WRITEOUT AND DAILY CREATE
WriteOut and Daily Create
Today’s WriteOut* includes this Daily Create prompt which asks us to “Find a place where you can settle in, quiet down, and listen for nature’s story.” It also suggests making a mind map of the sounds and then explain the story heard.
My Place
One of my favorite places is the footbridge over Fiddle Creek, situated among maple trees in the ravine where the water flows sometimes more and sometimes not at all. The path to it is magical — old rock walls put in place by the Civil Conservation Corps in the 1930s, leading to a dirt path, the creek, the footbridge, and stairs to the other side, all beneath a canopy of maple trees, nettles, a few pines and locust trees, all with songbirds singing to join in the scene where nature’s creatures find themselves a place of peace and safety.
So we stood on the footbridge to listen to the gift the sounds of nature.
Sound Map
Fiddle Creek Videos
Videos so you can experience the sights, sounds, and surprises.
Poetry
And so you see and hear the almost daily story of Fiddle Creek:
Fiddle Creek Story
Autumn leaves rustle
Sheri Edwards
a gentle hush
a chirp
a chirp
a chorus leads along
the old rock wall
a path in the songs
of robins and chickadees
above the tinkling trickle
of Fiddle Creek
where we pause
on the wooden footbridge
and close our eyes to enjoy
nature’s symphony,
when a stomp
and rustle
in fallen maple leaves
a soft carpet of yellow
finds mule deer
startled, hesitant
then ambling by,
settling in to their
afternoon nap.
10.22.23 295.365.23
Poetry/Photography
- *Today is the last day of the Sixth Annual WriteOut
This post is part of the October WRITEOUT adventure, October 8 through the 22nd, partnership of the National Writing Project and the National Park Service — a choice to enjoy the outdoors with poetry, prose, and parks for Write Out 2023. Organized as a public invitation to get out and create, supported by a series of free online activities, Write Out invites educators, students, and families to explore national parks and other public spaces. The goal is to connect and learn through place-based writing and sharing. Check out this infographic for the flow of the two weeks.
Learn more and sign up: https://writeout.nwp.org
This is my sixth year with WriteOut with all my WriteOut posts here.
- *Thank you WriteOut
Thanks to all who created this year’s WriteOut, a fantastic way to get outside with family, friends, or just yourself to see, hear, and enjoy nature’s ways.
My daily walks in our local parks provided the foundation for writing poetry and prose on my blog based on prompts provided by WriteOut. I especially enjoyed scrolling through both the prompts and the responses on [I still call it Twitter] X to see and read the lovely outdoors in nature that surrounds us.
Loved the ranger and park participation, the tweet prompt / pics, and the Daily Create. All are inspirational for getting outdoors and enjoying nature, sharing the beauty and wonder our parks and our world.
The last newsletter [10/22] showed in pictures and captions the community of writers and learners from all over; building community is healing. WriteOut brings people together, in person and online, as they reconnect with each other and nature. Thank you.
#clmooc #smallpoems #poetry23 #writeout #FiddleCreek #ColePark