Savoring Summer

Summer is slipping by but one of the highlights this July was designing and hosting The First Ever Kids Summer Fun Fest in our community's grandchildren. After the event, I wrote a blog titled Summer's Magic Comes Alive! and posted it on our community Facebook page and other social media sites. The Lumen5 team noticed it on their site and created a video with the same title and emailed me. The video intuitively captured parts of my writing but let me choose photos and music to accompany the words. As you might expect, Lumen 5 is an AI-powered tool that creates videos to accompany written content." Below you will find what was sent to me before the video.

Introduction: Experience the joy and excitement of a kids' summer fun fest. Watch as children enjoy hula hoops, face painting, water tattoos, and more. See the smiles and laughter as they splash in the pool and receive prizes.

Conclusion: Let the magic of summer fill your day! 

You can see the final 30-second video by clicking here.

I have used Lumen5 for several years and find the experience interesting. It does not replace the writer's creativity apparent during the writing process but quickly generates photos to accompany the text. What it does is create an initial video from the writer's post, and allow enhancements with free photos for a fun experience with video making. The process reminds me of the swimmers I saw in the pool at the Kids Summer Fun Fest. Some splashed around, others floated in a sea of kids but then there were those determined to master the stroke, dunk the ball, or dive into a clear spot. Below is another digital tech-driven image poem created with Canva using free photos found at the Unsplash and Canva sites.

Taking the advice of William Shakespeare, "Summer's lease hath all too short a date", I plan on savoring summer right up to Labor Day.

The Poetry Friday Roundup is a teacher, author, and poet Margaret Simon's website, Reflections on the Teche. Margaret created a yummy post today about delicious homemade strawberry jam from a fellow teacher writer, Molly Hogan. There are photos and an ode to the jam. Now that is a wonderful way to savor summer.

Wrapped in Autumn

With the flick of her delicate hands, she brought back the crispness of Second Summer weather, complete with an effervescent sky. I slowly inhaled Autumn's October return, much different than the cold, damp rainy weather we had for days. She was clothed in the brilliance of kaleidoscopic color. Leaves gently danced before descending and by dusk, the sky paid tribute with an array of layers. Pink hues with melon-colored edges softly caressed the clouds until nightfall blackened the sky. 

The scene encouraged me to continue decorating for the season. As I brought out more boxes labeled Autumn, I purposely added more layers to the areas I had already prepared in the house. The mantel was festively decorated with artificial garlands and leaves so the great room just needed some additional touches. A new wooden pillar light candle holder gave the room a cozy atmosphere while watching television. As I finished some indoor details, I visualized creating a pumpkin patch decor outside on the front porch. This annual ritual took on a different tone this year as I also prepared for my husband's hip replacement. The decorating was fun and such a tension-relieving activity. There are now autumn vibes in many rooms of my house to brighten the convalescence period.

photo by Alice Alinari, Unsplash

awe-inspiring Autumn,

dressed in stunning runway style,

swept in, glamorized in leafy couture,

taking everyone's breath away with a

dazzling, colorful showstopper attire

that was truly beyond the ordinary

her entrance was wondrous,

an impressive opening

of seasonal beauty -

breathtaking

©CV, 2022

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The above definito poem is posted to my Finding Fall 2022 Padlet which is a work in progress. I am in the process of gathering image poems, nature photography, and inspirational quotes to showcase the talents of others who love autumn as much as I do. Add your offering by clicking here on the padlet.

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Today is Poetry Friday and Sarah Grace Tuttle is the host of the Roundup. If you travel to her website here, you will find her very interesting post on writing metered poetry and a bounty of other posts with poetic goodness.