Text by Tammie

  In 2022, I wrote a magazine article about a fascinating astronomical group in my area that met regularly to study and photograph the night skies. As is the case with many stories I’ve written that I’ve enjoyed, I incorporated what I learned into my daily life (for example, learning that I only need binoculars to see certain objects in the night sky). So, when my husband helped with a kindergarten project on counting to 100, I cheered for his idea of depicting a starburst galaxy using Starburst candy. Fun and yum!

I've heard the suggestion all my writing life of how you should write every day. Well, sometimes, you just need a break. Among the best ways for me to have a break is to go to the beach. There's something about "beach water" that can help soothe tiredness.

  I’ve been thinking a lot lately about how I need to get back to running at least a mile a day, five days a week, to get back to 5K “fitness.” Yes. Ha. Most days, I have the pleasure of walking near the state park where I live around 6 a.m., and most days, I see deer. Most days, they run, and I love to watch them run. It’s so effortless. Oh, deer. Run.

  If I get up early to go walking in my rural neighborhood, I can “run” across nearly a dozen deer eating their breakfasts. Here’s one who didn’t seem too bothered by me taking its picture. Camera phones make it easier for writers like me to convey “a thousand words.”

Here’s my German Shepherd, Sam, who has the dog’s life of sleeping, eating, and staying outside all night playing. A lot of times when I wake up in the morning, I envy that lifestyle that I enabled because a couple of hours of extra sleep would be nice for me when I wake up at 3 a.m. (long story). Dog’s life. Not a writer’s life.

  Sharing other people’s stories with readers helps me as a writer to learn, too. Nearly ten years ago, I wrote a story about a young adult who grew luscious tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, peppers and more -- on straw bales. At the time, my husband and I had settled into our home that has over an acre of land, but no garden because of various concerns (bad soil, deer, trees). We tried straw bale gardening, and it was an explosive success. This year, my husband bought a couple of straw bales in which we’ll plant cherry tomatoes and peppers. Here’s to spring.  

  Here’s a composition that includes Valentine’s Day icons: steak, baked potato, bread, and flowers. The one thing that makes this photo reflect real life is the electronic device in the background. I could have “edited” it from the frame. But not.