Showing posts with label flowers. Show all posts
Showing posts with label flowers. Show all posts

Wednesday, May 21, 2025

It’s May ... a Season I Love, but Also a Sad Season of Saying Goodbye ………. Delsora Lowe

It’s the middle of May, and the neighborhood has turned from dreary brown and muted green, as the grass moves from its lackluster winter color to bright green. Trees sprout new leaves, buried bulbs of perennials sprout green shoots, that will show floral colors in a few weeks. And as I write, my cardinals have been active in the area. I caught the female sitting on my deck railing.

Yes, spring comes late in Maine, compared to our southern neighbors. But spring also brings rain. We’ve had plenty in the month of May, including a few thunderstorms—not as usual at this time of year. But the climate has changed over the years, and more and more humidity moves into the northeast.

Remember the old adage…April showers bring May flowers? Well, here in the north it is now more like May showers bring June flowers. Yes, the lawn is littered with wild violets and the yellow of dandelions. Weeds? No! To me, as my grandmother taught me as a child, both “wild flowers” can be eaten and used in other ways. Dandelion wine from the petals, dandelion greens in place of sauteed spinach or arugula, violets sprinkled atop a salad or a special dessert, or as garnish on a nice meal out.

And a slew of acorns…and no, I don’t eat acorns. The squirrels in the fall certainly recognize a good feast when they see one. They fatten up in the fall, then they bury many acorns and pack away the rest in their own hiding places, as they slow down for the winter. Spring in my yard sees the squirrels gain back energy, as they run up and down the huge oak trunk, sprucing up their nests, and yes, digging up buried acorns. This always amazes me that they know right where they buried them the prior fall. Chipmunks also join the race for food in the spring.

But, alas, as I sit here writing about the new beginnings that the spring season seems to bestow on us, I also bring news about our Romancing the Genres blogposts. Sadly, the month of May marks the end of the RTG blog, and therefore the end of my blogs for RTG. I have been here every month for over six and a half years. I will miss this - writing about my world around me, and making new friends, plus greeting old friends who stopped by to visit.

😔😔😔

On a positive note, it frees up more time to work on my books. But on the sad side of that coin, I will miss the challenge of trying to think of “brilliant” commentary, from my point of view, to match the monthly themes. To me, writing about real life seems to use a slightly different part of my writer brain.

And, most of all, I’ll miss the interaction with all of you as I read and answered your comments. But I won’t be far away, as I will have at least one more book slated for publication this fall, and one most likely coming out later in 2025 or early in 2026—both in the Cowboys of Mineral Springs series. And I have other books in the works.

👋

So here is to a fond farewell, as I wave goodbye from RTG. But I’ll see you soon somewhere down the road.

Amazon: (also in print)

Books2Read        

 

~ cottages to cabins ~ keep the home fires burning ~

Delsora Lowe writes small town sweet and spicy romances and contemporary westerns, from the mountains of Colorado to the shores of Maine.

Author of the Starlight Grille series, Serenity Harbor Maine novellas, and the Cowboys of Mineral Springs series, Lowe has also authored short romances for Woman’s World magazine (most recently, an Easter romance in the April 1, 2024 edition and a Thanksgiving story in the December 2 edition.) The Love Left Behind is a Hartford Estates, R.I. wedding novella with Book 2 on the way. A Christmas novel (The Inn at Gooseneck Lane) and novella (Holiday Hitchhiker – the youngest brother of the Mineral Spring’s ranching family) were the most recent releases. Look for book 4 of the cowboy’s series, the Sheriff’s story, as well as book 2 of the Hartford Estates series, to be released in 2025-2026.

Sunday, May 11, 2025

Paradise, California


I took all these pictures. They are pictures of flowers in m yard, in the forest and around town.
I took rainbows and sunsets. Please enjoy on this Mothers Day weekend, and Happy Mothers Day to all 
you mothers out there. Enjoy your day.


 

















Tuesday, September 17, 2024

What I Look Forward to As I Age ... by Delsora Lowe

It’s finally September! My favorite time of the year is fall, despite the fact that soon cold weather will descend and with it snow and ice and… Well, you get the picture. I’d much rather enjoy warm sunny days that cool off at night.

