I was delighted to have a chance to share Laura Purdie Salas’s upcoming “Flurry, Float and Fly! The Story of a Snowstorm” with my second grade students recently. As Maine residents, we’re all well-versed in snow, so would they be the perfect audience for a snowy book or a snow-jaded lot? As we settled in […]| Nix the comfort zone
On a sunlit chilly afternoon last week, the fire department came to visit. This is an annual event, and one that second graders greet with enthusiasm. They are always enthralled by the equipment and excited to share what they already know about fire safety. They also anticipate being able to clamber in and out of […]| Nix the comfort zone
This week has been a doozy. I’m chiming in with a little poem in praise of Autumn, and with thanks to Georgia Heard‘s October prompt calendar for inspiration. Autumn If I chose wordsto hangupon an autumn treeI’d write dazzletremblerelease andflutterfall and be thankfulfor them all ©Molly Hogan This week’s Poetry Friday Roundup is hosted by Linda […]| Nix the comfort zone
This month Margaret posed our Inklings challenge. She matched us up with partners and instructed us to send images to each other and write a poem sparked by the image we received. Catherine Flynn w…| Nix the comfort zone
I’m struggling with what to write this morning. My early-morning brain is bouncing around like a pinball between bumpers. For years now I’ve deliberately carved morning time out of each day for myself. I’ve gotten up an hour before I need to just so that I have a little space. A quiet space. A breathing […]| Nix the comfort zone
There once was a woman whose housewas home to far more than one mouseThough she bade them to leavethey ignored heartfelt pleas,so she had no choice but to de-louse Bold husband concocted his snarestightly wired and placed with great careSnap! Snap! went the trapsand that ended that.New mousies had best be bewares!!| Nix the comfort zone
We turned the corner and the activity unfolded before us. Buffed and beautified tractors, decorated trailers and a variety of vehicles lined the street. Costumed people gathered in clusters and one…| Nix the comfort zone
These days, as our country mutates into something foul and ignoble, I turn to Nature again and again to find solace. Sometimes I feel almost desperate in my search for a peaceful distraction. It reminds me of the fledglings I see at our feeders in the spring, fluttering their wings insistently in a drumbeat of […]| Nix the comfort zone
This month it was my turn to set the Inklings challenge. I suggested that we “write a love note to something or someone or some place.” I shared José A. Alcántara’s Love Note to Silence…| Nix the comfort zone
1 post published by mbhmaine during September 2025| Nix the comfort zone
“What do you want to do on the last weekend before school starts?” Kurt asked me this past Saturday morning. “I’m not sure,” I said. “Let me think about it.̶…| Nix the comfort zone
6 posts published by mbhmaine during August 2025| Nix the comfort zone
I’ve been overly focused on my eyes lately. On seeing. On not seeing. Late this past April my retina tore. Surgery followed and my vision was regained–mostly. My right pupil remains dil…| Nix the comfort zone
4 posts published by mbhmaine during May 2025| Nix the comfort zone
THWACK! I flinch violently as something hits the window. Out of the corner of my eye, I see a blur of feathers bounce off the glass and tumble downward. I jump up and race over to the door. A small…| Nix the comfort zone
Pushing my limits...writing, reading, photography, running, life...| Nix the comfort zone
Welcome! I’m delighted to be hosting the Poetry Friday Roundup this week! After a few years of exciting travel and busy summers, and a hectic start to this one, I’m now enjoying a slow-…| Nix the comfort zone
