Posts Tagged ‘summer’
2020 resolution realized!
In the early days of 2020 I designed a project for myself … to hunt down and organize my older poems. I set a goal to organize the poems into files and to create (and independently publish) three poetry books from three of the files. I had a good start on these books since I had already completed the poems and the illustrations. Some revision work and formatting was left to be done.
The three books are done! I have a new book of poetry published: blueberries and mink – summers on my grandfather’s farm. To order from Amazon, click here
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A brief history and description of the three:
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In early September, I published ghosts are lonely here, a book of 45 poems and 14 of my original illustrations about abandoned features of the human landscape. If you are fascinated by abandoned houses, bridges, vehicles, churches and so on, you will love these poems. To order a copy from Amazon, https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B08J5CQ4GC
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In early December, I published niche, a book of 65 poems and 16 illustrations about the spaces plants and animals, including humans, occupy. With a foreword by my friend, award-winning poet Roger Moore, these are poems about plants and animals in the places where I have lived: Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Alberta. To order a copy from Amazon, https://www.amazon.com/niche-Jane-Tims/dp/B08QRYXS9D
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Yesturday, I completed my review of the proof of the third and final book in my 2020 series: blueberries and mink – summers on my grandfather’s farm. This book was begun as an exploration of the various buildings on my grandfather’s Nova Scotia farm and evolved to tell the story of change on the farm. It contains some very personal memories of my visits each summer to the farm and my ramblings in the surrounding countryside. The book has 45 poems and includes 26 illustrations. To order a copy from Amazon, https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08RH7MKJS
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By the end of January, these three books will be available in Westminster Books in Fredericton, or from me directly.
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Three new books on my author’s shelf! Hooray!
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All my best!
Jane
blackberries
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blackberries
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floricanes bend
with August weight
shape an archway
show the path
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through brambles
to lake
pergola unfastens
gate, entices
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pickers
into wicked thorns
sweet indigo
temptation
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primocanes snag
hems of gloves
ankles of socks
handles of baskets
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angry scratch
for every berry
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Copyright Jane Tims 2019
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Hope you are enjoying this blackberry summer.
All my best,
Jane
my new garden fountain!
Enticed by a Facebook advertisement, I purchased a small, solar-powered water fountain for my deck garden. It floats in a bowl (although it could also be put in a birdbath or larger pond) and uses the sun’s energy to send water into the air. If the sunlight is direct and non-stop, the spray is forceful and continuous. On our deck, where the light is dappled by all the leafy trees, the flow is sporadic but fascinating to watch in all its variety.
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Lots of fun and realizes my dream of having a simple fountain to enjoy! I purchased the fountain at Next Deal Shop here for about $50 including shipping but I notice they have sales from time to time.
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Enjoying summer! Hope you are too!
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Copyright Jane Tims 2017
wild strawberries to pick
In the field around our cabin, the wild strawberries are ready for picking. Red, sweet, delicious.
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‘wild strawberries’ Jane Tims 2016
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If you love picking berries, or eating those first dew-covered berries of summer, you will like my book of poems about gathering and eating wild local foods.
‘within easy reach’ is published by Chapel Street Editions in Woodstock, New Brunswick. The book is illustrated with my drawings and includes lots of information about each wild plant mentioned. The book is available here at Chapel Street Editions or here at Amazon.ca
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For another of my posts about wild strawberries, and a poem about picking wild strawberries, look here.
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Copyright 2017 Jane Tims
a muse takes over – telling a story through the seasons
In New Brunswick, the passage of time is measured in part by the seasons. Right now we are in winter, in the midst of another snow storm and taking a lot of care when walking on all the ice. Soon it will be spring with crocuses blooming on the lawn and water in every hollow. Then summer, days on the deck and keeping cool. Finally, my favourite season, autumn, colourful leaves and starry nights.
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Since I am a writer embedded in the winter-spring-summer-fall cycle, it’s natural that changing seasons are an important part of my sci-fi novel. Although weather is often a factor in story telling, I find many books ignore the changing of the seasons.
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Seasons on planet Meniscus occur in a cycle of four, as in the northern and southern latitudes of Earth. On Meniscus the seasons are the result of a changing heat regime as once per ‘year’ one of the twinned suns slips behind the other. Whether the physics of this makes much sense, I can’t say. “I’m a biologist, Jim, not a physicist!”