I’d rather enjoy colorful leaves and fall flowers and harvesting vegetables and picking apples.

And, my birthday is in the fall, reminding me what one year older can bring. I remember teen years when I couldn’t wait to go away to college, not realizing how fast time flies, the older you get.

I remember summers, when I juggled several jobs while raising kids. I couldn’t wait for autumn to arrive so the kids, now old enough, would be back in school all day, so I wasn’t running from job to nursery school to pick up kids, dropping them at the sitter and back to job number two.

Now, I look back and realize how much I missed as my children grew up way too fast. But now I have grandchildren who are doing the same. One is looking at colleges. The other two sophomores in high school. All busy falling into young love, working hard at studies, and excelling at various sports teams. Of course, they are excelling. They are MY grandsons.

Oldest Grandson - now 17 - My Dad's 90th Birthday - 2009

It seems like yesterday, they were lying on the floor, playing with tiny cars and making zoom, zoom, zoom sounds, learning to count to one-hundred, and excited when they got to nibble on favorite snacks—my youngest grandson loving chunks of cucumber and olives with the holes where the pits were. He would put an olive on each fingertip and methodically eat each olive, one by one. Or the special events like coloring Easter eggs at Grammy’s table. Now they are self-sufficient.

To me, those memories of my own days in high school and college seem so far away, yet just like yesterday.

So, what do I look forward to as I age?

Top of the list? Not feeling as though I am aging. Also…keeping busy, communicating with others, not isolating, learning new things.

This is where writing comes in, as I can accomplish all of the above through writing.

Learning and Hanging with Writer Friends Through Zoom

I belong to four virtual writing groups in Maine, Rhode Island, New England, and New Jersey. Each group of romance writers meets monthly. It used to be in person. Now it is through ZOOM. The cons, I miss seeing my writer friends in person, but there are times in a year, when we meet up at writing conferences. The pros are without ZOOM, I would only see my writer friends once a year at the aforementioned conferences. Now, I see them and hear their voices and have actual conversations monthly. Sure, we don’t get to hug each other or gather around a table and enjoy a cocktail and chatter. There is nothing that compares to face-to-face.

A few years ago, after retiring, I joined a local organization that has programming for both teens and those of us over 55. The organization has a group named Write on Writers. We have anywhere from fifteen to twenty-five who attend weekly. Each of us writes a 5-minute or less piece, whether fiction, non-fiction, or verse of some sort. We then read aloud our work at each session. And we can submit our work to appear in the monthly organization newsletter that gets distributed around town.

The fun of this group is that I get to try different types of writing, than my normal romance novel writing. And every now and then, I will write a 5-minute romance story and submit for publication
. But I can also read those at my local group. And now, I have over sixty 5-minute romances I have written since 2010. Those I am editing and expanding to collect into a short romance anthology...SOMEDAY!

So, what do I look forward to as I age. Meeting weekly with my writing group. Continuing to write both short stories and longer works to release as books, hanging with my grandchildren and trying to figure out a way to stop their growth and aging so I can keep them close forever.

Okay – if anyone has ideas on how to do just that, let me know. Because, if they don’t age, neither will I!

Oh, as you can see, in spite of the slowing down and the need to nap I’m also trying to figure out how I can live forever, because right now, I’m having a ton of fun with this aging business.

No matter our age, we all continue to age on a daily basis. What words of wisdom can you impart when you think about what you have learned over a lifetime?


Amazon (also in print)

https://www.amazon.com/Love-Left-Behind-Hartford-Estate-ebook/dp/B08L5N5DS9/

Books2Read   books2read.com/u/mglVqK

 

~ cottages to cabins ~ keep the home fires burning ~

Delsora Lowe writes small town sweet and spicy romances and contemporary westerns, from the mountains of Colorado to the shores of Maine.

