Marie at 1 Write Way

Zinnias for Ally

Zinnias

One of my most favorite bloggers, Ally of The Spectacled Bean, happens to like zinnias. Actually, I believe she likes them a lot. A couple of months ago, I bought a pair of zinnias from a local nursery. They were in the same pot, a mix of yellow and pink. Sadly, the yellow zinnia did not survive, but the pink one has and it is quite a showy flower.

I would argue that the above photo doesn’t do the flower justice, but I do like how you can see the various stages of life on this plant. The following photos are more to my liking.

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They are such a delight when the sun is shining directly on them! The challenge for me is whether I should transplant them to a sunnier venue, which would likely be off my deck and outside my range of vision when I’m sitting at my computer, OR keep them on the deck and repot them as necessary with hopes that they will survive the winter.

I believe zinnias are annuals, but in my climate, I’m hoping these might become perennials.

Wendy

Wendy is doing quite well after our (not hers) brief scare. She’s doing all her cat things normally, including swatting at Raji now and then. [One night, when they were both gathering around my legs while I was reclined, watching TV, she swatted at Raji when he got too close. He punched her back. Seriously, he punched her. Chaos ensued.]

Writing

I have been writing. For the first five days of November, I was quite earnest in my writing and found some nice support from other participants in Summer Brennan’s Essay Camp. [By the way, Summer is starting a series of essays on essays which I’m looking forward to reading. If you’re interested in learning more, she has an free introductory post here: Introducing the Essay Series.] I have been using NaNo to track my word counts, but not much else. I feel myself sliding into a rut. Unfortunately, I’m preoccupied with a family issue, and I thought writing about it would help clear my head, but family issues are the gifts that just keep giving, aren’t they?

On the bright side, refocusing on my writing has made me think about the stories I’ve already written and what (if anything) to do with them. Some have been published so rights have reverted back to me. I don’t have much enthusiasm for finding new publishers for them, but I want to share them “with the world.” One idea I’ve had is to have booklets of my short stories printed, along the lines of Creative Nonfiction Foundation’s (now defunct) True Story series, and then I can gift them to interested readers.

Does anyone reading this post have experience with printing booklets of their stories? Please share if you do.

I’d also love to have some recommendations for printing services to narrow my search. So far, it looks like it might be expensive.

Meanwhile … last night I saw an interesting contrail from my Adirondack chair … no filters on this photo.

Thank you for reading!

Marie A Bailey

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30 responses to “Zinnias for Ally”

  3. Thanks for the shoutout. I do like zinnias. I considered calling my blog something that had to do with them, but couldn’t find the right words. I do like your line: She’s doing all her cat things normally… which is exactly how you know a cat is feeling good. 😸

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  5. Lovely post, Marie. Those zinnias are pretty! Glad you are writing and that Wendy is ok. Life does like to throw us challenges to deal with, doesn’t it? Hope everything works out okay

    Liked by 1 person

  8. Hi Marie! The zinnia is so pretty. I always forget what zinnias are and say, “what are those pretty flowers?” 😂

    I’m glad Wendy is doing well, but I’m sorry about the family issues.

    I believe Ingrid at Experiments in Fiction was looking to publish more fiction, if you wanted to go that way. Feel free to email me.
    https://experimentsinfiction.com/

    Liked by 1 person

  9. Yeah, Ally’s a fun one, isn’t she? I’m relieved your household got a reprieve on Wendy’s scare and that you’re considering printing a booklet of your selected stories. I’m thinking the creative juices are revving up? Definitely a good thing!

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    • Thank you, L. Marie! I’m glad I posted the photos of the zinnias when I did. With our temps cooling a bit and some heavy rains this week, they are looking pretty funky right now ;-)

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  12. I really like, Marie, how you posted the zinnias and their stages of life. Nature certainly has a lot to teach us. Wendy looks so innocent: Who me? I never punched anyone!
    I agree with other comments: Keep on Writing! <3

    Liked by 1 person

    • Thank you, Carol. I like the way you’ve responded to the zinnias, that nature has a lot to teach us. The zinnias are teaching me that life is a cycle; there is death but there is also life. You also capture Wendy’s look very well ;-)

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