Happy, happy Halloween! It's the finale of my celebration of October and the spooky things that emerge at this time of year. My Halloween morning was perfect: I spent it running through the woods from zombies and a swamp monster. The MudWalk is a tradition for elementary school kids in our area. They visit the Environmental Studies Center and … Continue reading Running Through The Swamp – Halloween At Last
The Halloween shelves are shrinking with the last of the cackling skeleton brides and tombstones. There are some turkeys overlapping them, but Christmas and winter holidays are coming on strong. I see you, giant nutcrackers and elves, just on the other side of the shelf. Halloween is almost here, our last revelry of this spooky season, … Continue reading Christmas Is Creeping Up Behind You – 1 Day Until Halloween
Wild areas teem with life and death. The urgency and decay are deeply beautiful to me and source of much of my writing. In the wet areas, life bursts forth throughout the year. Mosquitos emerge from the water desperate for a blood meal and mating. New shoots grow from the ground at alarming speeds. And all … Continue reading Writing From Wild Areas – 25 Days Until Halloween
October is here! October is here! There's a faint chill in the morning, and night is coming earlier. Bats are flying like mad in the evenings as the summer insects emerge and search for mates. Pumpkins are everywhere. Flying skeletons and graveyard fences are showing up in neighborhood yards. I'm late haunting our yard … Continue reading It’s The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year – 30 Days Until Halloween
Welcome Campers and lurkers! Day 8 of Camp NaNoWriMo and the day is full of activities. As I've posted before, I'm editing and adding to my draft novel for Camp NaNoWriMo. Most of the story is set in Florida woods next to a blackwater river. It's a setting I can see vividly in my mind - … Continue reading Camp NaNoWriMo – Lurking in the Woods
CLATTER by Victoria Nations The whine of wind pushing the The clatter of palm fronds and The clacking of bluejay beaks on The scritch of roach legs against The rustle of leaves caught in the Damp Dark Boot jacks Reach your hand in there I dare you
Catbriar lies there, seemingly innocuous, but suddenly wraps itself around your ankles and digs its thorns in as you lift your foot. I grew up calling it cypress vine, for how it snakes across the forest floor and climbs up the tree trunks. Bright green tendrils with tiny thorns become woody ropes as it gets older. I smile … Continue reading Cypress Vine and Muck
Victoria Nations 