Category: Poetry

Episode 1

On a warm sunny day, well into the summer season, sat the tiniest of turtles; she rested beneath an old plastic cup that had recently washed up onto the shore. She was so very tired, but had a great distance, yet to go, before she would reach the safety of the ocean.

She’d been crawling toward the water’s edge all night long! Ever since the pull of the moon had awakened her, hours earlier, the tiny turtle was driven out of her warm and protective shell. From the moment of her hatching, she’d discovered that a sandy path could be clearly seen, marking her way to the water’s edge. But she felt very alone, as there were no other baby turtles nearby to accompany her across the beach. This tiny turtle was the last of the seasons babies to be hatched, and she’d been born a full day later than all the other babies… she was alone!

When this turtle’s mother had arrived to lay her eggs, the beach had been overcrowded with other turtles, already on their way back to the water; their nests were already safely buried throughout the area. As she considered where to safely deposit her eggs, hoping to do her duty and then catch up with the rest of her kind, the young turtle mother was approached by several local Gulls. When they suggested she lay her eggs further inland, she thought this a lucky break, as there seemed to be nowhere left, here on the beach.

The young turtle set right to work, finding a soft mound of sand beneath a bush, far beyond where most turtles would venture to lay eggs. Being too far from the beach, meant a longer and more dangerous journey for hatching young. She’d no idea that the two Gulls were up to no good!

By the light of the moon, the young turtle lay her hopes of the future, into a small depression in the sand. She hastily covered the eggs with the sand she’d kicked out of the hole, earlier. Off went the turtle, to catch up with all the others, oblivious to the danger she had placed her children in, by naively taking the Gull’s nesting advice.

The truth of things became brutally evident on the day of the hatching! The birds had been waiting, along with other predators that had been patrolling the beach.

Not one of the little turtles made it to the water, save a single tiny baby, buried at the bottom of the nest pile! Being late to her own hatching, was the very thing that had saved her life! As she now sat under that plastic cup, though grateful to be alive, the little turtle was faced with running to the water, without the safety of numbers.

Who is this tiny turtle?

Will she make it to the water?

Tune in next time, to find out who this little one is, and what is to become of her…

Hurry hurry, shut the door

The rain’s leaving water upon all my floors

Puddles of water, puddles of mud

Puddles to slip in that bring quite a thud!

Remember your coat,

remember your hat

Or your make up will run

and your hair will go flat!

I know that this Monday feels soggy

The rain might be getting us down

Our lack of some Vitamin D

Is leaving us all with a frown!

We need all this rain

though it makes us feel blue

It nourishes all the earth

which is exactly what it should do!

So, let’s whistle a tune

of all those sunny days to come

Don’t let all those looks from others

make us feel off key or dumb!

Be grateful that Mondays

only come once a week

and try to ignore

all that rain in the street!

Before you know it,

the rain will be gone

And when Saturday arrives,

we can all mow our lawns!

I’m guessing that you’re wondering what a picture of a cell phone, may or may not have to do with my normal Sunday morning studies? I considered it somewhat humorous, as well, until I really thought about it. I’ll try to explain.

I was wrapping up my reading of the book of Joshua, this morning, when a funny thought popped into my head. Instead of pondering the Israelites behavior, even after all God had been doing for them, I found myself trying to remember how many times I’ve read through the same scriptures, only to find new and valuable insights that I’d overlooked during other readings. If you haven’t discovered it yet, I’ll remind you that I tend to fly all over the place, when it comes to my thoughts and writings. I’m also a very visual learner, so maybe that’s where I come up with the many examples of what I write about; hence, all the tv or movie references I often throw out there for everyone.

This is where the cell phone comes into play! I’d finished up with Joshua, but wasn’t ready to dive into the book of Judges yet, so I did some reading in the new testament. I found myself considering 2 Timothy 3: 16, 17. It read, “All scripture is God breathed, and is useful in teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” I sort of sat there, drinking my coffee, thinking about these words. As I was ruminating on this, I happened to glance right next to where my bible was sitting, and my eyes came to rest upon my cell phone.

If you think about it, our bible is pretty much like a cell phone that God uses to connect with us, his children. Every time I pick up this book, it’s like I turned my cell phones Bluetooth on, becoming immediately connected to the One that breathes life into the words on the pages. As I’m reading through the pages before my eyes, I hear God’s voice, feel His presence, and receive both encouragement and instructions from within the books cover. God never puts me on hold, and never forwards my calls!

Often, I find notes of love and acceptance, while at other times, I receive either direction or marching orders, if you will. The battery on this thing never dies, nor does it require recharging; God takes care of those details. This book/phone faithfully calls to me every day and every night, though, I’ll admit that there are times I have been the one to put God on hold, or even let Him go to voicemail.

