Janustory - Day 8

Today's entry: Storm washed remains of ship contain unforeseen treasures. #janustory #wordcount8

How many times have we discovered unforeseen treasures in the garden? Living in a 1929 Sears kit house means my soil is filled with random bits of flotsam and jetsam that surface when working. I must wear gloves for the pieces of glass, broken china, clinkers, rusty nails and whatever else turns up. In winter, orchids can be unexpected jewels that remind us there are wonders around each corner of Mother Nature.

Janustory - Day 7

Today's installment: Fresh spring water dribbles, coats only tongue. #janustory #wordcount7

Water. It's a curse and a blessing. This year, we've seen record rains and storms across the country. Rivers in Illinois are still in flood stage - in January!! All that rain also replenished the Great Lakes, especially Lake Michigan. So today, I have an appropriate photo for the above text - the beach in Indiana in January.

Janustory - Day 6

Today's installment: Alone, I wander the broken beach. #janustory #wordcount6

I'm rapidly realizing that the pictures I want to share have nothing to do with the above chapter. Today, I'm captured by patterns in nature. Mathematically wondrous are the angles of a leaf! Perhaps reminiscent of the patterns of waves?

Janustory - Day 5

Today's installment: Eyes gritty, watching moon rise. #janustory #wordcount5

I am thankful that the days are gradually getting longer. With a rural commute, daylight becomes more important when driving where there are no streetlights and farms are sprinkled intermittently. So today, I give you a photo of a glorious sunset because taking pictures of the sickle moon is particularly tricky.

January Sun

First, the next installment:

Tiny crab stalks prey. #janustory #wordcount4

Also, today was a rare sunny day in January. After about ten days of clouds, rain, sleet, freezing rain, snow, and a few other kinds of precipitation, the silvery sun of January is pretty magical. I understand why some Scandinavians take the time to sunbathe for 15 or 20 minutes in winter.

Clematis ternifolia or sweet autumn clematis

Janustory Continues

January 3rd: Ship has capsized. ‪#‎janustory‬ ‪#‎wordcount3

And a photo for fun and to remind myself that it's pretty frozen out there. Not frozen enough, mind you, to kill any of the bad bugs, but at least it resembles winter.

Breaking Dormancy with a Writing Challenge

Yes, I've let the blog go dormant. It happens. Especially when another writing project becomes all consuming and you have three jobs. Then things change and you find you have more time and it's a new year, after all.

So, after discussion on Facebook among friends, I've launched Janustory. Here's your challenge:

Write a chapter each day using the number of words for that day. January 1st - one word. January 2nd - two words, and so forth. You get the idea.

Bonus points for keeping to one sentence per day and for having a cohesive piece at the end.

Post where you will and share as you like. This is for fun and as a creative exercise for when you might be stuck on something else. Please include #janustory and #wordcount1 (2,3,4,5,) hashtags.

January 1st: Beginning.
January 2nd: Journey underway.

Tiger swallowtail - for a something pretty.