SPF: A New Beginning

Marion shuffled over to the stove to turn the heat off the whistling kettle. It was 3:00 pm and time for her afternoon tea.

After finishing the tea, she placed the empty cup in the sink and turned on the television. It was time for 5:00 pm news.

When the news was over Marion shuffled back into the kitchen to make a sandwich. It was time for her evening meal.

At 9:00 pm, Marion put on her sleeping gown and crawled into her bed. It was bedtime.

That night Marion dreamed of being a young girl again and being wooed by the love of her life, her late husband, Albert. She dreamed of her children being little again. And, she dreamed about the times when life was simple and family was everything.

The next morning, Marion didn’t wake up. She had drifted off to the place where time didn’t exist. A place where time was relative.

For Marion, it was the end of time and the beginning of forever. (170)

Photo credit: Alistair Forbes

Thank you to Alistair Forbes for our photo prompt this week and for kindly hosting Sunday Photo Fiction. Alistair gives us a photo prompt and approximately 200 words with which to write our story. It is fun and challenging and everyone is welcome to join. For more information, click on this link: Sunday Photo Fiction

 

 

 

MFtS: Spirit City

“The only residents remaining in the small town of Miners Hill are spirits.”

Miners Hill is filled with the ghost-spirits of all the people tragically killed by the devastating gas leak from the manufacturing and mining plant in 1937. At that time, the fatal gas leak could not be detected and the result was the loss of 3, 047 precious and innocent lives. Included in the deaths were three hundred thirty-three children under the age of 18. The remainder were mothers waiting for their children to come home from school and father’s working at the plant or in the mine, making a living for their famillies.

Although much too late for the residents of Miners Hill, a distinctive fragrance has been added to this particular gas so it can now be easily detected.

Miners Hill, aka Spirit City, has become a huge tourist attraction in this particular area of Wyoming, stirring up the wrath and anger of the spirits which linger. (150 words)

Photo credit ©Barbara Beacham

 

Barbara Beacham is the kind hostess of the challenge, Monday’s Finish the Story. She provides us with a photo prompt, the first sentence, and approximately 150 words with which we are to use to write our story.

This is my submission for this challenge. If you would like to participate in this fun and addicting challenge, please click on this link: MFtS

 

Raining Orange

In response to The Daily Post’s weekly photo challenge: “Orange you glad it’s photo challenge time?.”

I was inside my dry car taking pictures when it started raining.  I rather liked the effect.

Five Photos – Five Stories – Day 5

I enjoy watching the hummingbirds and so did my cat. Except, my cat watched them for a different reason. One day she “gifted” me with a hummingbird. Of course, when I saw the little bird laying on the living room floor, deader than a doornail stiff, I shrieked. My cat was very proud of the gift she had given me. I was horrified. They are sweet little birds that shouldn’t be on my cat’s menu. Sassy was a well fed cat and didn’t need to kill birds to eat. Therefore, she got no pity from me.

Picking up the little body, I wrapped it very carefully in paper towels and gave her a quick funeral in the trash can. I walked off to do something else and my conscience told me to go get that little bird and bury her outside. I turned around and went and took her out of the trash. Wait… What? Why is this little bird moving? Dead birds don’t move. I quickly unwrapped her from the paper towels and discovered she was alive! She had only been in shock. After inspecting her and confirming there were no wounds on her, I took her outside and sat her on the patio table hoping she would fly away. She tried, but her little wings couldn’t take flight. I determined she must have a broken or bruised wing.

I set up housekeeping for my little bird, in a box with a hummingbird feeder. To keep her safe from a certain death, I kept her locked in my bathroom for a few days.

I bought her a bird cage and put her in the area where I am most of the time, the kitchen. My cat wasn’t too happy about her “gift” being in a cage on top of the freezer, but she dealt with it. One day I tried covering her cage thinking that might be calming to her. She threw a fit. So, I took it off. I named her Flower, and she would cling to my finger as I lifted her out of her cage to kiss the top of her tiny head. Every few days I would set her on the patio table to see if she would fly, but to no advail.

Thanks to the Humane Society, a couple was found that rehabilitates birds and then releases them. Reluctantly, I gave them Flower.

Two weeks later the woman called me and told me she found Flower flying around her cage that morning. So, she put her cage on the picnic table, leaving the hatch door open. She said she watched as Flower poked her head out the hatch door but she wouldn’t fly out, until another hummingbird flew into her cage to eat from her feeder. Flower then made her escape to freedom and in just enough time to migrate with the other hummingbirds.

