I have been back in Mississippi and growing a garden here again for a little over a year, and I have been reminded of an essential truth about gardening in Mississippi: Plant things in Mississippi that will endure the heat and humidity here: This morning, I went out to my front garden, and I discovered…
In Defense of Creative People Who Are Messy — Embrace The Glorious Mess That You Are!
Since early spring, I have been working daily, trying to tidy things up. Most of my efforts have been focused on my garden — My thought: “One Space at a Time,” and several moments, I have almost reached perfection outside. Jacki Kellum Garden – July 22, 2024 But when I get to that point of…
Spirituality, Aesthetics, and Nature: Romantic Writers – William Blake on the Imagination as Ideal
“Aesthetics can be a practice or theory that includes many subjects, such as art, beauty, taste, and perception. Spirituality can be described as a journey of letting go of ego and finding love and joy in every moment. Some say that people with a higher level of spiritual development may have more intense aesthetic experiences…
All About Prologues: What’s In a Prologue? Why?
“A prologue sets the stage for a story’s main narrative by providing context and background information. Authors may use prologues to do any or all of the following: Introduce characters, setting, or story: Provide background details or backstory to help readers understand the story’s world and central conflict. For example, a sci-fi book might describe an alien…
Prologue to Lord of the Rings – Concerning Hobbits, Concerning Pipeweed, Ordering of the Shire, & Of the Finding of the Ringby J.R.R. Tolkien
PROLOGUE 1 Concerning Hobbits “This book is largely concerned with Hobbits, and from its pages a reader may discover much of their character and a little of their history. Further information will also be found in the selection from the Red Book of Westmarch that has already been published, under the title of The Hobbit….
Read to Write – Take Natalie Babbitt’s Advice: The Best Way to Learn to Write Is to Read
Read to Write When Natalie Babbitt was asked for her advice to writers, her answer was: “Read.” On August 1, join me for a FREE online study of Natalie Babbitt’s Tuck Everlasting. Within a few words, we’ll discover that Babbitt follwed her own advice. In many ways, Tuck Everlasting is a tribute to Ray Bradbury’s…
A Few Things to Know about Dionysus of Ancient Greek Mythology, The Feast of Bacchus, and The Last Supper: My Thoughts about the Opening Ceremony of the 2024 Summer Olympics
At the opening of the 2024 Summer Olympics, a depiction of a feast celebration sparked heated discussions–especially among many Americans, who assumed that the depiction was a disrespectul representation of the Biblical Last Supper. In my opinion, the feast depicted was the Feast of Ancient Greece’s Mythological Dionysus, whose Roman counterpart was Bacchus. Both Dionysus…
It’s All Relative — But Should It Be? Challenge: Really Look at a Female Cardinal Until You See Her
A couple of days ago, I was sitting in My Morning Chair and watching the array of birds that were dropping in and out of my birdfeeders. They shifted and re-shifted every few seconds, and it seemed that I was looking at my garden through a kaleidoscope. I am rather new to the hobby of…
How to Compost to Create Soil for Your Garden
During my lifetime, I have lived and gardened in several parts of the country, and in almost every place I have lived, I have been forced to amend my garden’s soil. Before I moved back to Mississippi, I lived and gardened in the Ozark Mountains, where most of the earth is covered by bedrock. In…
Tuck Everlasting August 1 – A Celebration of Time and Nature — A Celebration of Life
On August 1, I will begin what I plan to make an annual tradition. I’ll begin a deep dive into Natalie Babbitt’s Tuck Everlasting. Tuck Everlasting is a Celebration of Time–Time as it relates to the Seasons and the Seasons of Life–and TIme as it relates to the clock. Most people are deeply aware of…