Tag: Photos

Supercell Storm

~ Christine Goodnough ~ 10 Comments

Ragtag Daily Prompt: SPELLBOUND

The original and main meaning of this word is “held by a spell, or as if by a magic spell” but a second sense has arisen from this, fascinated by something wonderful or intriguing.

Supercell storm cloud: Terry McGraw — Pixabay

I enjoy thunderstorms, watching the boiling clouds. In his poem “Cloud-Break,” Canadian poet Archilbald Lampman, describes an intriguing storm scene…

To the summit of heaven the clouds
Are rolling aloft like steam;
There's a break in their infinite shrouds,
And below it a gleam.
O'er the drift of the river a whiff
Comes out from the blossoming shore;
And the meadows are greening, as if
They never were green before.

One day I stood in our yard, spellbound by the phenomenon of an approaching storm. Overhead there were some stormy clouds, but not far to the west this giant circle of cloud hovered, overshadowing many miles of land beneath it. The outer edges were lumpy and white like cumulus clouds usually are, yet a clearly defined ring, quite apart from the sky around it. And there it hung, the whole mass slowly turning, like I imagine a giant hurricane would.

I ‘d never seen the likes, so told my husband about it and he found a description of a supercell cloud. Yes, this is what it was. The precursor of storms, hail, even tornadoes. Thankfully it didn’t move over our area. I searched for an image that shows a supercell like I saw and was glad to find this one, posted by David Mark on Pixabay…

Supercell over Chaparral, New Mexico, USA

One Quality of a Leader

~ Christine Goodnough ~ 13 Comments

I hope you can bear to hear a few more scintillating words from the pen of Dr Watson?

Sherlock Holmes describes his nemesis, Professor Moriarty, as:
“A man …so immune from criticism…so admirable in his management and self-effacement, that for those very words that you have uttered he could hale you to a court and emerge with your year’s pension as a solatium for his wounded character.“

A solatium being, according to Lexico:
–something given in compensation for inconvenience, loss, injury, or the like; recompense
–damages awarded to a plaintiff as compensation for personal suffering or grief arising from an injury
Today we’d call this a settlement. Holmes was reminding Watson that, though Moriarty was secretly involved in shady deals, he had very cleverly erased himself from the scenes. He’d kept his hands so clean that to call him a criminal would be considered slander.

Self-Effacement:
This is an antique concept, something almost anathema to our modern world. In our day self-promotion is the only way to go. From young on, children are encouraged to be the BEST, to be the STAR. When they get into later teens and discover they are AVERAGE, this can be hard to take.

Children should be encouraged to do their best and to pursue their dreams, but there are only so many super-stars you can have in a scene before they start shoving each other off-stage. One man watched a teen take dozens of selfies in an hour, probably to send to friends who’ve got dozens of selfies of themselves to send back. And yet teens may question if they have any real friends.

A friend told me about taking her daughter to visit her mom one evening. In the course of the visit Grandma pulled out her photos.
Here’s a picture of me shopping.
Here’s a picture of me in the coat I tried on.
Here’s a picture of me going here.
Here’s a picture of me on my birthday.
Here’s a picture of me with my friend Jane.
Here’s a picture of me…”

After they left, the granddaughter said to her mom, “Grandma’s really into herself.”
Sadly, this is true. Predictably, Grandma’s puzzled because her children and grands aren’t all into her, too. “I’m their mother. They should be calling me!”
But they don’t feel the heart-strings pulling. What goes around comes around.

A few days ago my husband and I were discussing leadership qualities. There are bold, self-confident, self-promoting types, but we agreed that leaders who get the most respect and help are the ones willing to ask for help, to give credit where credit is due, to squash the “I” and let their group get the praise. To say, “Everybody pitched in and our team accomplished this.”

Professor Moriarty may have sinister reasons for stepping back and letting others get the credit–or blame?–but self-effacement can be one of the tools of a good leader, don’t you think?

Creative Minds

~ Christine Goodnough ~ 2 Comments

The Ragtag Daily Prompt today is CREATIVITY. I can hardly let that pass without comment.

It amazes me what all people can come up with when they set their mind to it. Creativity takes so many forms: art of all kinds, food preparation, decor, music, creative writing. And we certainly owe a lot to past inventors for the good life we enjoy today.

