The Weekly Smile for the 8th of March, 2021 #weeklysmile

This was one of those weeks. You know the type? Nothing bad happened, but, then again, there was nothing that stood out. On the other hand, it was a pretty good week.

Last week I firmly returned to my running routine. I had missed about a month, so the first few runs a couple of weeks ago were tough, but this week I was able to make it out four times, so great!

There were a few good pluses at work. A major project came to an end. The start of a security review began on a positive note. A few other good things.

During a walk in the woods I stopped and watched a couple of deer for a few minutes. Always love to see wildlife, particularly in wild settings.

I saw plenty of birds, including a large hawk that followed above me as I ran (no, it wasn’t a vulture waiting for me to drop ;) ).

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Weekly Smile Recap for 3/1 – 3/8/2021 #weeklysmile

If We Were Having Coffee on the 6th of March, 2021 #weekendcoffeechare

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Hello and Welcome! Come on over and I’ll get you a large, steaming mug of super-strong dark roast, a piping cuppa tea or some hot hot cocoa. As you may be able to tell from my description of the beverages available, it is cold! But it is sunny, and sitting behind the house we are blocked from the worst of the wind, so it shouldn’t be too bad. Where are we? Some may recognize that photo as being from New Hampshire. And, yes, there is still snow where it was taken, though a lot of the snow is gone.

First up is weather. The beginning of the week actually was pretty warm, and then came Tuesday. It got down to about 5F/-15C and the high was about 15F/-9C. Cold, but the worst was the 30 mph/48 kph sustained winds. I have been out when it is far below zero F and felt great, but when it is windy like this? Unless you are dressed for Mt. Everest, you will be cold. Wednesday was actually pretty nice. But then the north wind continued to blow, and it hasn’t been above freezing since Wednesday afternoon, plus the wind has been strong, up in the 20s mph. Sunny, but brrrr… Of course, tomorrow will be the last day of cold, then it will be in the 60s F (over 15 C) by Wednesday. Yeah, crazy. Remember, in New Hampshire winter is never over until April. We get a major snow storm almost every March, and there have been years with more snow in March and April than the rest of the winter combined! So even though we may see mild weather this week, it is not over!

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A Day Late – Antonio Vivaldi

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Yesterday, March 4, was Antonio Vivaldi’s birthday. Vivaldi was a great violin virtuoso and composer. He wrote over 500 concertos! His four interconnected violin concertos, known as The Four Seasons, is one of the most popular pieces of classical music of all times. People love it. And for good reason – it is wonderful!

OK, major shift of focus here!!

So I have a YouTube channel. For the most part, people ignore it. When I post a new video, I will get a flurry of hits for that video. After that, it quickly dies down. There maybe some sporadic hits, but not much.

Even though I haven’t posted a new video since early December, I have received far more than the usual of views over the last 30 days. This extended flurry came from nowhere; it was overnight. 90% of this new traffic are views of three videos.

Two of those three are Vivaldi!

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Dark #writephoto (repost)

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Note – I wrote and posted this almost exactly three (3) years ago, on March 1, 2018. It was written for Sue Vincent’s #writephoto challenge that week. Since Sue is unable to post new photos, many of us are bringing back posts from the past to show our appreciation for the stories and ideas that she inspired :) See below for more detail on this story.

With no wizard’s light to guide us, we ran through the darkness. Occasionally a great leap of fire was reflected on the dark stone, casting an evil red glare across our party, but mostly we moved through a black so deep it seemed a physical force. On we went, stubbing toes and scuffing hands as we ran in pitch black.

“I see light,” the sharp eyed elf yelled. “Daylight!”

We ran faster, though us mere mortals could see naught. I bumped into a man, a common occurrence in this mad dash. But then something amazing happened. I could make out his form. In a few more steps, I too could see the cool blue daylight. We might make it!

There were guards at the entrance, but they were expecting an attack from the outside, not one from within. We swept them away without an injury on our part and pushed out into the open.

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A Hint, Please

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The apartment building was obviously a pre-Columbian artifact.

Just inside the unlocked door was the row of mailboxes. No buzzers. How quaint.

Number 4 was Maria Mordella. Perfect.

Just outside Number 4, I held out the single rose, but my left hand, hidden in my jacket, held my 9 mm.

After an age of the Universe, a lady opened the door.

She was older than the building.

“Ms. Mordella?” A nod. “Complements.” I gave her the rose and left.

It was only after a 34-year-old Maria Mordella met an unfortunate accident that I discovered Cruella Mordella really was my target.

***

Word count = 100

Friday Fictioneers is hosted by Rochelle Wisoff-Fields. This week’s prompt is here and uses a photo © Roger Bultot. Read more or join in by following the InLinkz “linky“.

Martha Goode – The Old Mill

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Martha Goode, and that is the First Martha, was the very first resident of the brand new, ultra-modern Goode Mansion. Her mother, Abigail, was rushed out of the heavily damaged farm house while in labor (“no child of mien will be born in this house of fire and death”) and gave birth to Martha less than an hour after being moved.

Martha grew up to be a very intelligent woman. At 18 she gained control of the Goode Mill, the old mill, and took the burnt-out hulk and created the most efficient, most profitable mill in the region, all the while paying the workers at her mill a third more than anyone else paid their labor.

She later lost the mill, a victim of a highly patriarchal society, but kept the mansion, the mansion defined by her; the mansion that defined her.

As she aged, she grew stranger and stranger. Who could blame her after all she had seen, experienced and dealt with, from an extremely violent and abusive “father” to the death threats as her legal battles got stretched across many years. Towards the end, few remembered the remarkable woman who had saved the town, only the eccentric who lived up the hill in the ancient house. Legends grew around her, even while she was still alive.

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Yesterday’s Lore #tanka

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Last season’s harvest
Lasts through the long, cold winter
A forgotten lore
With modern ways we forget
Ancient wisdom to live by

***

This was written for Colleen’s Weekly Poetry Challenge. This week was poet’s choice. I chose a tanka.

This is another drawing I recently found. I just colorized it today. Back before refrigeration and shipping from all over the world, people had to make their vegetables last all winter. By March there would be little choice left…

Weekly Smile for the First of March 2021 #weeklysmile

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Hi all. As many of you may know, I have a house on Cape Cod. Unfortunately, I have not been visiting it very often. In fact, I was last down right around New Year’s Day. But I made it back last week!

I really didn’t do a lot. I did visit the landings near my house. I went running by the beach. I took a long walk in the woods. And I hung out. Not a lot, but it was great to be back after almost two months away!

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