Author of the Starlight Grille series, Serenity Harbor Maine novellas, and the Cowboys of Mineral Springs series, Lowe has also authored short romances for Woman’s World magazine (most recently, an Easter romance in the April 1, 2024 edition.) The Love Left Behind is a Hartford Estates, R.I. wedding novella with Book 2 on the way. A Christmas novel (The Inn at Gooseneck Lane) and novella (Holiday Hitchhiker – the youngest brother of the Mineral Spring’s ranching family) were the most recent releases. Look for book 3 of the cowboy’s series, as well as book 2 of the Hartford Estates series, to be released in late 2024 or early 2025.

 

Social Media Links:
Author website
: www.delsoralowe.com
Facebook Author page: https://www.facebook.com/delsoraloweauthor/community/
Amazon Author page: https://www.amazon.com/Delsora-Lowe/e/B01M61OM39/ref=ntt_dp_epwbk_0
Books2Read Author page: https://www.books2read.com/ap/8GWm98/Delsora-Lowe
BookBub Author Page: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/delsora-lowe-93c6987f-129d-483d-9f5a-abe603876518
Goodreads Author Page: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/16045986.Delsora_Lowe 
Instagram: #delsoralowe / https://www.instagram.com/delsoralowe/ 

Photo Credits:
Delsora Lowe

Tuesday, June 18, 2024

June - a Month of Turning Points and Reassessing ........................ by Delsora Lowe

Hard to believe we are moving into the half-way point of the year. June is known as a month of celebrations; a month when a person celebrates milestones. What comes to mind as visible milestones are weddings and graduations.

I did get married in June, many, many, many years ago. My graduations from high school, and my college associate and bachelor’s degrees, however, were both in late May. So, for me, June is not only about celebrating milestones, but is more about reassessing where I am mid-way through another year. What do I look forward to for the rest of the year, and how do I plan where I want to go (as in both work goals and fun adventures) in the second half of the year.

Some of my June rituals are weekly or bi-weekly visits to the farmers’ market, filling my deck with colorful potted flowers, a tomato plant or two, and a variety of herbs, that grow from seedlings to full-grown plants that I can use throughout the summer in cooking. The grill gets use starting in June, unless we have a few magical, warm weather days in May…or December (HA!). The hum of lawnmowers permeates the air—and at times, the noise snaps me out of drafting an absolutely brilliant piece of writing.

Hey, I have to blame something on the reason why my brain tends to turn to mush as we ease into the summer months.

But, speaking of work, part of my June tasks is to reassess my productivity from January into June. And perhaps tweak my annual goals. Have I edited enough, written first drafts, released books, or kept up my monthly schedule (of which I have a month-by-month grid with story topics,) for producing and submitting 5-minute, sweet romances.

This year, sadly, I have lost a lot of my creative brain. But making a list for the 2nd half of the year, helps me try harder to actually consult said list and…stick to the plan.

Is it time to reassess my annual goals? ALWAYS! And will I be able take a well-deserved bow at mid-point and celebrate my accomplishments of staying on track as dictated in my new year annual goal plan that kicked off in January? Yes, goal reexamination is part of my personal agenda in June. Is the plan I set out to accomplish this year, reasonable, doable? Or, for sanity’s sake, should I reboot?

But my plans aren’t all work and no play. They also include looking forward to the fun parts of the upcoming summer—my daughter’s family visiting from Colorado in July or August. Spending more time with my grandson here in-state, despite the fact his summer is usually as busy as the school year. And best of all, I'll rejoice in time spent with family and friends, revel in the season of warmth, and applaud the bursts of color that paint our world.

Despite the dreary day as thunderstorms move in, my little corner of the world is ablaze with the color of irises and azaleas and an assortment of flowering trees.

 

What is your favorite part

about

the month of June?

 

The Love Left Behind

A HARTFORD ESTATE (wedding venue) Book

Amazon
(also available in print)

Books2Read  

Delsora Lowe writes small town sweet and spicy romances and contemporary westerns, from the mountains of Colorado to the shores of Maine.