Here are a few examples of creativity:

Briam Cute — Pixabay
Jill Wellington — Pixabay

And this cutie:

Michel 89320 — Pixabay

I’ve been fairly creative myself; at different times I’ve enjoyed writing, drawing & painting, sewing and piecing quilts.

Now here’s a verse of mine that suggests we need creativity when responding to someone whose mind is slipping.

WIND CHIMES

Ever notice how
the constant tinkle of wind chimes
on a windy day?
can rub your nerves raw
after an hour or two?

I pray for more patience
as Dad asks the same question
every half hour. I say “Sorry,
we haven't found your car keys yet.
Better stay home anyway. 
Price of gas so high now.”

Grandma’s New Passion

~ Christine Goodnough ~ 5 Comments

The Ragtag Daily Prompt for today is SPRUIKER. An Aussie word meaning (carnival) barker, or hawker of goods (like at a fair or flea market.) My fantasy tale shall carry on from yesterday’s description of pour art.

Grandma’s New Passion

My husband and I were strolling through the farmer’s market yesterday when we heard a shrill spruiker a couple of rows over. I turned to look and saw a teen girl in front of a really colorful display of art. She was calling to passing shoppers: “Pictures, beautiful pictures. One look and you’ll fall in love with them.”

Curiosity aroused, I tugged my husband over to that booth. The girl was delighted to have an audience. “Can’t you just see one of these beauties on your wall…for only $20.

We spent a moment gazing at the marbled canvases, with every color of the rainbow drizzled or splashed across in random patterns.

“Um.. What are they supposed to be pictures of?” Jaycen asked. My practical husband doesn’t go much for abstract art.

“All kinds of things. Fields, trees, flowers…whatever. Wouldn’t you love to have one on your wall? You could have your visitors guess what it represents?”

“You have such a variety,” I said. “Someone has been very busy.”

“You can say that again! Last month my grandma discovered “pour art” and got so enthused about it, she’s made hundreds. She keeps trying to get the perfect picture.” The girl rolled her eyes.

“Oh, yes. I had a grandma like that, but her thing was afghans. All of us grandchildren got half a dozen. I suppose your grandma has gifted you well, too?”

“You got it! We have two or three on each wall. So does everyone else in our area. When Grandma started buying paint in five-gallon drums and canvases by the truckload, Mom said we absolutely have to do something. So she rented this booth and I’m stuck here trying to sell as many as I possibly can.”

“You do have a problem.”

“I sure wish she’d go back to making quilts. She’s doing a dozen pictures every day.” Her tone became desperate. “You want one, don’t you, people? Or two or three? Only $20 each. Even if you don’t like them so much right off, they’ll grow on you.”

Soft-hearted sorts that we are, we bought a couple. We just grabbed two at random. They’ll grow on us.

Image by delta1 at Pixabay. Here’s an example of pour art where a few drops of silicon oil have been added to the paint-medium mix. That’s what gives it the bubbly look. Creators call these CELLS and when you tilt the canvas, the cells stretch out into odd shapes.

Happy Feb 1

~ Christine Goodnough ~ 6 Comments

Good morning everyone! We have the first day of a new month, the first day of a new week. To top it off, we’re getting a bit more daylight every day. Last night I refreshed my blog with a new header and I’m on the cusp of a new hobby. Some things to be optimistic about.

Yesterday I listened to a speaker who talked about being grateful for the small things in life, like the beauties of nature our Creator has made for us to enjoy. Right now we have lovely white snowbanks everywhere, sparkling in the sunshine. And a resident something-or-other hibernating under the back of our garage. I see its warm breath is maintaining an air hole in the snow.

The Ragtag Daily Prompt this morning is ELOQUENT.
According to LEXICO this means:
—Fluent or persuasive in speaking or writing. (A first cousin to LOQUACIOUS)
—Clearly expressing or indicating something.

I came across an image at Pixabay one day, taken by Radovan Zierki. I imagined it fitting well with a writing prompt word like THIRST, so I downloaded it. Since I didn’t use it for an RDP, I’ll post it here.

Wouldn’t you agree that there’s something eloquent about this scene? I think of a river of mercy that flows, providing for even the smallest creatures. I tried to capture my feeling, perhaps not so eloquently, in a haiku.

 the heavens open
 rivers of blessing flow
 free samples