Unquenchable Desire for Stillness Fulfilled

Majestic Winter, you have quenched my thirst for stillness,

filled my space with peaceful white drapings

and satisfied my unquenchable desire for positivity.

Amidst your frequent flurries, dusty landscapes,

and howling winds, you illuminated the night

with sparkling snow and surprised many daylight hours.

I nod my head in gratitude for your sweep of grandeur

over the land and your sense of  wonderment  from

tempest storms to the gentle cascading of snowflakes.

With joyful exuberance, I dedicate a visual gallery of 

unique artistic expressions, Winter Whisperings,

soon to be unveiled to all who recall your beauty. 

Stay tuned for a the unveiling of the Gallery of Winter Whisperings

during National Poetry Month.

This poem is written to consolidate my thoughts for a triple challenge:

• Poetry Friday that is being hosted at Jone MacCulloch's Check It Out
• Two Writing Teachers' Day 27 of the March Slice of Life Story Challenge
• Heidi Mordhorst's last Forward...MarCh Poetry Challenge featuring the word quench

Please visit all three sites to capture the essence of each writing community.

Finding Inspiration

In ordinary, day-to-day living, there is a story to unfold. It may be in the quiet moments or in an interaction. It may be in your exercise routine or an event at work. If you look and listen inspiration for a story can be found. As I prepare the Gallery of Winter Whisperings, I am amazed at the range and breadth of perspectives revolving around the topic of winter. I have found inspiration in the writers' poetry, their voice, and the photographs that have taken. 

Below is a sequence of images that I created to illustrate the opportunity to be inspired by nature.

On the first night of spring, I returned home to Long Island from a conference at the state capitol. I knew that snow was approaching but I did not expect the image below. You can read my thoughts about this here.

This image of a small park draped in white caught my eye as I explored the area. I must have crossed paths with this gazebo many times but it never triggered an inspiration. On the first day of spring it did. 

In order to capture its essence, I tried various digital transformations to decide which one would be the most interesting. Unleashing the power of digital software allowed the following transformations of the original scene. Creativity led to further inspiration. 

Three scenes, all beautiful in their portrayals of winter's grasp on its season, are unique as compositions. All three allow me to dig deep to find inspiration to tell my story of the entrance of spring on Long Island. 

Since it is DigiLit Sunday at Margaret Simon's site and Day 22 of the March Slice of Life Story Challenge at Two Writing Teachers, I am offering this post to both blogging communities. Lastly, I will post this to the Google+ Community, Digital Maker Playground, created by Cathy Mere and Julie Johnson. 

Hatching a Plan

Today, March 21, 2015, marks the end of the winter season. Remember the statement, March comes in like a lion and walks out like a lamb? Well, March did come in roaring like a lion but is not ready to walk out gracefully. It still wants to roar. 

This week, I traveled north to Albany, NYS' capitol to attend a curriculum conference. Although I saw green grass and only a little vestige of snow, I was greeted with whipping winds and dipping temperatures. On a humorous note, this morning the Albany weatherman apologized for his weather report. Tomorrow is the first day of spring but in reality it appears to be a throwback to winter. Snow is coming back to dust the earth. Winter seems to be quite the trickster this year, wouldn't you agree?

Now, as I prepare for one more smack of snow, I am hatching a plan to continue to remain positive about Mother Nature and Mr. Winter. I will give myself the gift of time to design the Gallery of Winter Whisperings since I am attending a conference and the artistic expressions are still coming in.

It's time to hatch a golden plan,

not with silly green eggs and ham.

Try poetry and photos - Shazam! -

an artistic venture of grand purport

to stretch imaginations and transport

minds to wander, recalling winter bliss

while not thinking of wind's bitter kiss.

Indeed!

Winter entered with quite a roar, held court,

and listened intently to many a loud retort. 

Now, it transitions to yet another spring.

When will I hear the sweet robin sing?

This post is dedicated to three blogging sites that provide an avenue for me to be expressive. Please move over to the following sites to read a variety of perspectives as winter transitions to spring. 

Poetry Friday hosted by Catherine Flynn at Reading to the Core.

Day 20 of the March Slice of Life Story Challenge on Two Writing Teachers.

Heidi Mordhorst's Forward...March Challenge at my juicy little universe where the word of the day is hatch. 

Continuing to Grow As A Digital Writer

Today opened with a look outside my window, a ritual I engage in everyday. From my vantage point, I can look out onto my world as I know it. Some days during this winter season, I found raging storms and heard whistling winds. This morning was different. I saw green grass and barren trees. Most of the snow that turned a dingy color was no longer visible but the sky was gray. My little corner of the neighborhood was devoid of sunshine. The weatherman reported a high of 46 degrees so I thought winter is transitioning. This image inspired me to create today.

