• The Cat Who Robbed a Bank

    By Lilian Jackson Braun   A pleasant romp through the day-to-day life of detective-journalist Jim Qwilleran and his Siamese cats Koko and Yum Yum. The story takes place in a city called Pickax in Moose County, “400 miles north of everywhere.” It is September, a busy month with the local hotel reopening, the Highland Games celebrating the town’s Scottish heritage taking place and a visit from the mysterious jewelry dealer, Mr. Delecamp. The reader follows Qwilleran along his daily routines with Koko and Yum Yum and his treks through the community, learning about the town, its people and their increasing…

  • November 17 words

    NOVEMBER 17 WORDS: Febrile, corkscrew, fast, sloppy, plant, tractor.   Please submit your story through the comment section below.

  • November 8 Words

    NOVEMBER 8 WORDS: Bark, purple, fence, crackling, race, ginger and box.   Please submit your story through the comment box below.

  • Counting blessings

    I know this sounds a little trite, but I am truly blessed… Not because I am working more than full time, but because I have the work. Not because I have two jobs, but because I love both jobs. Plants and words have been a huge part of my sanity my entire life. Not because my body argues with me on a regular basis, but because I have a functional body to argue with. Not because I have nine grandchildren, but because I am building relationships with them and feel loved by them. Not because I have been married to…

  • Collecting seeds

    It seems like all I can talk about is gardening. That’s not the case, but I’m going to do one more blog about gardening before I move on to other things. This wonderful fall weather has made it easy to gradually ready the yard for winter, rather than breeze through like a whirling dervish to complete everything over one weekend. It also has allowed for me to collect seeds from the various annuals I planted. One of the most interesting vines I planted this year was the Egyptian pea vine. The seed is a very interesting black pea with white…

  • November 1 words

    Sharpen your pencil, or keyboard, or iphone or whatever you write with. This month’s project is a creativity stimulator. The object of the project is to take the seven words posted each week and create a short story that includes each of the seven words. The sky’s the limit, as long as the story is less than 250 words. Submit the stories to me and I will post them on this site.       THIS WEEK’S WORDS: Orange, tree, sprinkle, mouse, gun, underwear and tissue   Please submit your story through the comment box below.

Copyright © 2026 Natures Canvas – Log in