Poetry, Short Prose and Walking

Once upon a time in the really good old days the tooth fairy fooled tiny tots into thinking she was the one who left the pennies, and as inflation increased, the nickels, the dimes, the quarters and then even a dollar(!) under their pillows in exchange for their fallen out teeth. This was an easy job since the children’s own parents came up with the coins, made the argument and then let her take all the credit.

However, the day came – as inevitably it would – when children stopped believing (and/or parents stopped telling) tales that a tooth fairy might really want their teeth so she began to do odd jobs on the side. There were many opportunities, but she had to pretend to be someone (or something) other than who (or what) she really was which annoyed her.

But work is work and you have to do what you have to do which now included gigs where she played the last universal common ancestor, the big bang, deep dark matter, the mysterious multiverse or God knows what nonsense next. She had no clue what any of this stuff was, but as long as the children knew, since children normally knew quite well what they were told to know, she was as happy as any tooth fairy could be, so happy, in fact, that she decided she might as well – whether she deserved it or not and most likely she didn’t – live happily ever after.

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Denise offers the prompt word “stop” to be used in this week’s Six Sentence Stories.

Trail: McMullen Creek Greenway

McMullen Creek Greenway in Charlotte, North Carolina, is a long winding trail along the McMullen Creek with access to another trail.

The road is wide, gravelly and flat. There is a wetlands to one side. On the other are older homes.

Posted for Pepper’s One Step at a Time.

Near the trail head showing the road and in the distance someone’s home with a fence

There were plenty of wildflowers in bloom.

In places that I assume got wet there were long stretches of boardwalks

Cosmic Photo Challenge: An Autumn Walk

Dale offers the prompt, “an autumn walk”, for this week’s Cosmic Photo Challenge.

The weather was beautiful today, Friday. Earlier I walked around McDowell Nature Preserve.

Here are some of the photos I took. These are fresh off my phone’s camera.

This fellow kept his eye on me as I passed him and was still watching when I returned.

A view of Lake Wylie with a picnic table deck to the left

This platform extends onto the lake which I suspect is for fishermen

September 2026 Limericks – Mushrooms

All of these limericks were originally posted to Esther Chilton’s Laughing Along With A Limerick or somewhere else during the month of September 2026.

Chew On This Limerick

When I chew I knew you would chew, too,
as the two of us do what we do.
Which is what? I don’t know.
May we do it all though
as we chew on this limerick, too.

Prompt word: “chew” September 7, 2026

Magical Nothing

Oh, there once was some nothing that said,
“I am nothing, just something you’ve read
or you’ve heard. That is all
and my tales are tall,
but with nothing your minds have been fed.”

September 11, 2026

There once was a mushroom so bright with soft yellow to top it off right

Wonderful Task

Oh, the task that I got that fine day
was so wonderful all I could say,
“Is this really for me?”
Yes it is! Now, we’ll see
if you’ll do it or go off and play.

Prompt word: “task” September 14, 2026

and it tasted real good like a good mushroom should

Frying Up Some Verse

You’re awake? I will fry up some verse
with our breakfast all yummy and terse.
We will start this day right
since it’s no longer night
and delight that my rhyme can’t get worse.

Prompt word: “fry” September 21, 2026

Tight Argumentation

The fine reasoning seemed to be tight
like a lim’rick strung through the night
when the neighbors complain
of the noise and the pain
only prove that the proof wasn’t right.

Prompt word: “tight” September 28, 2026