Last summer, while I was sitting in front of my large kitchen window a little hummingbird came flying right up to the window, hovering for a few minutes as it watched me, then flew away. I can’t say for sure if that was Flower, but I certainly like to think so.

My cat never again gifted me with a hummingbird. But at least I got to save one little bird, and her name was Flower.

I was kindly nominated to participate in the Five Days Challenge by snowsfissuresandfractures and was asked to post five photos, one per day for five days, and write five stories, one for each day. Today is day 5.

Next, I am to select one person (each day), to carry on this challenge.

Today, I choose JR, author of the blog, Nuggets of Gold. I am asking you to post a photo every day for five days and write a story to go along with each photo. This story can be fiction or non-fiction and can be from a short paragraph to a page. Next, please select one person each day to carry on this challenge. This challenge is not mandatory and can be refused. (However, I hope you will agree to participate and to join the fun).

This is my last day of the challenge and I wish to tell snowsfissuresandfractures thank you for this opportunity.

I would also like to thank all of you who have so graciously accepted this challenge.

 

Five Photos – Five Stories

Walking through the River Walk Park with my ever faithful companion, Bria, we ran into this beauty.

Geese seem so regal to me. They don’t question what their purpose in life is. Nor do they complain about the water being too cold. They simply be exactly who it is they were made to be, geese. On this day, their purpose was to spend time enjoying the Animas River at the River Walk Park and enjoying the food I threw to them.

Soon, their very essence will lift them up to spread their wings to fly to the next leg of their journey. I wish them a safe and pleasant flight. Still, I can’t help but wonder. Will they remember me?

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My thank you to Snow’s Fissures and Fractures for nominating me to this special Five Photos Five Stories challenge. I am to post a photo each day for five consecutive days and attach a story, either fiction or non-fiction, to the photo each day. Each day, I am to select one person and nominate them to participate in this great challenge. Accepting the challenge is entirely up to the person nominated, as it is not mandatory.

Today, I would like to nominate Ady, author of the blog, Round World N Me.

 

One Four Challenge Feb 2015 Wk 3

This week is week 3 for the One Four Challenge hosted by Robyn G of the blog:

Captivate Me

On the first week of the month we each select an image that we would like to work with for the month and each week we perform edits to our image. We then publish a post with our new image each new week and explain the edits we have performed for that week. It is a fun challenge learning to use photo editing tools. If you are interested in joining, please click on Robyn's link above.

This week I have chosen to use my photo from Week 2. I edited the photo using Aviary by adding the Effect/Sage, then adding the Enhancement/Portrait. These were the only edits I performed this week. Although I like the sky and the water appearing to be the same color and the foliage appearing thicker, I feel the colors do not look realistic.

 

 

Serene

In response to The Daily Post’s weekly photo challenge: “Serenity.”

New Moon

In response to The Daily Post’s weekly photo challenge: “New.”

Bria

Thirteen years ago yesterday, January 1, my neighbor brought me this adorable little 6-7 week old puppy. She told me she found her running down the street and asked me if I would take her. I agreed and immediately began looking for her owners. (I also immediately took her to the vet and got her puppy shots). I went to each neighbor and she belonged to none of them. I even put an add in the paper and no one came forward to claim her. I came to the conclusion she had been “dumped.”

About 2 weeks after she came to my house, she came down with Parvo (a highly fatal canine illness). I took her to the vet and with proper medicine he was able save her – because she had gotten her shots.

Two years ago in November, my brother’s dog bit her in the eye and she ended up losing that eye.

This is my baby, Bria. She adopted me 13 years ago, yesterday.

Michelle’s Weekly Pet Challenge by HopetheHappyHugger. If you would like to participate click on this url:

https://hopethehappyhugger.wordpress.com/2015/01/02/new/

 

 

One Four Challenge Week 4

This week is Week 4 of Robyn G’s, author of, “Captivate Me,” One Four Challenge. This week I used Week 2’s photo and made the following edits:

iColorama: Style>Coherence

Pixlemater: Colorbalance (+); Green (-); Brightness (+); Temperature (+)

Many people preferred week 2’s photo. Others liked the orange and blue color of week 1. I tried getting the result of all these qualities along with the “painting” effect of Coherence. This is my result:

Which one is your favorite?

(I don’t have a poll yet, so please leave me a comment with your choice. Thank you!)

If you are interesting in participating in January 2015, please find more information here:

http://robynsfineart.wordpress.com/2014/12/22/one-four-challenge-dec-wk-4-polls-and-januarys-challenge/