Author of the Starlight Grille series, Serenity Harbor Maine novellas, and the Cowboys of Mineral Springs series, Lowe has also authored short romances for Woman’s World magazine (most recently, an Easter romance in the April 1, 2024 edition.) The Love Left Behind is a Hartford Estates, R.I. wedding novella with Book 2 on the way. A Christmas novel (The Inn at Gooseneck Lane) and novella (Holiday Hitchhiker – the youngest brother of the Mineral Spring’s ranching family) were the most recent releases. Look for book 3 of the cowboy’s series, as well as book 2 of the Hartford Estates series, to be released in late 2024 or early 2025.

Social Media Links:

Author website: www.delsoralowe.com
Facebook Author page: https://www.facebook.com/delsoraloweauthor/community/
Amazon Author page: https://www.amazon.com/Delsora-Lowe/e/B01M61OM39/ref=ntt_dp_epwbk_0
Books2Read Author page: https://www.books2read.com/ap/8GWm98/Delsora-Lowe
BookBub Author Page: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/delsora-lowe-93c6987f-129d-483d-9f5a-abe603876518
Goodreads Author Page: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/16045986.Delsora_Lowe
Instagram: #delsoralowe / https://www.instagram.com/delsoralowe/

Images:
Celebrating:
celebration clipart images - Google Search
Graduation: Free Vector | Free vector graduation poster (freepik.com) 
TimeFlies: Free Vector | Time flies concept illustration (freepik.com)
FrownieFace:
Download | FreeImages / Image by Freeimages.com
Flowers: photo by author

 

Tuesday, May 21, 2024

Marking May Milestones ..... by Delsora Lowe

May can be a busy month.

We are finally crawling out of April, which in Maine can be early spring or late winter. This year it was both, between two storms, one an ice storm that shut down power all over Maine. My house was out for 2 days. Luckily, we have a small generator that we can use periodically during the power outage to rev up the furnace, juice up the fridge, and power up our electronics.

The second storm less than two weeks later, dumped twelve inches of heavy, wet snow in my yard. Power outages again. But luckily my house was spared. Some were out for three days.

But that was early April.

May means celebrations—school gradations, beginning of wedding season, planning summer vacations and activities. And for me there are milestones to celebrate in May.

The first week in May, I celebrate 55 years out of high school. It seems like yesterday that many of us celebrated our 50th reunion. This year, I’m not so sure I’ll be able to attend. It’s a long trip from Maine to Washington D.C. But I can’t stand the thought of not going. Afterall, fifty-five years ago, I was my class social committee rep. Each class was in charge of organizing a major school social event. Amazingly—or probably not—years later, many of my job positions required me to organize reunions, talks, fundraising events like auctions, regional alumni events, and one-on-one meetings with donors. So, attending a reunion that I don’t have to plan is like going on vacation. In a way it feels different and sad, since this is the first of my HS reunions I have not had a hand in organizing.

May (and June) is a month that many plan weddings. In another job I was a wedding planner and coordinator.

May is also the month that celebrates mothers. I am a mother and a grandmother, so I take Mother’s Day seriously. I have been a mother for fifty-two years, and a grandmother for seventeen years.

May is also the month of the Maine Romance Writers’ retreat. I helped organize the first one in 2008, and a few after that. I also discovered the brand-new hotel when I attended a grand opening reception. We have now been meeting at that hotel for our retreat ever since 2009—many years.

And, last but not least, May is the 13th Blog-O-Versary for Romancing the Genres. Happy Birthday to US! To all the bloggers past and present, on this continent and around the world, who have added their bits if wisdom or fun adventures or insight into such topics as writing, skill sets, family, friends, and life in general, thanks for making this a fun part of my monthly routine!

 Is there anything special 
that you like to celebrate in May?

 

The Love Left Behind
A HARTFORD ESTATE (wedding venue) Book

Amazon (also available in print)  

Books2Read 

 

Delsora Lowe writes small town sweet and spicy romances
and contemporary westerns,
from the mountains of Colorado to the shores of Maine.

