“The moment you doubt whether you can fly, you cease for ever to be able to do it.”
― J.M. Barrie, Peter Pan
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Old-fashioned, Family-friendly Stories and Fun for All Ages and Fitness Levels!Join us for an Adventure in the beautiful Ozarks Mountain Country!
positivity
Kindness in Camouflage
Wearing camouflage is no longer reserved strictly for the swamps and backwoods, as “Camo” has become a growing fashion trend in everyday life. The “Duck Dynasty” effect, perhaps. I have been thinking of picking up some camo myself recently, to wear while writing– the better to sneak up on the “Little Red Bear” backwoods story characters in my mind, I thought.
One of my pairs of boots has camo on the upper part, actually. Even though it is always covered by my jeans. And there is a camo strip on the “inside” of my new eyeglass frames, whatever that’s about. But both in a “Mossy Oak” pattern so I coordinate well, even if obscured from vision. Which is what the whole camouflage thing is all about anyway, I suppose.
For myself, I have not progressed all the way to the Camo Guitar yet, but readily acknowledge that some may wish now and then that my playing be unnoticeable. If I find it under the tree next Christmas, I will take the hint to play more softly. I just hope Santa brings it in “Mossy Oak” to coordinate with my glasses and boots while playing unseen.
So as the camo fashion trend grows, I urge you to be supportive. The next time you see someone wearing camo on the street, in the grocery store or at the shopping mall– bump into them– as though they were not there. Let them know it’s working. They will appreciate that you didn’t notice. In the unlikely event one may take exception to the nudge, simply offer up the obvious. “So sorry. I didn’t see you. Must have been the camo. Nice job!” I’m sure you will have won them over and made their day!
Spreading kindness. Camo Bumping. It’s the “nice” thing to do.
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On Rabbitbrush, Ripples, Sheriffs and Such
Had a terrific weekend of writing. I had an idea for a story in my head for several months but it never went anywhere, very unusual for me because I am a “pantser” in approach mostly, just sitting down and writing from start to finish from an initial story concept or character name, without a lot of forethought or planning. I had the initial story idea, which is usually enough, but it never developed. After sitting down the other day with the story idea once again, the light suddenly went on and it entered that magical land where the story writes itself. Very happy with it, delighted actually, and wish I could share the story now with you. But it is to be included in the upcoming “Adventures of Little Red Bear” collection so we will all have to wait just a little longer.
Work then started on another new story late last night. So today I am working on what quite possibly could be the final story in the collection, and writing about Rabbitbrush, a featured element in the story. Love the stuff. To me, it is beautiful. It is a plant native to arid regions in the North American West and Southwest, and thrives in coarse, alkaline soil common to desert environments.
Detail of Rabbitbrush Flower Head
(Image Courtesy of Wikipedia)
Rabbitbrush is an important food source for wildlife, especially during winter months. The Zuni people of the Southwest used the plant’s blossoms to make a yellow dye, and stems for baskets. Rabbitbrush is gaining popularity now as an ornamental plant in areas where water conservation is a growing concern. In the wild, it is often found in unmanaged range lands, along roadways and in abandoned fields.
Also known as Rubber Rabbitbrush for its uses as a source of rubber dating back to 1904, it is a shrubby perennial growing in sizes ranging from 12 to 90 inches tall. It’s flower heads are comprised of five small, yellow tubular flowers appearing in clusters. The flexible stems are rubbery (hence the name) and its leaves a greenish-grey in color with a felt-like covering.
Rabbitbrush- Chrysothamnus nauseosus
(Photo credit- Wikipedia)
Having seen Rabbitbrush before in travels to the Southwest but not knowing what it was, I learned more about it from beautiful photos shared over a year ago by a great friend, the award-winning author Kathleen Creighton in California. That is how I met her, actually. She shared the photos online, I commented, she replied, and without hesitation granted me permission to use her photos. Kathleen then contacted and put me in touch with others to provide me with more information on the plant. A conversation struck up and we have been talking and great friends ever since. And now I am including it in a Little Red Bear story. It’s wonderful how it all works when one is open and receptive to meeting new people. More of that Sending Out Ripples notion.
Rabbitbrush, California Farm- October, 2013. (Photo by Kathleen Creighton Fuchs)
Rabbitbrush, California Farm- October, 2013. (Photo by Kathleen Creighton Fuchs)
Rabbitbrush, California Farm- October, 2013. (Photo by Kathleen Creighton Fuchs)
But, it has taken me a year to get the Rabbitbrush into a story, and I have stacked up a pile somewhere north of 1,000 story ideas and features since then. I will have to live to the age of Moses and Methuselah to get them all into stories. Since that is probably unlikely, I better pick up the pace it seems.
And in case you are wondering– “How does an arid desert plant find its way into a story about Little Red Bear and friends based in the Ozarks Mountains in the Southern Midwest?” Well, guess you will have to wait for the upcoming collection of stories to find that one out. But here’s a hint– There’s a new sheriff in town!
Wishing everyone a great day and positive start to the New Year! Break time is over and Little Red Bear is calling me back to writing so I need to go. Thanks for visiting! — Jim (and Red!)
Rabbitbrush, California Farm- October, 2013.
