If The River Could Speak

UofG Tower from the bridge over the Kelvin
UofG Tower from the bridge over the Kelvin flickr photo by NomadWarMachine shared under a Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0) license

Today’s TDC says

One of the options on the Write Out 2026 Choice Board is a prompt to consider the voice of a river. You can learn more about the prompt — including a walk through an urban block by Amanda Eke of The Poet Speaks and Puerto Rican poet and educator Mario José Pagán Morales here. 

Think of a waterway near you or one that have visited. What would it say if it could speak? What memories might it hold? What wishes?

I chose the River Kelvin, and this is the poem she dictated to me:

The River Kelvin

I meander south
Then wander west
My sisters join me as I flow
Then, hearing a familiar voice
I rush south, as fast as I can
Down past an ancient seat of learning
(Though not as ancient as I!)
And join my mother Clyde to journey on together

Posted in DailyCreate, DS106, Poetry, Scotland | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

A Wish for Your Place

A wish for my place
A wish for my place flickr photo by NomadWarMachine shared under a Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0) license

Today’s TDC  says

Today is the National Day on Writing. Today, make a wish for your place. This activity is taken from the Write Where We Stand Choice Board

Go outside where you are, take something to write with, and find a comfortable place to sit for a few moments. Take in your surroundings.

  • What do you notice about your place?
  • What do you notice about the natural environment and the human-made things around you?

Now, consider what your place was like in the past. Then, switch your perspective and consider your place and its future.

Draw, write down some words, gather details – capture what you notice and imagine in a way that works for you.

Now, close your eyes, imagine you are blowing the seeds of a giant puffball dandelion flower, and make a wish for the future of your place. What would your wish be?

I went to stand outside, but it’s pretty rainy so I didn’t stay out for long. I noticed a hole in the fence though, where a fox had dug a path out of our garden last night. However, I appreciated the quiet of the morning – no workmen using powertools, no neigbours shouting over the fence. So here’s my wish for my garden.

I hope that the birds keep visiting and brightening my day with their songs
I hope that the brambles keep growing despite the fox’s antics
I hope the bugs find a cosy place to rest amongst the fallen leaves
And I hope that we can call this home for many years to come

Posted in DailyCreate, DS106, Garden, Poetry | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

The Art of Kilo

Autumn Leaves
Autumn Leaves flickr photo by NomadWarMachine shared under a Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0) license
Today’s TDC says

Write Out recently a workshop by teachers who use a traditional Hawaiian observation practice called Kilo alongside their students.

What are your observation super-powers? Or which ones do you tap into most to support your writing?

Learn more about Kilo

The one I use most is sight, and my camera is my superpowe – I often use it to help me to focus on details of my surroundings. On Saturday, as we were out at a nature reserve watching a heron, I saw how the zoom was catching the colours of this beech tree, with a seed head looking like a butterfly skeleton at the bottom right hand of the image.

Nature is beautiful in every season. Today, as I have a day off, I will head outside in the crisp autumn sun and plant some bulbs. Aloha!

Posted in DailyCreate, DS106, Photos | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Observational Haiku

291/365 Frost
291/365 Frost flickr photo by NomadWarMachine shared under a Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0) license

Today’s TDC says

Take a moment to observe nature and write a haiku inspired by your experience.

Here’s mine

Frost on the garden
Like icing on a cupcake
Shining in the sun

Posted in DailyCreate, DS106, Photos, Poetry | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Silent Sunday

RSPB Lochwinnoch
RSPB Lochwinnoch flickr photo by NomadWarMachine shared under a Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0) license

Posted in Photos, Scotland, Silent Sunday | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Six Word Story

Rain
Rain flickr photo by NomadWarMachine shared under a Creative Commons (BY-NC-SA 2.0) license

Today’s TDC says

Where do YOU stand? Share a six-word story about your place or location (and maybe we can even guess where it is?!) Feel free to add art or be creative with your six word story.

I wrote one about the city I call home:

Rain always near: dear green place

The image at the top is taken through my study window looking out at my garden on a typical Glasgow morning

Posted in DailyCreate, DS106, Scotland | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

World Food Day 2026

World Food Day
World Food Day flickr photo by NomadWarMachine shared under a Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0) license

Today’s TDC says

Today is World Food Day

The UN have a challenge for people aged 5-19. We might not be, ahem, quite that young, but we can still participate here:

Create a poster that shows what “Innovate today. Nourish tomorrow.” means to you. Show us how innovation – big or small, old or new – can help feed the world, protect the planet, and build a better future for everyone.

Mine’s at the top of the post.

Posted in DailyCreate, DS106, Garden | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Lemon Poem

350/365 Lemon Meyer
350/365 Lemon Meyer flickr photo by NomadWarMachine shared under a Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0) license
Today’s TDC says

Write a three line poem about lemons without using the following words: lemon, yellow, round, fruit, citrus, tart, juicy, peel, and sour.

I wrote a haiku:

Sunlight on a branch
Zesty tingles on the tongue
Summer in a glass

Posted in DailyCreate, DS106, Poetry | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Nonsense upon stilts

Today’s TDC says

Draw “nonsense upon stilts”

I asked NightCafe to help me capture this phrase from Bentham

Nonsense upon stilts
Nonsense upon stilts flickr photo by NomadWarMachine shared under a Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0) license

Posted in AI Art, DailyCreate, DS106, Philosophy | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

History of Advertising Trust turns 50

Frogs in advertising
Frogs in advertising flickr photo by NomadWarMachine shared under a Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0) license

Today’s TDC says

The History of Advertising Trust is an archive of 50 years of British adverts. Visit and revel in video and audio commercials, print advertising and ghost signs (no idea what these are, me neither, but they sound intriguing!).

Make some art based on what you find there – maybe a mashup image, a gif or a poem. Also see this Grauniad article if you’d like to know more.

As I often do, I searched on the key word ‘frog’ and got 31 results.

Posted in DailyCreate, DS106 | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment