This is my strawberry pot.
These are my strawberries.
Go figure.
This is a great analogy for my writing life at the moment. I'm still producing strawberries, but not as I'd hoped or planned. If I leave those strawberries growing from a crack, they'll become stunted, miserable things, the fruit not as palatable as it could be.
I need to get those strawberries back in the pot.
Consequently I'll be taking some time off from blogging. I'll definitely be back in full force for the April A-Z Challenge, or I may come back sooner. Those strawberries are tricksy things, so it's hard to say for sure. I hope you'll all forgive my absence. I'll still be around Twitter and Facebook and I'll occasionally pop in to visit.
So tell me, how are your strawberries growing?
Yeah, that figures!
ReplyDeleteTake some time off and get a lot done before the Challenge.
Awww hope your strawberries perk up and give you a bounty of yummy fruit soon!!
ReplyDeleteEnjoy your break!! Take care
x
Much better with my break. Hope yours goes well too.
ReplyDeleteThanks Alex, Kitty, and Terri. I'll come back refreshed and inspired :)
ReplyDeleteHave a nice break Lynda! We forget sometimes that tasty things need time and attention to grow. I've said before that I think writing and farming are very similar in many respects. I've been fortunate enough to have done a little of both in my life, and they each test one of my greatest flaws: impatience.
ReplyDeleteThe funny thing is, I think it's the things that force us to focus on our weaknesses that strengthen us the most.
A little time away can do big things for our confidence and perspectives. We'll be hanging out until you return. :-)
Well said. Thanks so much, EJ.
DeleteI did not see that coming! Those willy strawberries!
ReplyDeleteLove the analogy, but I do hate when writing time just goes all over the place. Good luck sorting everything out! :)
ReplyDeleteStrawberries are easy. Just move 'em and they'll be fine. I've moved mine several times. If only the writing were so easy. :)
ReplyDeleteHave a great break. Sometimes we just need to take one or two or three.,
ReplyDeleteHugs and chocolate,
Shelly
Have a great break and see you when you return.
ReplyDeleteI hope you have a great break and get a lot of writing done. See you at the A-Z challenge.
ReplyDeleteOne year I planted 2 starts of the silver lace vine, it was meant to grow up the lattice and cover the outside of a building. I thought it would look lovely come September. But the plants disappeared, as did all the bulbs and other items I'd worked so hard to get into the ground. I blamed it on squirrels and other critters. Then come September I noticed my silver lace vine blooming in full glory in my neighbors yard, up and over the front of a 1930's derelict pick-up. The neighbor did not steal them, he's a bachelor who works on engines. He cuts his grass, he doesn't garden, and a fence separates our yards. So which one did it? Which little critter dug up and replanted my vine in his yard? Gosh I wish I knew. :)
ReplyDeleteI even have pictures of it -- I knew no one would believe me! After that I protected all new starts with wire. So far, it hasn't happened again. :)
Loved the strawberries moving to the more desirable area, a crack in the cement!
Enjoy your break!
My neighbours are really generous. We share each other's weeds. There's also a possum who eats my neighbour's mandarins and leaves the leftovers in our yard. Gotta love those critters ;)
DeleteLynda, your writing will find its way, as did those flourishing strawberries. I'm staying out of the A-Z this year. Spending that time on my WIPs. Unlike me, but I have to find my way too!
ReplyDeleteI think you made a smart move.
DeleteOh, the irony! I think nurturing your writing no matter where it originated can make it flourish into something awesome. Get those strawberries back in the pot!
ReplyDeleteJamie @ Mithril Wisdom
It seems your strawberries are rebelling and making a break for the great outdoors! Catch 'em quick!
ReplyDeleteGood luck with your A-Z Challenge in April. :-)
I still remember the amazing photos you posted for last year's A to Z Challenge. Are you going with such a theme again this year?
ReplyDeleteI haven't decided yet, Cynthia :)
DeleteStrawberries? With leaves like that?
ReplyDeleteYep, it's an easy-to-grow type, but I've long forgotten the actual varity it is.
DeleteMy strawberries are fine. I just need to hunker down and get to work on them.
ReplyDeleteI haven't seen much life in my strawberry patch lately, but I'm hoping to change that soon :D This is a really adorable analogy. Hahaha go figure!
ReplyDeleteGreat analogy. My strawberries are coming along in unexpected ways also - and so is our garden. We have surprise garlic which was planed over a year ago! Enjoy your time off & revel in the extra hours for more writing. See you in April!
