Fallen leaves by Kristian Seedorff on Unsplash
heart not evergreen
if a soul is not nurtured
its dreams fall away
notes
The Haiga was inspired by a prompt from Carpe Diem Haiku.
https://chevrefeuillescarpediem.blogspot.com/2012/11/carpe-diem-38-green.html
Text art was added to the base image using Pixlr. You are welcome to share the Haiga, but please credit Cara Hartley/Ornery Owl if you do. A link back to this blog would also be appreciated.
We are now at the end of our 30 Days of Haiga project for 2023.
I don't know if there will be an OctPoWriMo this year.
https://octpowrimo.blogspot.com/
Grammarly wants to correct OctPoWriMo to tapeworm, to which I can only say:
Maria Berg will provide prompts on her site, so if that sounds interesting, I encourage you to check it out.
Here's a bonus poem just for all six of my readers.
Fear by Alex Mihu on Unsplash
afraid of the dark
afraid of the light
afraid of death
afraid of living
afraid of the unknown
afraid I know too much
Fear stands for Fuck Everything and Run
sometimes I do that
other times I say fuck fear
what the hell do I have to lose?
more notes
As above, so below. Text art and effects were added to the base image using Pixlr. You are welcome to share my picture poem (I don't think I can call it a Haiga) but please credit Cara Hartley/Ornery Owl and maybe provide a link back to this blog. Gracias!
I want to share this wonderful music with you. The details about the album are from Wikipedia. I hope you enjoy it.
Is It? is the fifth studio album by British singer-songwriter Ben Howard, released on 16 June 2023 via Island Records.
The album was created before and after Howard suffered two transient ischaemic attacks in 2022. The strokes, which affected his memory and speech, influenced Howard's songwriting on the album. Created with DJ-producer Nathan Jenkins (aka Bullion), the album features a distinctly electronic leaning. Glitches and loops populate the mix alongside "radiant" guitar ripples. The album combines treated vocals and atmospheric drum machines, to "create the story" of Howard's experience. The opening track playfully recalls this experience. The interlude "Total Eclipse" features manipulated language to render the effect.
The album was recorded at Le Manoir de Lรฉon in Lรฉon, Landes, France; and at Real World Studios in Box, Wiltshire, England.
The lead single from the album, "Couldn't Make It Up", was released on 20 April 2023, with the album announced the same day. A second single "Walking Backwards" was released 19 May 2023. The third single, "Life in the Time", was released on 7 June 2023.
Benjamin John Howard (born 24 April 1987) is an English singer songwriter, musician and composer. His self-released debut EP Games in the Dark (2008) was followed by two more EPs, These Waters (2009) and Old Pine (2010). Signed to Island Records, his debut studio album came in 2011 titled Every Kingdom. The album reached number four on the UK Albums Chart and was certified triple platinum by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI). Howard later released two more EPs, Ben Howard Live (2011) and The Burgh Island E.P. (2012).
At the 2013 Brit Awards ceremony he received two awards: British Male Solo Artist, and British Breakthrough Act. He performed at 2013 Glastonbury festival on the Pyramid Stage on Saturday 29 June. He released his second studio album, I Forget Where We Were, in October 2014, peaking at number one on the UK Albums Chart.
As of 2017, he is a member of the band A Blaze of Feather with India Bourne, Mickey Smith, Nat Wason, Rich Thomas and Kyle Keegan.
Howard's third studio album, Noonday Dream, was released in June 2018. It debuted at number four on the UK Albums Chart, and received favorable reviews from music critics. His fourth album, Collections from the Whiteout, was released in March 2021. He released his fifth album Is It? in June 2023.
Benjamin John Howard was born on 24 April 1987 in Richmond, south-west London, England, and moved near Totnes, Devon when he was about eight. He was raised by musical parents who exposed him to their favourite records from singer-songwriter artists from the 1960s and 1970s at an early age, such as John Martyn, Van Morrison, Joni Mitchell and Simon & Garfunkel, by whom he was strongly influenced.
Howard began writing songs when he was eleven. In an interview with American Songwriter, he stated that when he was a kid he started playing guitar because he liked to put words together and make stuff up. "I was quite an imaginative little kid I guess. So your standard little love songs turned into your standard adolescent love songs. I think you start getting your own take on things when you're a late teen. That's when everything changes." Besides playing the guitar, Howard also played other instruments as a kid. He easily picked up the drums and contrabass, but after some time he decided to focus on the guitar. After attending King Edward VI Community College and Torquay Boys' Grammar School he began studying Journalism at University College Falmouth. Six months prior to completion of his course, Howard decided to focus on making music full-time, making melodic rootsy folk music, with progressively darker lyrics. His reputation grew around Devon, and soon spread to other areas of the UK. After a month of sold-out dates across Europe and the UK Howard was eventually asked to sign for Island Records.
Due to his association with the town, Howard was chosen in 2014 to appear on the 10 Totnes pound note.
~Ornery Owl Has Spoken~
Ornery Owl is ageless and ev-er-greeeen.
Okay, maybe not ageless.
Also, possibly teal.
For those who are interested, here is the Pinterest for Writober 2023.
I could get myself ahead of the game by writing my horror drabbles for potential inclusion in the annual Dragon Soul Press drabble anthology, which would mean I won't be sharing them on this blog.
Sometimes I like the way I think. But then I almost die from shock, so that might not be a good idea.
Anyway, you should check out this year's horror drabble anthology, The Damned. It's good. It contains five of my drabbles.
If you're interested in submitting for potential inclusion in next year's horror drabble anthology, The Fear Doctor, here's the link to what you need to know.
Dragon Soul Press also publishes an annual poetry anthology and multiple short story anthologies every year. Check 'em out! Maybe one of your stories will be published next. If you submit it, that is.