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Book One, Crossing the Churn, begins in summer. Foraging for food is easy. As the days pass, leaves begin to fall and soon the characters wade rather than walk through the forest.
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Book Two, South from Sintha, finishes in autumn, as the days grow colder. New characters in Book Two are looking for a home before winter sets in.
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Book Three, Winter at the Water-climb, takes place in a world of ice. The plot focuses on the coming of cold weather and shorter days. Foraging for food is difficult since everything is hidden under snow drifts. Survival depends on what has been put into storage.
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Book Four, The Town in the Themble Wood, celebrates the coming of spring and the vibrancy of summer. The Slain and Odymn scout the Themble Wood for a town-site and help the other Humans establish a new community.
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Book Five, so new it has no name, will take the characters back into autumn. In many ways this book will be a race against time as winter approaches and the Slain must find Odymn and other characters who have been lost after a crisis.
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Including seasons in my story adds to the possibilities for describing setting. The cinnamon scent of trees in the autumn Themble Wood, tracks in the snow of the new town, and melting water-springs add to the sights, sounds, smells and tastes my writing can explore.
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The progress of getting my first book into CreateSpace has been hampered this week by the appearance of ‘The Blue Screen of Death’ on my computer. It is fixed now, but I am sure the folks on Meniscus have never faced such a challenge!!!
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Copyright 2017 Jane Tims
summer on the river
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St. John River, south of Fredericton
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drinks on the patio
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the setting spins
on the river
golden while the mayflies dance
with gilded wings
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this is conversation!
a cold glass
singing ice
white wicker
umbrella shade
the hills
wistful beyond the gauze
of mayfly dancing
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you are dazzled by the play of sun
and words on water
your voice
your smile
who cares what you are saying
as long as the lines are long
and the tone is light
and the mayflies stir
the air above the river
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I listen
with a nod of my head
a flutter of my hand
the corners of my mouth lift
to smile
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my ears and eyes
have better things to do
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the sunlight slides on cobwebs
spun across the river
our voices slur
while the mayflies dance
the rise and fall
of their glass bodies
and your laughter
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liquid on water
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St. John River, south of Fredericton
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Published as ‘drinks on the patio’, Pottersfield Portfolio 17 (3), Spring 1997.
Copyright 2015 Jane Tims
summer spaces
Occasionally in these posts, I talk about our cabin. When I was a child, weekends were always spent at the cottage. It was a special place, partly because my Dad involved me in its creation. I still remember how proud I was to fill one of the foundation boxes with stones. It was a place where we could play in the woods and dabble in a brook. So it is no surprise that as an adult, having a cabin get-away has always been a priority.
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a view of the lake at our cabin property
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Our cabin today is built on a hill overlooking a lake. Originally, the property was a field overflowing with blueberry bushes.
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our lake property in 2005
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Today, it is a young woods, mostly of mountain birch and red maple. We keep the paths mowed with a bush hog pulled behind our ATV. The treed lane I once hoped for is now a reality. I still have a few patches of blueberries and lots of blackberry bushes.
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one of our many paths through the birch and maple wood
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Originally, we intended to build a much bigger cottage – we even chose the plans. But through the years the shed we built as a sort of garage has become our cabin. It is small, only 19 feet long by 15 feet wide. But it is big enough for my husband and I.
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building the cabin in 2010
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Earlier this summer, we hired a local company to finish the outside of the cabin. We still have work to do inside, but having the exterior finished takes us a long way towards the time when our cabin will be a home away from home.
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our cabin, all the windows in and siding complete, 2014
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We spent yesterday at the cabin. We did some work on our entry gate, sat in the cabin and talked, and watched the dragonflies and blue jays. Usually we also read, aloud, a couple of chapters of a book and have a picnic lunch. Life is fun!
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Do you have a cabin or a place to ‘get-away’?
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Copyright 2014 Jane Tims
snowfall and summer
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envy
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in the hammock
the snow rocks
gently, enthralled by
whispers
of fireflies
owl calls
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wind harasses
the pines
mutters them miserable
snow fall ceases
stars punctuate
indigo sky
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snow dwindles
shrinks and sublimates
the hammock cradles
a frail cadaver, swings
in obedience to
winter storm
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Copyright Jane Tims 2013
nichepoetryandprose 