Author of the Starlight Grille series, Serenity Harbor Maine novellas, and the Cowboys of Mineral Springs series, Lowe has also authored short romances for Woman’s World magazine (most recently, an Easter romance in the April 1, 2024 edition.) The Love Left Behind is a Hartford Estates, R.I. wedding novella with Book 2 on the way. A Christmas novel (The Inn at Gooseneck Lane) and novella (Holiday Hitchhiker – the youngest brother of the Mineral Spring’s ranching family) were the most recent releases. Look for book 3 of the cowboy’s series, as well as book 2 of the Hartford Estates series, coming soon.


Social Media Links:
Author website
: www.delsoralowe.com
Facebook Author page:
https://www.facebook.com/delsoraloweauthor/community/
Amazon Author page: https://www.amazon.com/Delsora-Lowe/e/B01M61OM39/ref=ntt_dp_epwbk_0
Books2Read Author page:
https://www.books2read.com/ap/8GWm98/Delsora-Lowe
BookBub Author Page: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/delsora-lowe-93c6987f-129d-483d-9f5a-abe603876518
Goodreads Author Page:
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/16045986.Delsora_Lowe
Instagram: #delsoralowe / https://www.instagram.com/delsoralowe/


Images:
Celebrating =
celebration clipart images - Google Search
#13 = red number 13 clipart - Clip Art Library (clipart-library.com)

Monday, May 13, 2024

Spring has Sprung

 by Diana McCollum

While working in our garden we discovered a NEW Iris!

I have heard of Iris's cross pollination creating new types but I've never seen it done.

We have white Iris, purple and yellow, lavender and now this beautiful striped lavender and white iris.

Our striped Iris



Flower at the Mendocino Botanical Garden




Table Mountain wild flowers Butte county, the Mountain peak in the background is called Sawmill Peak and we live near there in Paradise, CA


More spring flowers from Table Mountain

Our first cherry blossom March 2024
All pictures taken by Diana McCollum

Friday, March 8, 2024

Fair, Fairs, I love Fairs!


I don't know about you, but I'm excited for spring and the Fair Season! I especially enjoy seeing what others make or grow.

Diana writes paranormal romance, always with a happily ever after. In her latest book "The Witch with the Trident Tattoo" you'll find a heroine and hero to root for as they fight against an evil force set on killing all life in the oceans. Along the way are colorful characters. A teenage mermaid with pink hair who can come on land for short periods of time,  an octopus familiar named James, and a host of others.




A great anytime of the year read, "The Witch with the Trident Tattoo".


Fairs have been around since before 500 B.C. Fairs were mentioned in the bible as places to socialize and sell goods.

Over time, the fair morphed away from religion and commerce and into periodic gatherings attended by crafters, food brokers, clothing stalls and livestock for show and sale. People bartered for, and exchanged goods, not that much money changed hands, but lots of goods did.

The actual first date of the original fair is unknown. 

The first fair in America was recorded in 1765, in Windsor, Nova Scotia. In 1792, the first fair of Niagara was held, by the Niagara Agricultural Society. Both of these fairs still occur each year right through the present day.

Today, there are around 2,000 fairs each year in North America.

Now days fairs include, but are not limited to: food, shows, rodeos, games to play for prizes, carnival rides, 4-H exhibits, horticulture, livestock, all kinds of new innovated things for sale!

Personally, I love the fair! Hubby and I try to go every year. Here in Deschutes County there is one day , usually opening day, when seniors get in free. We missed that day this year, hubby wasn’t feeling well, but did go the next day to walk through the exhibits. 

What I learned is there are so, so many talented people in this world. From paintings by 13-year-old kids to gorgeous photography to quilts that are definitely a work of art, it humbled me to see all the creations by everyday amateur individuals.
Most exciting, unusual thing we saw? A couple cowboys riding Long Horn Bulls through the streets of the fairgrounds!

Most beautiful craft was this quilt.

Most beautiful flower? This two toned gladiola. 

The most exotic thing? This Styrofoam head decorated with food and flowers.
Do you have a fair near you, and if you do, what do you like doing the best? For me it’s the inside exhibits, including the animal barns.

Enjoy your spring which starts in a couple weeks!