It also reminded me that as winter moves into spring so does the gallery that I am designing. Having attended Mass last night, left me free to engage in reflective activities today and gather the poems and photos for Winter Whisperings.  After yoga, I came home to my office and began the ritual of designing and writing. I started with collecting some offerings for the gallery. With the assistance of PicMonkey, I was able to create some digital designs and send them back to the original writers for their approval. Next, I turned my attention to this post that I am penning for DigiLit Sunday hosted by Margaret Simon and the March Slice of Life Story Challenge Day 15 hosted by Two Writing Teachers.

SOL #15 

DigiLit Sunday 

I invite you to join these two writing communities today to read the posts from various writers. 

Since Friday was Digital Learning Day, I have been playing around with different options for photo editing and the enhancement of images. I believe that a visual is the first lens that attracts readers into a text. Therefore, it has to be an inviting visual. In order to draw readers into a winter whispering I wanted to change daylight into night. With several adjustments in PicMonkey, I was able to achieve the desired effect. Perhaps, you can leave a comment to tell me what your impressions are of this image.

Lastly, I joined Cathy Mere's and Julie Johnson's Digital Maker Playground community for those interested in exploring new digital environments. An opening project was to show your maker space. I saw that Deb Frazier was using Nutshell and although I was unfamiliar with this app, I decided to create with it. My first attempt using Nutshell does not have the audio portion but can be viewed at WATCH NOW! Clearly, I need a few tutorials on how to use Nutshell to capture video but at least I made an attempt. 

Today's quote on Two Writing Teachers, "Writing should be the settlement of dew on the leaf," inspired me to continue my work on integrating literacy with technology. May each piece of writing that you engage in be seen as a fresh start to a new thought. 

Winter Morning

For the past two days, winter once again touched and tussled the Long Island landscape, leaving frosted pathways and marshmallow mounds. With no one to challenge its entry, winter allowed its stormy path to unfold with stories of quiet beauty, challenging snow removal, and educators traveling to a literacy event. Undaunted by winter's rush, educators filled the halls of the LILAC/NRC Annual Conference to be warmed by camaraderie and new learnings. 

Life as we know it is uncertain and unpredictable. As we plan, we learn to expect the unexpected that changes daily routines. In the winter of 2015, we learn patience as we take positive steps forward. Winter cold may surround us but winter warmth can be found inside hearts lit with passion. 

Allow the music of Fiona Joy Hawkins to fill your soul with soothing sounds.

As your day comes to a close, 

stroll over to the Poetry Friday Round-Up with Robyn Campbell as host. 

There you will find her poem, Which Road Will You Choose? 

I chose positivity.

Also, travel to another poet's site, my little universe, to read about the Forward...MarCH Challenge where Heidi Mordhurst is 

featuring the word fetch today.

Lastly, please send me your offerings for the Gallery of Winter Whisperings that I am creating. The unveiling will follow the close of the winter season. 

Different perspectives of winter are welcomed. 

Ringing in the New Year with a Look Back and a Look Forward

The New Year brings a promise of possibilities. I pause in the stillness of the early morning to reflect on the myriad of choices I have to start the day. Since it is Friday, I am eager to open the Poetry Friday site and see what offerings are awaiting me. In my quest to challenge my technical skills, enjoy new readings, and write to grow as a learner, I created a museum type showing of the Finding Fall Gallery that has the feel of a New York City gallery. If I accessed the final copy correctly you will be able to enjoy the variety of perspectives on the season of autumn and recollect your fall memories in the process. (Click here to be emazed.)

As promised, I am now ready to send out the invitation to the 5th gallery of artistic expressions. Read below and see if you can determine what the new title of the collection will be. I hope I can encourage many more Poetry Friday community members to offer a poem and accompanying photo. The submission deadline will be the end of February for a March showing. 

Did you guess the title of the new gallery?

-Winter Whisperings-

I included my One Little Word (OLW) for 2015 in the poem-LISTEN!

I will listen to the words in each and every offering to the Gallery of Winter Whisperings and showcase them in an inspiring design. 

Here are the easy steps to engage in reflective writing for this gallery. In doing so, you will assist me in building the collection.

1. Find that special winter site that allows you to listen.
2. Pause, observe, reflect.
3. Capture the image and couple it with a poetic thought or poem.
4. If you want to experiment with photo editing tools, try PicMonkey, Canva, or Word to superimpose the poem onto the photo.
5. Include your name, Twitter handle or website, and location of the  photo.
6. If you are not familiar with the above tools, send me the original photo and poem and I will combine them.
7. One or two student poems are welcomed per teacher, as long as the  teacher submits one, using it as a mentor text for her class.

May your winter be filled with the blessings of the New Year. 

************************

Now greet the first Friday of January at 

The Miss Rumphius Effect 

where Tricia has already started 

ringing in the New Year with Poetry Friday.