Capture This ...

  Stiff (word prompt given on September 17, 2021): When Jill gave me the word stiff I thought of a stiff drink, strong stiff gymnast legs during the olympics, and even stiffing someone when you went out to eat and skipping out on the bill. I like this photo of a sunflower that I took recently, because not only is my daughter’s arm stiff while holding it at that angle, but the thick green rigid stalk is stiff. It needs to be to hold up the huge head of sunflower seeds! —Jennifer

Jennifer gave me this photo prompt on September 17, 2021. I really love this image! The shadow looks long, the road looks longer, and you see the hills off in the distance with a hint of sky. It made me feel like someone would be standing there thinking about life and living there, sort of taking it all in. And I came up with this. While I was Young I stood on the road, staring down the street, waiting for my best friend, Lena, to pick me up. I’ve lived here my whole life, and everything felt familiar. It was hard to believe that I would be graduating soon.  Even harder to believe that I’d be leaving home in August.  I think I heard somewhere that most people go to college within a three-hour drive of their houses.  Not me. I had chosen to go to college across the country, longer than a three-hour plane ride, even.  Sometimes I’m really excited about that. Other times I wonder what I was thinking when I made that decision. And had I really thought it through?  I...

  Extreme (word prompt given September 10, 2021): When I think of the word extreme, I think of nature. Avalanches, tornadoes, blizzards, hurricanes, earthquakes, hail, flooding or droughts. The beauty in nature is also extreme; a sunflower isn’t just a tall gorgeous golden flower, it is also nourishment for squirrels, chipmunks, birds and even bears. Humans can enjoy eating sunflower seeds or cook with the oil. It’s great for your immune system and provides energy for you too! I take sunflower lecithin frequently, and it helps with brain function, lowers cholesterol and can improve digestive health. Nature is powerful visually and purposefully. —Jennifer

Jennifer gave me this photo as my writing prompt on September 11, 2021. I immediately said to her, "No, another body found in the woods story!" Why does my brain always go there!? But then I wrote this instead. The Woods I first noticed my eight-year-old daughter Elizabeth staring at the wood behind our house about a month ago. I didn’t think much of it at the time, but then when I repeatedly began to see her sitting in the same position, legs criss crossed, staring toward the trees. I started to wonder if there was something more to it. “Hey, Bean,” I said to her while eating lunch. “How was your morning?” Her eyes darted from her food to mine, and her back stiffened. “It was good,” she said quietly. “Oh, yeah?” I said, starting to feel a little panic rush through my stomach. “What were you up to earlier?”  She looked down at her plate again.  “I saw you sitting out back,” I said. She slowly licked her lips. “You can tell me, Liz. Is something wrong?” I reached f...

  Jennifer gave me this photo as my prompt on September 4, 2021. I love the image, but it didn't really prompt any story ideas right away—well, except for maybe finding someone in the woods (and I had just written something like that for the last prompt)! But then I came up with this idea. Back Here Again When I get really mad, I have a spot I go to that helps me clear my head. It’s in the woods, sort of. I mean, there’s woods around it that I walk through to get there—I guess that's more accurate to say. So that’s part of the mood shift too, I think. The walk, I mean. We live about a half mile from the woods and then maybe another mile walk through it to get to my spot. Usually by the time I sit down and watch the river quickly flowing over rocks, I already feel somewhat better. I forget about the stupid SATs and the fact that Brandon Ryan asked my best friend to go to Homecoming instead of me. And that she said yes ... I forget about the fact that my sister left for col...

Curiosity (word prompt given September 3, 2021):  My friend Kelli and I took our dogs to her father’s place where he built an additional home next to his property for family to stay. Our dogs were full of curiosity the entire time! Who was eating what and can I possibly have some? Where are you going now and why can’t we come? There were lots of new smells to sniff, and I’m not sure why, but my normally timid chihuahua thoroughly enjoyed riding in a Polaris off-road vehicle. Like despite the bumpy ride and loud engine, she was loving the view and smells!  –Jennifer

Truth (word prompt given on August 27, 2021): I think truth has been my most challenging word that Jill has provided me. How do you photograph truth? I thought about nature, but we hybridize and clone plants. I really racked my brain for how to photograph truth and failed because we are living in a very challenging and stressful period of time where the truth is elusive. I guess I may have stretched the truth by rendering it with chalk and photographing the word itself!  —Jennifer  

 Jennifer gave me this photo as my prompt on August 27, 2021. The food looks so good! But I was also told a funny story about a bathroom emergency about the same time I was given the photo, so I thought it might be funny to blend the two things! My Happy Ending It started innocently enough—just a couple of bubbles rolling around in my belly. I had just tried out a new Mexican restaurant a few miles from my house and suddenly things just felt, well, wrong.  The bubbling quickly turned to mixing and churning, followed by sharp stabbing pains. Knowing that I was going to be home in a matter of minutes, I was trying to take the churns and bubbles and stabs in stride.  It was almost laughable on some level, how quickly my stomach had rejected my meal—pretty much as soon as I had pulled out of the restaurant’s parking lot. I had quickly decided that going home was the better option to turning the car around and heading back into the restaurant. Home was only about a five-minu...