ReplyDeleteI hope you have a nice break! I know I could definitely use one (but book #2 comes out in a few weeks and that's just not going to happen right now...blah). Anyhow, best of luck transplanting strawberries :)
ReplyDeletegood luck with finalising book 2, Meradeth.
Deletethat runaway plant looks more like a violet to me than strawberry :) I like the pot, those pots with numerous slots for plants are always charming especially when the plants start blooming and spreading leaves.
ReplyDeleteThey are definitely not violets. Violets take one look at me and die.
DeleteOh, noes :)
DeleteThat is funny. The strawberries didn't want to be confined. Enjoy your break!
ReplyDeleteTake all the time you need. Best of luck to your strawberries and see you on the A-Z challenge.
ReplyDeleteBreaks are SO necessary, Lynda! No worries! Best of luck growing those strawberries as they should be, and we'll see you when you're back~ :o) <3
ReplyDeleteHaaa, funny. Enjoy your well-deserved and much-needed break. Tend to those strawberries! The real ones as well as the writing ones. :)
ReplyDeleteLove the analogy! Yes, as Tonja says, if only writing were so easy!
ReplyDeleteLol:) We have a similar issue with wild strawberries. My solution...grow both:)
ReplyDeleteThose pictures made me laugh. Poor strawberries!
ReplyDeleteHaha! Love the analogy! But, did you notice, though the pot is empty-the starwberries are thriving where they are?
ReplyDeleteNas
They are for the moment, but later down the track they'll wither since they have nowhere else to go.
DeleteI completely understand how you feel about the strawberries not wanting to grow in the pot. My life is a mes right now, but I know I will sort things out soon. Best of luck with your strawberries and I hope you enjoy the time off.
ReplyDeleteBig hugs, Murees
DeleteLife (via strawberries) seems to be saying, "Look somewhere new. Success is here for, but maybe not where you expect.
ReplyDeleteI am diverging a bit as well and am glad I've followed the small break in the overgrowth to find a new path of my own.
The joys in life are a blessing, sometimes wrapped in a surprise.
I can completely relate. :) Good luck with your strawberries!
ReplyDeleteBest luck with the strawberries. I hope you get a lot done! :)
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteI nod my head at this post. My writing, actually am rewriting a book, plotting another and writing loads of features for newspapers is all driving me up the wall.
ReplyDeleteOMG! I burst out laughing, and I'm still giggling. If I didn't kill the strawberries first, that is exactly how mine would grow and how my pot would look.
ReplyDeleteGo. Write.
See you in April!
Plants, like plot lines don't always end up where we want them do they?
ReplyDelete(btw, I've never see strawberry leaves like that - please do post a picture when they fruit)
I'll see what I can do :)
DeleteI also feel that something's not potted right lately but haven't yet figured out what it is. I think things just got out of whack - missing a couple of days of church, not writing as much lately, exercise and eating habits changed this past week. It all boils down to a feeling of discombobulation.
ReplyDeleteI hope your time away, free from the need to blog, will give you the placement you're lacking.
Yep, it usually is a collective of things not quite right in our lives, rather than just one thing. I hope you find a way to escape that discombobulation soon.
DeleteGreat analogy! (speaking of gardening) I had a similar problem with cilantro. I planted it in a pot and then next year it was growing everywhere, but in the pot.
ReplyDeleteHave a productive blog break. :)
You have a lot of wisdom, Lynnie. Trust your instincts.
ReplyDeleteOkay, that picture of the strawberries growing next to the pot is hilarious. Have a wonderful (and productive) break - see you when you get back!
ReplyDeleteTake the time you need to tend to the garden of writing and life. I've pretty much reduced to once a week...and even then, it took me three days to notice you posted this. Yes, I understand busyness.
ReplyDeleteHopefully you can still read Save the Cat and join in on that discussion March 20th. Bird by Bird went better than fantastic.
Will miss seeing your mug, but I'll tweet a "hey" every now and then.
Yep, I signed up for it. I really like Save the Cat and have a few things to say about it.
DeleteI understand all too well what happens when we neglect our writing. Hope you get tasty strawberries growing again in no time.
ReplyDeleteI'm not even sure the strawberries I've planted are growing as strawberries any more :) But as long as smoething's growing I think we're okay. Enjoy your time and I hope it's super productive!!
ReplyDeleteBy all means get rested up for A to Z. Your strawberry dilemma is the story of my horticultural life. I've got a great pepper plant that seems to be indestructible.
