Sunday, April 3, 2022

#TankaTuesday #Poetry Challenge #ShareYourDay #haiku #fire #campfire @ColleenChesebro @WestgateRanch


Hi, beautiful readers! Colleen Chesebro's #TankaTuesday poetry challenge for this past week asked us to share a photo we have taken and write a syllabic poem. It's been a busy week for me, so I'm just getting around to this. I decided to share a picture (and video) from last weekend's camping trip.

My sister and I love to take our kids (now teens) tent camping twice a year. It's a time for us to reset and rejuvenate our souls, get the kids to detach from technology, and just enjoy nature and family for a bit. We tend to go to state parks, but this time, we went to Westgate River Ranch. They have a ton of great activities like skeet shooting, an Escape Room, a rodeo, horseback riding, archery, swamp buggy rides, and a jungle queen ride. There are plenty of ways to glamp (glamorous camping) on site, but we prefer our tents. 

We tend to spend the day bike riding. This past trip, we rode bikes for 12 miles on Saturday and around 8 miles on Sunday. The boys enjoyed some basketball time, and we all played card games. But at the end of the day, we love to sit around a fire, make s'mores, and enjoy the calmness of the night.

And that leads me to my poem for this week's challenge. I chose to write a haiku, using a 5-7-5 pattern.

flames crackle, flicker

capable of destroying

provides warmth instead



Thanks for joining me today. Have you ever gone camping? What is your favorite part? I'd love to hear from you. :-)

If you'd like to participate in the poetry fun, click here.


28 comments:

  1. Thank you, Colleen! As they've gotten older, they fight us tooth and nail for a couple of weeks leading up to the trip. They claim they hate camping and don't want to go anymore. We listen to their moans and groans and let it slide off our shoulders because we know that when we are finally there, our kids have a great time. And they do! They just have a difficult time detaching from their technology.

    On this trip, on our last night, we asked them if they enjoyed themselves, and all three of them admitted that they did. Lol! They will forget in six months, when we go on our next camping trip, but my sister and I will ignore them again, knowing that they will have a blast once we are there. :-)

    ReplyDelete
  2. Sounds fun!! Never been on a ranch.

    Pat

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It was a lot of fun, Pat, but I prefer a quieter ambiance when camping. It was packed with people and had a lot of great activities, but I missed the quiet solitude that comes with being one with nature. Still, we enjoyed ourselves and made the most of it while there. :-)

      Delete
  3. Beautiful, Yvette :) I love the moments around the campfire. They hold such special memories.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. They really do! Thanks for stopping by and sharing your thoughts, Denise. :-)

      Delete
  4. Camping is the best! There's nothing like an outdoor adventure with your kids, and the break from technology is a bonus. Sounds like all of you had a wonderful time, Yvette. I could hear the flames crackling as I read your poem. Well done!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Mark! I always look forward to our camping trips, especially those moments around the campfire. :-)

      Delete
  5. I love the contrast, Yvette, destruction or warmth. And I so love a good campfire. Well done! 💗

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you, Gwen! Fire can be as multi-faceted as humans - the power to harm, the power to comfort, and the power to heal. :-)

      Delete
  6. I love this, Yvette. You and your sister are so smart to take the kiddos away from technology, the hustle and bustle of teenage life, and let them recharge with nature. Just perfect and the contrast shown in the poem is brilliant! Well-done!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you, Jan! My sister and I want to instill in our kids a love for animals and the wilderness. Our children are the future, and if they are never exposed to the beauty of our planet, why would they care to protect it? I appreciate you stopping by today. :-)

      Delete
  7. I did enough tent camping as a child to last a lifetime. I'd rather Glamp now ;) Oh... s'mores. Yum. Glad you have such a wonderful time with your family D

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Jules! Glamping costs more, and as teachers, we pinch pennies so we choose to camp. Plus, glamping takes away the opportunity to wake up to the sounds of the birds and the sun slowly rising, two things I relish when I'm camping. We have friends who sometimes join us that prefer glamping, so they rent an RV or a cabin near us and partake in everything else. That's the beauty of it - there's something for everyone! :-)

      Delete
    2. I'm lucky... I live on the edge of a suburb and I wake up to bird song every morning! But then it helps that I put out bird feeders ;)

      Delete
  8. It sounds like you have tons of fun camping, Yvette. I did wilderness hiking and camping as a kid and have wonderful memories of those time. Sitting around the campfire was one of the best parts. Your poem is perfect. :-)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Diana! I can't recall ever camping as a kid. The first time I camped with my sister, our adult cousins, and all our kids made me realized how much I needed that time in the wilderness in my life. That was almost ten years ago, and I have enjoyed every camping trip since then. :-)

      Delete
  9. Fire does have two sides, like most things.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes, it does, Kerfe. The yin and the yang. Thanks for stopping by. :-)

      Delete
  10. This is so lovely, Yvette - thank you for sharing a piece of your life! Beautiful.

    Yours,
    David [ben Alexander]

    ReplyDelete
  11. What a fun time that sounded, and a lovely poem summed it up nicely. :)

    ReplyDelete
  12. Hey Yvette, I just love your camping adventures with your family. And I love that whatchamacallit the thing that lit up. I do know what that is. Lol! I never had an opportunity to go camping so not much of an outdoorsy person.What a way to get an inspiration. Thanks for sharing.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Shirley! I'm grateful my cousins introduced me to camping when they did. It has produced so many wonderful memories for me. :-)

      Delete
  13. I’d say you got this lovely form down pack. Yay, Yvette. Splendid. And sharing the bits about your world is spectacular. Thanks so much. I bless you. Lovely. All. xoxo

    ReplyDelete
  14. I see my comment appears as Anonymous. Perhaps that’s why mine haven’t been approved. Anyway, it’s me (Mario) Selma Martin. Hehe. I bless you.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Sorry about that. I wish I knew how to fix that. :-/

      Delete

I love comments, so please share your thoughts with me! :-)