to earth, to the point and didn’t like whining, although he would listen first and then comment. He could always tell when you were lying about something and sometimes he would call you on it and sometimes he would let you stew in your own lie. Those were the times when I really knew he was my father. Letting me figure it out was his way of teaching.

My father was sometimes rough but mostly kind and as the years went by he mellowed. He often had a tear in his eye when talking of the past and a smile on his face whenever he reminisced of the past.

I love to tell the story of the camping trip. Someone loaned us a tent and one night on Friday after he had worked all day we set out to go to Sequoia. We arrived in the nighttime, not an ideal time to be pitching a tent in the dark. The bad thing was that the person who loaned us the tent did not know that the tent poles were not included. It was dark and we had no tent poles. There was nothing to do except sleep in the car or sleep on the ground in our sleeping bags. My mother wasn’t willing to sleep on the ground without being in a tent; I suppose because of critters. We all piled in the car, quite crowded for four people. Sometime in the night my mother started laughing because of the situation. Laughter is contagious but my father did not find the humor in it. My sister, myself and my mother continued to laugh. My father was tired, and being a no nonsense guy he sat outside the laugh filled car with his blanket and his freshly brewed coffee. Needless to say. no one got any sleep that night. In the morning, in the daylight we begin the trip home and as I fell asleep in the back seat, I heard my father chuckle to my mom. I looked up at them and they were holding hands and talking low about the events of the night. You see one thing my father realized was we were family. He put a great deal of effort into family.

This is my tribute to Father’s Day. I believe that a father that puts family at the heart of the household is a real father. What is your father’s day story? I’d love to hear your comments.

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