The beauty of the word of God is, even if I break, lose or give my phone/bible to another… I can hear it ring loud and clear, from any bible I find, regardless of the translation style. God is not shackled with only one single book style. I’ve read King James, NIV, NAV, many differing types of study bibles, and on and on. The line between God and I cannot be broken… ever! This is due to my Bluetooth, basically being the Holy Spirit that resides within my vessel. This spirit is an actual part of God, placed within my heart at the moment I first believed… and it has a lifetime guarantee!

I know that this doesn’t really have anything to do with our normal Live Wire chats, but for some reason, this was where my heart led me this morning. It was such a wonderful insight, I guess I just really wanted to share it with you, as you might also feel encouraged.

If not, I’m just glad you took the time to listen to me thinking out loud. I’m also leaving some goodies, so it’s a potluck for the win!

I pray that God Blesses each and every one of you today, as you spend time with your loved ones… hugs

Beat around the bush!

Today’s phrase being used, thanks to JuanitaMaritz, is Beat Around the Bush. So let’s do this! I’ll give it my best shot and see how close I can come to guessing correctly, as to the meaning and origin of this little idiom! Remember, if you have a phrase to suggest for these As They Say Saturday posts, just leave it in the comments, thanks.

When I saw Beat Around the Bush, it made me think that it had something to do with vermin in the garden! I can’t imagine too many reasons why else, one would actually circle around a plant hitting the ground, or whatever. I suppose you would beat the ground around the bush to disturb things, without actually hitting the plant itself. I’ve always used this phrase, if I wanted someone to stop dropping hints and just spit out whatever was on their mind!

One would suppose that this phrase or idiom, if you will, arose from a time when one might find some sort of rat or snake in the bushes near the house or the garden. You don’t want to go sticking your foot or hand into said bush, in the event that whatever was in there bites, or maybe stings. Possibly, the beating around the bush was simply a way to irritate whatever was nesting in the bush, to the point that it moved on. I’m guessing that the origin came from a farm or ranch from the horse and buggy era.

Well, that’s as much as I can guess on, so let’s go check with Googlina, our friendly know-it-all:

According to GingerSoftware.com,

The phrase ‘Beating around the Bush’ means to avoid answering a question; to stall; to waste time.

Example of Use: “If you want to ask me, just ask; don’t beat around the bush.”
Interesting fact about Beating around the Bush

The origin of the idiom ‘beating around the bush’ is associated with hunting. In medieval times, hunters hired men to beat the area around bushes with sticks in order to flush out game taking cover underneath. They avoided hitting the bushes directly because this could sometimes prove dangerous; whacking a bees nest, for example, would put a swift and unwelcome end to the hunt.

Overall, I think I was pretty close… well, in a round about sort of way. At least I feel better, knowing that I haven’t been butchering this phrase, when I use it!

Ok, folks… bring it on! I feel pretty smart at the moment, so I’m brave enough to goad you into offering up another phrase, for next Saturday’s post. Who knows, maybe you’ll give me something that’ll stump me!

When I arrived at the barn this morning, I was set upon, by a band of Bossy barnyard babes! I’d barely come through the front doorway, before they tackled me! I’ll admit, it was surprising to see Tilly leading the charge, as she’s normally so quiet and calm.

Questions were coming at me, from all directions, and all at the same time! Though I could barely understand what they were saying, I heard something about my computer being left on last night, something about me writing the story of Tilly meeting Santa, and a whole lot of wailing about it not being fair!

It took an entire box of raspberries, a dozen donuts, and an hour of lectures from all the babes, before I fully understood the cause for all the fuss. After expressing my heartfelt apology for any misunderstandings, along with an agreement to make things right, I sent them all off to play; no need to fret, as, all is well! With the babes now off playing and happily distracting themselves, I’m free to explain what happened.

Apparently, I’d accidentally left my computer running last night, when I left the barn. At some point in the evening, Boomer noticed the light coming from the office, so he went in to investigate. Well, long story short, all the babes spent the entire night, reading my blogs about the barn. Tilly found the story I’d written about when she was small, and she excitedly read it to the group! This got the whole gang involved in looking for their own stories, only to be disappointed! After all the searching, they couldn’t find what they were hoping to read.

What I’d encountered, as I arrived this morning, was a passel of very unhappy babies that wanted some answers! After assuring them that I’ve a story for each of them, I had to explain that those stories still have to be published. Since I can’t share their stories with the world yet, I had to promise them that I would, at least, write something about them; they wish for me to write about them one a time. It was strongly suggested that I share what I love most about each individual babe.

So, what this means is… starting next Friday, I’ll be writing a special little something about each of these adorable creatures, sharing my barn. I want to show you the reasons, why each and every one of these babies, belong in the Barnyard! Who knows, maybe you’ll find out a bit more about the one writing this blog…