Sense-sational Spring Gallery Unveiled

Designed and Curated by Carol Varsalona

featuring a Community of Reflective Poets, Photographers, and Artists

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Spring is when life's alive in everything. - Christina Rossetti

April is typically earth's time of renewal when spring starts to come alive. Oddly enough, this year the season was on slow speed. Marked by a winter in spring attitude, parts of the USA found Mother Nature sprinkling her powdery dust before she donned her full bloom attire.

daybreak dusting

early morning surprise-

winter in april

Photo and poem by Spiri Howard

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Then, with an air of expectancy, the rains came to greet Long Island. The quenched earth showed signs of awakening. Hearts swayed to the beat of Mother's Nature's promise as her soft breath gently sent the winds to breath in new life.

Gardens were perfumed with a fresh fragrance and outlooks on life changed.

Flowers saluted the sun. Dandelions flourished. Spring transformed the landscape.

NATURE

Act 1:

Elusive Spring stretches, awaked.

She offers another sunless day.

Cheerily, cherup, cherup, Robin sings.

Act II

Afternoon brings fresh perspectives.

Sun moves through

Leaving us breathless for more.

Act III

Late afternoon, bees dance across dandelions.

Violas stand prim and proper.

Sun spills herself everywhere...

©Michelle Kogan

Pause to Listen

Terje Akke, Estonia

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"Forgetting oneself, becoming the world for a moment: Wonder."

-Jeannine Atkins

Jeannine Atkins, Massachusetts

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Looking back on the spring season, recall your senses awakening. 

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Stroll through the spring gallery with a new lens on everyday life. 

First Stop

Long Island, New York where I live

Laura Hill Timpanaro

Kay McGriff

2nd Stop

New England

3rd Stop - East Coast USA

Pennsylvania

Virginia

North Carolina

South Carolina

Florida

4th Stop - Midwest USA

Indiana

Kansas

Michigan

Minnesota

Ohio

5th Stop - Southern USA 

Texas 

6th Stop - Western USA 

Colorado

Linda Baie - Denver, Colorado

Montana

Nevada

7th Stop - West Coast USA
Oregon

Hawaii

8th Stop - Canada

9th Stop - Europe

10th Stop - Middle East

11th Stop - Asia

12th Stop - Oceania

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Gardening Joy

Being one with nature- 

a rite of spring,
a seasonal delight
connecting human lives,
channeling peaceful living,
Being one with nature-
a restorative practice
flowing from Mother Earth
nurturing natural life
from seed to fruition.
©CVarsalona, 2018

Joy Andrews

Terje Akke - Estonia

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Sunrise and Sunset Moments

The sky takes on shades of orange during sunrise and sunset, the color that gives you hope that the sun will set only to rise again. -Ram Charan

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Musical Interlude

Listen to the Sense-sational Spring Gallery Playlist here.

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2018 Kidlitosphere Progressive Poem

Poet's Jasmine, Blooming Lovely

Nestled in her cozy bed, a seed stretched.
Oh, what wonderful dreams she'd had!

Blooming in midnight moonlight, dancing with
the pulse of a thousand stars, sweet Jasmine

invented a game.

“Moon?” she called across warm honeyed air.
“I’m sad you’re alone; come join Owl and me.
We’re feasting on stardrops, we’ll share them with you.”

“Come find me,” Moon called, hiding behind a cloud.

Secure in gentle talons’ embrace, Jasmine rose
and set. She split, twining up Owl’s toes, pale
moonbeams sliding in between, Whoosh, Jasmine goes.
Owl flew Jasmine between clouds and moon to Lee’s party!
Moon, that wily bright balloon, was NOT alone.

                           Jas grinned,

                                          stretched,

                                                      reached,

                                                               wrapped

                                                                       a new,

                                                                           tender
                                                    around
                                                                    rootlet

a trellis Sky held out to her, made of braided wind and song.
Her green melody line twisted and clung.

Because she was twining poet’s jasmine, she
wiggled a wink back at Moon, and began her poem.
Her whispered words floated on a puff of wind,
filled with light and starsong. “Revelers, lean in –
let’s add to this merriment a game that grows
wordgifts for Lee. He’s a man who knows
selection, collection, and wisely advising
these dreamers, word-weavers, and friends.”

