The little pots rattled around excitedly in the back of the car as they drove North. They had never made it out of the People's Republic before. How could they? The wind could only carry their offspring so far each year.
They were seeped in that happy, singing and questioning lilt of Cork. They longed to know where they were going. Could it be the Motherland he had spoken about in such glowing terms over the decades before he disappeared?
They knew of this far off place of wonderment where Patrick would go to meet family and friends, but with their roots firmly buried in terra firma, these plants could never see this other land. They felt they knew it well though, stories overheard through the grapevine as it were. Donkeys and nosebags, nieces and nephews, weddings and funerals. Cutting turf with the Sleán, the shearing of sheep, the neighbours from back home.
When cut away from the main vines, they feared the worst - the compost pile.
Alas they were the lucky ones, and were carefully placed in water. Instead of dust to dust, news roots thrust. They were reborn. Soon they were potted. They remained in the greenhouse for a while. Twelve freshly potted grape vine saplings heading North towards Galway, a pot for every cousin, Patrick's vine, returning home. The circle of life complete.
Free Writes
I'm back again after a week, this is quickly becoming a Thursday habit which is cool.
So, do you know about Free writes? When I first arrived on Hive or the previous chain, I would often struggle for ideas on what to write about, and there were two writing initiatives that really helped - one was called #fiftywords where you could use only fifty words to tell a story about a prompt word and the other was #freewrite which basically sets a challenge of writing a mini story within 5 minutes. I regularly took part in both, and people like @mariannewest and @felt.buzz and loads of other brilliant people, so every now and then I see a post from @mariannewest and think to myself, go and do a freewrite.
I don't always stick to the 5 minutes and again this week I went a bit over to make a few minor changes to the wording, hopefully it turned out OK.
Maybe you've never heard of the freewrites yourself, and if that is the case, I'd encourage you to have a go, read about todays prompt and how to enter below and above all else mind yourself and have a great day - smile, rub a dog, help a stranger and just be a nice human.
Here is today's prompt post:
The photo used is not my own and was sourced on https://pixabay.com and link is below
https://pixabay.com/photos/nature-plant-grapevine-vineyard-3482001/
Thanks a million for stopping by
Peace out.
.jpg)