(Photo by Kathleen Creighton Fuchs)
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New Year Resolutions Woodland Style | Sylva Fae
New Year’s Resolutions. Most people prepare them. Few seem to stick with them more than a month or so. Even fewer complete them. My very talented writer friend Sylva Fae has prepared her New Year’s Resolutions in an extraordinary way. My money is on her to see them thru, too.
Please visit Sylva’s blog thru the link below to view her delightful take on resolutions for the New Year!
New Year Resolutions Woodland Style | Sylva Fae.
Major Oak– 1000 Year Old Major Oak Tree in Sherwood Forest, Nottinghamshire. by VJLF on Flickr
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First Annual Report for the Blog– “2014 In Review”
The WordPress.com folks, who host my blog site, prepared a 2014 Annual Activity Report for this blog.
“Here it comes.” — Waiting for the Activity Report (Photo credit- Ron Niebrugge, Wild Nature Images)
Here’s an excerpt:
“A San Francisco cable car holds 60 people. This blog was viewed about 2,800 times in 2014. If it were a cable car, it would take about 45 trips to carry that many people. This blog featured 51 new posts and was visited by readers in 67 countries in 2014, with the United States leading the way, and the United Kingdom, Italy, Ireland, Australia and Brazil close behind.”
“Little Red Bear”– Pleased as Punch!
(Photo credit- by Wildlife Photographer Marina Cano)
This blog began as a way to share creative works and writings in May, 2014. With that in mind, and considering most days I am still figuring out step by step what I am doing in the social media and tech world, and that the above report reflects activity starting from ground zero for only a little more than half a year, I am very happy with that. Or, as my good friend Siobhan Daiko would say- I am “really chuffed!”
Special thanks to Siobhan Daiko , Lesley Sky, Kim Gosselin, Frank Clark and Adele Wilson for being top commenters in the year, to Sylva Fae’s “Sylvanian Ramblings Blog” for being one of the top referral sites right behind Twitter and Facebook, and to the wonderful artist Christine Southworth of “Bear Prints Studio” who provided original artwork for my primary blog image– “Milson, the Steampunk Bear“, top right. And another special thank you to Matthew Milson, my author son, who pushed me into starting the blog in the first place.
Bear Hugs! Perfect in all Sizes!
And a big Bear Hug and Thank You to all who have visited and continue to follow along. Your support and encouragement is what keeps it all going. Onward now to an exciting New Year, featuring many new creations, writings and the upcoming release of the first collection of “Little Red Bear” stories.
We’re off to a great start. Let’s keep it rolling! — Jim (and Red!)
“Little Red Bear”– Story Research in a Tree (Photo courtesy of National Geographic)
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Setting New Year’s Resolutions– Be Specific, Bob!
Thinking about New Year’s Resolutions this week? Taking steps to Better Health, perhaps? Exercise? Healthy Eating? Better Job? Travel? Volunteering? Charity Work? More Family Time? Reading More? Planting a vegetable garden to grow your own produce? Learning a new musical instrument or foreign language? Finding time to paint or a hobby? Finally write that novel in the back of your mind?
Whatever your resolutions may be, when developing your list of annual New Year’s Resolutions this week, please be sure to put a completion date on them to help stay focused and on a timeline. As they say– things with deadlines get done.
Also, please remember to be specific. It makes all the difference. Being specific forces you to clearly identify what it is you want to accomplish with the goals, helps to visualize in helping to bring them about, and makes them more quantifiable and easily measured to monitor your progress towards achieving them. It’s very important. Be specific.
For example, I am in growing need of an assistant in the workroom, so asked Santa to please bring me a Pug for Christmas this year. To help with smaller tasks, help keep me motivated and moving. I was not specific in my request- male, female, young, old, black, fawn- didn’t matter. Any friendly little helper in need of a new home would be fine.
Pug Dressed For Christmas with a Red Bow Tie
Or, if Pugs were in short supply, fully appreciative of the fact that children should come first on the Christmas Gift List, I asked Santa to please bring me a St. Bernard in need of a good home, instead. To help with the bigger tasks around the workroom.
St. Bernard in a Field
Again- I was not specific- male, female, puppy, young, older, short hair, long hair, color- did not matter. Just a helper. A big one. Now here’s the point. Again, I was not specific in my request. Here is what Santa brought.
Toy St. Bernard, “Ho, Ho, Ho!” to you too, Santa.
So, yes. Now I have a St. Bernard. A very cute, fuzzy, little St. Bernard– Toy. Quiet, great disposition and temperament, but not very helpful beyond being cuddly.
Now, I admit to having tweaked Santa Claus a bit this year in a few blog posts, all in good-natured humor and fun. Maybe this was the Old Boy’s way of getting me back. Lighter to carry than the traditional lump of coal, perhaps. On the other hand, maybe it is because I was not specific and clear in making out my Wish List.
I asked for — “a St. Bernard.” I got — “a St. Bernard.”
Santa brought what I had requested and checked me off the list. Job done. But not at all what I had in mind when making the request. So being specific is important. More so with Santa Claus than I had imagined, apparently.
Good luck setting your goals and resolutions for the New Year. And wishing you the very best of luck and success in achieving them all. Please remember to put a date on them and to be specific. It really does make all the difference in achieving your goals.
Thanks as always for reading!– Jim (and Red!)
James Milson - The Writing Pages 