Canadian smoke has returned;
Acrid remnants of forests that burned
Nowhere near New York City
Have turned our air gritty.
That stroll I attempted? Adjourned!
Posts Tagged ‘Outdoor Activity Humor’
Smoky Days Are Here Again (Limerick)
Friday, June 30th, 2023Risky Ramble (Limerick)
Tuesday, December 6th, 2022When I encounter a new-to-me word, I often challenge myself to use it in a limerick. Today’s ancient and obscure, but (lucky for me) rhymable word is “cramble.” (As a noun, it refers to broken tree branches thrown to the ground and usable for craft or firewood.)
Through the forest, my husband would ramble
In his quest for good fireplace cramble.
Soon a fire would blaze,
And before it we’d gaze,
As he bandaged his wounds from the bramble.
Fun In The Sun? (Limerick)
Tuesday, August 31st, 2021“I warned you: That lotion’s been banned,
And your skin is too pale to get tanned.
No beach, I beseech you!
But words never reach you.
You bury your head in the sand.”
Out On A Limb (Limerick)
Tuesday, August 10th, 2021Once again, I was out on a limb.
I had climbed up a tree on a whim.
(A literal beech;
Not a figure of speech.)
Was safety in reach? Chances slim.
(Note: Even back when I was young, spry, and had good, functioning knee joints, I never climbed trees.)
A Limerick To Help You Celebrate “Eat Outside Day” (August 31)
Sunday, August 30th, 2015Brace yourself! Tomorrow, August 31, is Eat Outside Day.
Although eating outside can be fun,
My enjoyment is quickly undone
By insects that join
To dine on one’s loin.
Just one bite, and I’ll bug out and run.
The Intruder (4-Verse Limerick)
Monday, July 28th, 2014The Intruder (4-Verse Limerick)
By Madeleine Begun Kane
It’s dark and we’re out on our deck.
My sandals are off and then… Heck!
I yell words rather worse
And I scream and I curse
And turn into a blubbering wreck.
For my toes had encountered some ooze
When I slipped my feet into my shoes.
Seems a large, squishy slug
Had crawled (like a bug)
In my sandal. I now need some booze.
I jump and run off to the sink.
About gook, I am raising a stink.
Mark examines my sandal
And freaks at the vandal;
That mollusk still lurks there, the fink!
“It’s gross and gigantic,” he yells.
“And it’s slimy. Like snails without shells.”
Then he acts like a hero
And wins. Mollusk zero!
In my sandal, it no longer dwells.
*****
Are you familiar with slugs? They’re gross-looking, squishy critters (sort of snails without shells.) Super disgusting!
Now imagine you’re sitting on your porch in the dark, watching a video when, unbeknownst to you, a slug crawls into one of your sandals.
Now picture absent-mindedly sliding your foot into that sandal.
Yes, I screamed at the top of my lungs.
And yes, Mark thought I was insane, until I made him look inside my sandal.
But Mark did ultimately redeem himself by disposing of that large, snake-like critter.
Happy “Bike To Work Day”
Thursday, May 15th, 2014May 16th is National Bike to Work Day. Of course, some rides work out better than others:
A Spousal Ride (Limerick)
By Madeleine Begun Kane
Spousal nagging pushed hubby to strike
Some balance by riding a bike.
But when ego and ass
Took a beating, alas,
He told biking and wife, “Take a hike!”
Thrilling Limerick (Limerick-Off Monday)
Sunday, July 24th, 2011It’s Limerick-Off time, once again. And that means I write a limerick, and you write your own, using the same first line. Then you post your limerick here and, if you’re a Facebook user, on Facebook too. (You can even post it here on Google+ if you’d like to.)
The best submission will be crowned Limerick Of The Week. (Here’s last week’s Limerick Of The Week Winner plus the Honorable Mentions.)
How will your poems be judged? By meter, rhyme, and cleverness. (If you’re feeling a bit fuzzy about limerick writing rules, you can find some helpful resources listed here.)
I’ll announce the Limerick of the Week Winner right before I post next week’s Limerick-Off. So that gives you a full week to submit your clever, polished verse.
I hope you’ll join me in writing a limerick with this first line:
A fellow who loved a good thrill…
or
A woman who loved a good thrill…
Here’s mine:
Thrilling Limerick
By Madeleine Begun Kane
A fellow who loved a good thrill
Went skiing and took a bad spill.
His wife said “Enough!
I don’t care that you’re tough.
You’d better start writing your will.”
Please feel free to write your own limerick using the same first line and post it in my comments. And if you’re on Facebook, I hope you’ll join my friends in that same activity on my Facebook Limerick-Off post.
To receive an email alert whenever I post a new Limerick-Off, please send me an email requesting the alerts. You’ll find my email address on the upper right sidebar, in the “Author” section just below my Limerick-Offs button. Thanks!
Motor Boating Just Isn’t Our Speed (Humor Column)
Tuesday, June 5th, 2007My husband Mark and I were never meant to own a motor boat. Why not? Any couple who can’t figure out how to open their car hood, should probably stick to something propelled by oars. And we surely would have done just that, had the prior owner of our weekend home not made it a package deal. If we wanted his irresistible house, we’d have to spring for his 120 horse power boat — perfect for anyone whose idea of relaxation is charging across a rocky three mile lake at the speed of screams.
OUR FIRST TIME OUT: My husband — a man who can build a wood stove fire in a flash, who whips up gourmet feasts in fifteen languages — couldn’t figure out how to unhook the boat’s cover. Refusing my help, he struggled for an hour. Victorious at last he hurled the cover off, in the process spilling gallons of water all over the boat.
By then I was ready to bail out. But Mark handed me a pail, and we spent the next 45 minutes heaving water overboard. Once all the water was safely under the boat, it was time to begin boating. I optimistically climbed onto our 16 footer, while my husband worked the knots from ashore. A former boy scout, he did this rather well. So well, that the boat (free at last) started to drift without him. …. (Motor Boating Just Isn’t Our Speed continues here.)
