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Mid-November update

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As I hadn’t been able to visit the library, I had a look on Borrowbox and found a book, which appealed to me. Perhaps one shouldn’t judge a book by the cover. In this case the cover picture was a famous Japanese painting, The Wave. It was one of the featured titles for the month, so I borrowed Tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin. I was able to finish reading a paperback copy due to a happy coincidence. My review on Goodreads.

When I next visited the library I chose a book by Isabel Allende, whose book The Wind Knows my Name I read and reviewed earlier. My Name is Emilia del Valle is set in San Francisco and Chile in the 19th century. It was translated from Spanish by Frances Riddle. My review on Goodreads.

I am currently reading Frostquake by Juliet Nicolson, another library book.

There are new posts on Sue’s words and pictures.

My other writing news is available on my What’s New? page, which has been updated this month.

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November poetry challenge

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For this month’s poetry challenge, Rebecca Cuningham is asking for up to 75 words free verse by 18 November on the subject of harvest.

Thoughts about harvest
Youngsters in inland city food aisles
are unaware of long hours farmers toil
to bring in the harvest before a storm
or of fishermen working at night,
or even of the processes and the food miles
that have put their next meal on the shelves.
How can we reconnect divided societies
where city dwellers and country folk
differ in experience and knowledge?
What parables would Jesus tell today?
An arched entrance to a church with an autumnal flower arrangement on a shelf in sunshine. Most of the interior is in shade.
A flower arrangement in the sunshine

On Sue’s words and pictures I have a photo of a flower arrangement for a harvest festival. Here is another from the same church.

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October poetry challenge – haibun #ffpoemapop

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This is only the second time I have written a haibun. The first time was here for a challenge from Linda Kruschke.

Rebecca Cuningham’s challenge is for up to 70 words about wind or breath, and a haiku.

A tree with apples is on the ground . An upright apple tree is in the background top right. There is ivy on the right in the foreground. A post to which the tree was tied is lying down near the bottom of the picture in the centre.
Fallen apple tree with its stake.

A surprise gust of wind preceded Storm Floris by several days. The strange noise must have been the falling tree, which we failed to notice immediately. Warming the atmosphere increases wind speeds and rainfall.* The bumper crop of apples helped the wind and gravity work together to fell the tree, which workmen had accidentally damaged.

Applewood becomes
firewood, its smoke blown away
by a gentle breeze

*After writing this post I found an article on the BBC website about winds causing deaths of fishermen.