Poetry Friday is finally here! If you would like to celebrate poetry, then join the round up at Heidi's My Juicy Little Universe. Thanks for hosting Heidi!

Today, I am sharing a poem about one of my favorite places. I love spending time on the lake just below the ridge. It is so soothing and peaceful. I love to write about all the life that is happening on the lake. Sometimes, I just close my eyes and let my mind wander wherever it will! Spending time in your favorite place can really clear your head of all the busy thoughts of the week so that your mind is open to take on those new ideas that matter to you. I hope you are able to spend some time in your special place this weekend, too!
  

Writers like to write about their favorite places. It can be comforting to think of the places we love. Try closing your eyes right now and picturing the places that you feel most at home. Think about what makes each place soothing to your mind and spirit. Now open your eyes and write!

Hooray for Poetry Friday! Celebrate with more of my friends from the round-up today atDori Reads. Thanks for hosting today, Dori!

​Today is the Friday before school starts! I am very excited to begin a new school year. I look forward to all the new faces and new beginnings. Every year I can't get over how quickly the summer flies by. It seems just as we end, we begin again. I think about this beginning and ending throughout the days and across years of my life. It always gives me hope when I think about all the things in my life that have ended or may end so that new things may begin. The seasons and our natural world give us proof of this all the time. 

So while I am sad to see the summer season go, I know that it leaves behind the promise of something new. A new opportunity to grow and change will emerge from every season. I look forward to my new beginnings, but I will always remember this summer's end. 

​Have a wonderful beginning to your new school year! 

Listen to my poem: Summer's End

I often think about the beginnings and endings throughout my life. It can be great thinking and writing work. Try making a list in your notebook of beginnings and endings throughout your life. It might be the first time or the last time you felt a certain way or it might be an event that you began or ended. This list can help you generate even more ideas for writing in your notebook!  

It's Poetry Friday once again! A special thanks to Julieanne for hosting the round-up today. Be sure to visit her site below for more poetry!

It seems a new year school year is approaching fast. I know teachers and students are busy getting ready. These are exciting times indeed! However, it is often easy to get wrapped up in the hustle and bustle of our daily preparations before heading back to school. As much as I look forward to the new school year, I do not want to lose my calm before the storm. I know that every person has a different way of keeping that calm when things get hectic in their lives.

I can find my calm by walking through the field or around my yard. This helps feed my soul and steady my mind from one day to the next. Even during a busy time of the year like now, I make sure to carve out that time to just walk. Today's poem is about how I find the calm before the storm during these whirl-wind moments of my life. I am also sharing a piece out of my notebook that reflects the thoughts I have been having lately. It is my wish for you.

There are so many benefits to walking. Besides being healthy for your heart, it can help you relax and calm your brain after a busy day. Sometimes walking around your backyard or through your neighborhood can help you tune in to the world around you. So many ideas for writing may come to you throughout your walk.

I find great joy in walks. I wish for you the same kind of joy that a simple walk with nature can bring!

Today, I was remembering how green and lovely the meadow was at the beginning of summer. Though it is dry and brittle now, it is still one of my favorite places on the ridge. I write about it often in my notebook. I also love taking pictures of the flowers and bugs that I see in the meadow. It's fun to search for their scientific name. I have even more fun coming up with my own names for them, too!

You can write about places you love to spend time at, too! Try visiting your favorite places during different times of the year. Write down these observations in your notebook. You can even sketch or take pictures of the animals, bugs, and vegetation that you see. Take some time researching the scientific names for the things that dwell in this space. You can even make up your own names for them. Writing about our favorite places can often lead us to all kinds of thinking and wondering in our notebooks!

Hooray for Poetry Friday! Tara is hosting today's Poetry Friday round-up. Be sure to check out her site below for more writing inspiration and poetry celebrations! 

Now that summer heat has kicked in, I have been thinking about how much I miss the fireflies that lit up my backyard at the beginning of the summer. I have always heard that fireflies really thrive in wet environments. We had a good amount of rain in May, and I saw more fireflies than I have ever seen here. When I was little, I remember catching lightning bugs (That's what I like to call them!) in my hand. I would peek in my hand and watch them flicker on and off. Then, I would let them go into the darkness. Seeing them in my own backyard this year, brought back so many childhood memories. Only now, they are gone. I started writing in my notebook about the sadness I felt since their disappearance. I began to wonder why there were no longer lightning bugs blinking around in the darkness. I decided to research them, and I'm so glad that I did. Not only did I find the answer to my question, but I also found out so many other interesting things about these glow bugs that I never knew before. It turns out that lightning bugs may be declining due to things like light pollution, pesticides, and habitat destruction. This made me very sad. So, I immediately began working on a poem in honor of this glittering little bug. Though I'm saying goodbye in the poem, if we all do our part, these flashy fliers will be around for awhile.

Fireflies are pretty amazing little bugs! You can learn more about fireflies by clicking the button below.

Today's poem originated from an observation entry in my notebook. I was sitting outside at my writing table one night waiting to see all the fireflies glowing in the dark. I remember how sad I was when I did not see any at all. I wrote about this feeling in my notebook. It made me wonder, "Where had all the lightning bugs gone?" I immediately started researching more about these tiny night-lights. I was surprised by all the interesting things I never knew about these light-up bugs. After reading so much about them and looking at so many pictures of them, I decided to write a poem in the shape of a firefly.

Many of the things you are observing in your world can lead you to wonder more and more about them as well. Try researching your topic or subject to see what information you can find. These facts can lead you to all kinds of writing inspiration about your topic.