The two greatest pleasures of my life are writing and gardening. I write every day of the week, every week of the month, and every month of each year. Every day, I write a gratitude and compassion journal, work on poetry, and edit and fine-tune one of the novels I have been working on. My monthly meetings with my critique partner are a pleasure and contribute to the development of my knowledge and proficiency.
Since I live in a summer/winter climate, my gardening is limited to the late spring and early fall but I have a huge flower garden behind my house and smaller ones on the north and east. My favorite flowers are sunflowers and zinnias, but my large garden is resplendent with perennials including iris, roses, columbines of multiple colors, lazy Susans, daisies, lavender, and marigolds. One of the glories of my landscape is an old and huge rhododendron bush with gorgeous lavender blossoms. I also plant a tiny vegetable garden in the summer and enjoy having fresh vegetables on hand.
Parallels that exist in these two different interests are profound. Both writing and gardening require consistency and commitment. They both require consultation and constant research and learning. Both writing and gardening keep me involved with talented and supportive individuals with whom I love to communicate. And, best of all, both writing and gardening contribute to my mental and physical health and stamina. My research, writing, editing, critique groups, readings, and conferences keep me informed and engaged in a community of writers. Bending over in the garden, pulling weeds, harvesting vegetables, and dragging a heavy, long hose from the front to the back of the house are activities that keep me strong and limber. Being outdoors cheers me up, clears my mind, improves my breathing, and assures my nights are spent in restful repose.
I encourage my readers to engage in what interests them on both a personal, group, and community level. Engagement leads to a long, pleasant, and fulfilling life.
My Writing Goals for 2025
- Continue to develop my poetry and connections with other poets:
Bardic Trails: The Talking Gourds/Bardic Trails is a monthly Zoom presentation of poets, followed by an open mic, which is broadcast from Telluride, Colorado. The well-loved Art Goodtimes is the host. This month, the invited speaker was Juliana Aragón Fatula, who has been a writer in residence for the Colorado Humanities Writers in the Schools Program and who is a member of the Sandra Cisneros Macondo Foundation. The diversity of poets who read during the open mic is entertaining. I read one of my poems.
The Colorado Poetry Center: In May, at the CPC in-person, evening session at the Boulder Bookstore hosted by Beth Franklin, Mary Crow, an American poet, translator, and professor who served as poet laureate of Colorado for 14 years read from her extensive work. Mary Crow has been recognized by the Arts and Colorado Council on the Arts, the Colorado Book Award, a Translation Award from Columbia University, a National Endowment for the Humanities fellowship to New York University, and three NEH summer seminars. Jack Martin also read that evening. Jack taught junior high and high school English for around twenty years. He is a graduate of the MFA program at Colorado State University and his poems have appeared in many magazines. Jack Martin also received the Colorado Council on the Arts Poetry Award. I enjoyed the open mic readings that evening as well and stepped up to read a poem myself.
The Boulder Writers Alliance Poetry Circle: In May, BWA featured Stan Deetz. Stan is a Professor Emeritus and was a President’s Teaching Scholar at the University of Colorado, Boulder. He has been a featured presenter at Queer Art Organics and participated in open mic readings at Junkyard Social Club, Trident, the Coffee Stand, and the Colorado Poets Center Open Mics at the Boulder Bookstore. In 2024, Stan published a prose and poetry memoir Between….by TransGender Publishing.
Columbine Poets: I recently joined Columbine Poets and attended an online poetry critique group with the group this week. The poets in the group are knowledgeable and give inspired feedback and suggestions.
Cannon Mine Poets: Over the last year, I have also been attending the Cannon Mine Poets group in Lafayette which is hosted by Larry LaVerdure and also has an open mic session. In May, Connie Boyle, winner of the Colorado Authors League 2012 poetry award, presented a reading.
My poetry project goals: I managed to write a new poem every week over the last month and submitted one to a contest. I also attended the Poetry Rodeo in Denver this month and took an insightful workshop on writing poetry led by Julie Cumming whose work I admire.
- Finish my first novel and query agents (IW): I went through all my files and moved them into different folders to create seven draft segments of the novel.
- Finish my second novel (G): Nothing accomplished here.
- Continue to work on my third novel (PW): Nothing accomplished here.
- Continue to develop a network of kindred spirits in the world of writing and publishing:
- Boulder Writers Alliance: I hosted the BWA Poetry Circle which featured Stan Deetz but missed the BWA Happy Hour because I had company from abroad.
- Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers: I read the newsletter and various emails. I also worked on a potential submission to the anthology.
- Women Writing the West: I read the newsletter and listserv.
- Document my writing progress through my blog and post it on the seventh day of each month, one blog per month in 2025:
Today is June 7, 2025. I am posting my sixth blog for this year. May, and so far June, have been extremely damp in Colorado. Rainfall on the Front Range has exceeded typical late May and June weather in Seattle and Portland—which may be a first. I took a drive this week and was astounded at the intense green of the fields and foliage in Boulder County. I don’t think I have ever seen such an emerald landscape here in our high-altitude desert. It made me wonder why green is not seen as the color of love.
A Poem for June
The Best Thing in the World
By Elizabeth Barrett Browning
What’s the best thing in the world?
June-rose, by May-dew impearled;
Sweet south-wind, that means no rain;
Truth, not cruel to a friend;
Pleasure, not in haste to end;
Beauty, not self-decked and curled
Till its pride is over-plain;
Light, that never makes you wink;
Memory, that gives no pain;
Love, when, so, you’re loved again.
What’s the best thing in the world?
— Something out of it, I think.–
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