ReplyDeleteLee
Wrote By Rote
An A to Z Co-host blog
Wonderful analogy!!! I love it. We grow strawberries in our garden bed . . .and they like to take over in a wild kind of way. :-) And sometimes my writing is like that, and sometimes the ground looks a little too bare.
ReplyDeleteI'll miss seeing you around, but I'll look for you in April!
I love the garden! Writers need to find time for other things...only thing to keep us sane :) Great blog.
ReplyDeleteHope you have a great break. Looking forward to seeing you during A to Z.
ReplyDeleteJulie
Great analogy, Lynda. My strawberries and bananas keep growing in my neighbor's garden. How's that for an analogy? ;)
ReplyDeleteHappy repotting.
ReplyDeleteHa! That last photo illustrates my entire adult life--nothing going as I planned.
ReplyDeleteA break from cyber space is tempting. I'm trying to get my WIP finished and I'm sooo near the end! I may take a lesson from you. ;)
Hehehe! Good luck repotting. Sometimes I feel the same way. Now I'm craving something sweet.
ReplyDeleteA perfect metaphor! I'd planned a break in March, but am having problems getting to it. Guess I'll just cut back--you know, kind of prune myself before the spring. :-)
ReplyDeleteThose darn berries just grow wherever they want don't they. And I do like the Gollum reference. ;)
ReplyDeleteI'm with you! I need some time off too. But I'll be back for A-Z too. Hope to see you round the web til then! :)
I have one strawberry ripened. Others are ready to bloom. I'll get at those this week.
ReplyDeleteEnjoy some time off.
Enjoy your break. You're still doing better than me with the strawberries!
ReplyDeleteWhat a great comparison, and a hilarious photo. So typical. Enjoy your break!
ReplyDeleteGreat comparison. Mine are sort of spotty at the moment, but I am busy throwing some fertilizer on.
ReplyDeleteBest of luck with getting back on track. :-)
Ha, love this analogy. And how did that happen with the strawberries, anyway? Hope your break is productive in the way it needs to be.
ReplyDeleteI grew strawberries in the pot last year. I'm thinking the seeds dropped from a couple of strawberries I didn't pick.
Deletelovely analogy. I need to start tending to my strawberry patch as well! Taking a bloggy break is a smart move :) Enjoy!
ReplyDeleteNutschell
www.thewritingnut.com
Great shots!!! Have a good break!
ReplyDeleteHope you have a nice break, Lynda. I love your strawberry pot!
ReplyDeleteA wonderful analogy, Lynda. Thanks for sharing it. Enjoy your break. You deserve it. By the way, I usually kill everything. Lucky you to have such a pretty strawberry plant...even if it is growing out of a crack. It's growing. Just like our stories. It doesn't matter where they take hold, so long as they grow to fruition.
ReplyDeleteHow'd they get there?
ReplyDeleteHave a wonderful break before A to Z.
My mother had me do some weeding in a backyard garden. I mistakenly uprooted some green onions she had planted. She didn't ask me to weed again.
ReplyDeletethat is so strange! perfect set up for analogy though!
ReplyDeleteenjoy your time off! see you when you get back =)
Get those strawberries back where they belong.
ReplyDeleteEnjoy your rest and looking forward to your A-Z posts!
Enjoy your blogging break and I wish you luck in getting your strawberries back in the pot, where they belong. See you in April.
ReplyDeleteGood for you. I've been growing garlic for the past several weeks. This was my first time growing garlic. Based on the fact that the amount of what I harvested is roughly the same as the mass of the bulbs I planted, I think I will need to devote more time to gardening if I plant to do it successfully. My next project to go in the ground will be onions.
ReplyDeleteWish you all the best, Lynda, and here's hoping you come back soon!
ReplyDeleteDaily(w)rite via IWSG
Good luck with those strawberries!
ReplyDeleteBreaks are good, breaks are needed. Although I've been posting, I haven't done much in the way of visiting around... I've been busy writing and isn't that what we writers are supposed to do? May your strawberries bloom and grow wherever you plant them!
ReplyDeleteI hope you are enjoying your time off. Dropping my from A to Z Challenge. This is my first year participating.
ReplyDeleteBrett Minor
Transformed Nonconformist
My strawberries are a little ramble at present. :-)
ReplyDeleteIsn't it amazing how something unexpected can produce something amazing? I bet those strawberries turn out delish! Enjoy your break and happy writing, lady!
ReplyDeleteForgiven and affirmed. Peace and all good,
ReplyDeleteDiane