Jas enfolded Moon-Sky-Owl into the cup of her petals,
lifted new greens to the warming rays of spring. Sun
smeared the horizon with colour, as Jasmine stretched.
She felt powerful. She felt fresh. She bloomed and took a breath

and filled the earth with a fragrance all her own. 

Written by the following poets according to the number of the line they each penned:

1 Liz at Elizabeth Steinglass

2 Jane at Raincity Librarian

3 Laura at Writing the World for Kids

4 Michelle at Today's Little Ditty

5 Jan at bookseedstudio

6 Irene at Live Your Poem

7 Linda at TeacherDance

8 Janet F. at LiveYour Poem

9 Ramona at Pleasures from the Page

10 Matt at Radio, Rhythm and Rhyme

11 Brenda at Friendly Fairy Tales

12 Carol at Beyond LiteracyLink

13 Linda at A Word Edgewise

14 Heidi at my juicy little universe

15 Donna at Mainely Write

16 Sarah at Sarah Grace Tuttle

17 Ruth at There is no such thing as a Godforsaken town

18 Christie at Wondering and Wandering

19 Michelle at Michelle Kogan

20 Linda at Write Time

21 Robyn at Life on the Deckle Edge

22 Tabatha at The Opposite of Indifference

23 Amy at The Poem Farm

24 Mary Lee at A Year of Reading

25 Kiesha at Whispers from the Ridge

26 Renee at No Water River

27 Buffy at Buffy's Blog

28 Kat at Kat'sWhiskers

29 April at Teaching Authors

30 Doraine at Dori Reads

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Ekphrastic Poetry
Poetry inspired or stimulated by a work of art

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Inspiration to Live By

 

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Springtime Walks Inspire Artists and Writers

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Children's Corner

Buncee Creations below - to learn more about Buncee click here.

The above three Buncees were created by the young poets in Mrs. Monti's Class, Florida

Michael Dresek's Class

Devin Hartnett, Washington, DC

 

Wyman's Wonders - Kinder Poets

from Teacher Modeling

to Student Drafts

to Poetry that Makes Voices Soar

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Digital Art

Yes, let's celebrate life and look back to

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In spring, the world evolves in shades of changing color for all to appreciate.

May we continue to honor the earth and preserve its beauty.

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Please take a moment to thank the amazing contributors of the 

Sense-sational Spring Gallery for bringing joy into the world by leaving a comment on social media or in the comment section. This would be most appreciated.

Correction: Ellison, Akilah

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Thank  You for joining me on my Sense-sational Spring Gallery tour. 

Each season, the gallery concept that I began in 2014 grows in volume. 

May it continue to provide a joyful reading experience and inspire poetic writing,

as it fills social media with beautifully crafted digitals that honor artistic voice.

Carol

peacefully glide through life

savoring earth's beauty

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Archived Galleries

If you click on a specific title you will be directed to that gallery.

2014

Reflect with Me: Bring a Community of Writers Together to Celebrate Life & Teaching 

April Awakenings

Summer Serenity

Finding Fall

2015

Winter Whisperings

Spring's Symphony

Summer Splashings

Autumn's Palette

2016

Winter Wanderings

Spring's Seeds

Summerscapes

Autumnventure

2017

Winter Wonder

Springsations

Sunkissed Summer

Autumn Ablaze

2018

Winter Wonderland

Sense-sational Spring

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Finding a Poem in Nature

Hope flows freely when you slow down to enjoy life with a new lens!

Being one with nature- 

a rite of spring,
a seasonal delight
connecting human lives,
channeling peaceful living,
Being one with nature-
a restorative practice
flowing from Mother Earth
nurturing natural life
from seed to fruition.
©CVarsalona, 2018

Being one with nature encourages active conversation about gardening and joyful living. In May, my SpiritChat community led by Kumud Ajmani enjoyed a fruitful Twitter conversation on Gardening and Joy. I participated and created a found poem from snippets of the discussion (see above).

My spring garden is on my mind because it not only blossomed into a beautiful summer one but it inspires me to write.

Today, Poetry Friday is hosted by Tricia Stohr-Hunt at her blog, The Miss Rumphius Effect. Tricia created a wonderful poem, Roller Coasters Over Fifty, that was written in response to a writing challenge from her Poetry Sisters. 

Looking Back to Look Forward

It's summer, my yearly mid-point check to self-reflect by looking back on the first half of the year in order to move forward. Six months ago, I carefully chose my one word, hope, to be my faithful guide on my life journey. The goal for the year is to become a more mindful person who fully savors "life living" moments and not just races through life. 

How did I do so far?
✓ I am learning to take time to notice and wonder more. 
✓ I am leaning on my word hope to get me through the challenging moments.
✓ I am learning that calm has a more lasting effect than speed. Yoga helps me to be in the moment and calm down from any outside forces.

What do I need to do?
✓ Take my on the mat yoga practice to my off the mat life.
✓ Let go of the little annoyances in life to remain happy.
✓ Read scripture more often to be guided toward peace.

In quietness and in confidence shall be your strength. - Isaiah 30:15

Hope floated in this year.

 

Where have I found hope?

✓ In quiet moments where I can see the ordinary transform itself into a thing of beauty

✓ In my gardens where nature transformed the landscape this spring into summer

 created with FotoJet.com

✓ In my grandbaby's smile 

Commitment for the 2nd Half of 2018:
✓ I look forward to continuing my journey of self-reflection, discovery, and transformational change.

Today is Spiritual Journey first Thursday. Doraine Bennett is hosting the link-up this month at her blog site, Dori Reads. This month's topic is "Looking Back/Looking Forward Here at the Middle of the Year." In closing, Doraine writes, "Give thanks and reaffirm your commitment to continue." That I shall do.

Big Surprise-Ouch!

"Could the heat get any hotter?" 

As I raced around my patio trying to prepare for my 4th of July party, I noticed that everything was quiet, almost too quiet for my neighborhood on this blistering hot day. I was alone or so I thought. I made a mental note of what I needed to do as I worked my way to the back of the patio where I keep the container of chair pads. I was looking for the bright yellow floral one for my front porch. "There it is." 

I reached in and to my total amazement, I heard buzzing as a swarm of yellow jackets made their way straight to me. Quickly I raced to escape the angry bees but there was not enough time. I reached the gate and starting shrieking as two bees attacked my right hand. "Ouch! Double Ouch!" I tried to swat the bees off my hand but that took longer than I thought. I shouted for my husband who was inside the house but how many times did I have to shout until he heard me? 

Knowing that my hand was sizzling from the stings, I raced to the freezer to get ice for my finger and thumb area that were on fire, swollen, and beet red. By the time my husband came upstairs to the kitchen, I was on my way to the medicine chest seaching for Benadryl and the steroid cream I have for insect bites. I began to panic because I usually have immediate reactions to bites. My husband started checking on his tablet for what to do when you get stung but I decided to race out the door for Urgent Care.

In the car, my husband told me that he found what he thought was a hive and swooshed it with water. "Would that do anything?" We certainly did not know. 

Long story short: 

The urgent care staff in town took care of me immediately. No stinger could be seen so I was sent home with a Benadryl and steroid cream treatment beside my daily allergy pill and nasal spray. 

Day Two:

I had a restless night of sleep even with Benadryl but the exterminator was coming at 8:00 am. Knock-knock! In he came with his equipment. He was ready to tackle all the extermination problems. He started with the container that held the yellow jackets. The busy little worker bees were still swarming and the technician surmised that the hives were somewhere in the container. By the end of the extermination treatment throughout the house, garage, and outside 3 dead mice, many cave critters, and spiders, plus webs and two active beehives were found. 

My extermination contract took care of the service to eradicate assorted critters who enjoyed lurking around my house this summer but the beehive extraction was extra. The kicker was that we had to clean out the garage of all of the debris so that the mice, cave critters, and spiders would not have a place to enjoy and the temperature was even hotter than Day 1. By dinnertime, the garage was emptied, swept, and restocked with only what was necessary. The curb was lined with assorted garbage, recycle items, and all unwanted extras, even things that were not opened, like two huge bags of charcoal. Hopefully, someone other than the bees would have a fun shopping spree at my house before the garbage collection in the morning.

Tomorrow:

I look forward to seeing if anyone shopped at my curb. Hopefully, my hand will stop stinging and I will continue preparing for the party.

Happy 4th of July to all!

It's time for Slice of Life Tuesday at Two Writing Teachers.