Friday, July 27, 2012

Transforming Fridays

Welcome dear Real Toads, this is Hannah bringing you Transforming Fridays!! 


My intention is to stretch our imaginations beyond where we might normally explore in the area of our choices in point of view. In order to achieve this goal we’ll venture into each of the natural vegetation regions of the world! From the Tundra to the Rain Forest and beyond… :)

So some sweet serendipity came to me in the form of this really wonderfully old-smelling book, “the Classics Edition of the World Atlas-Hammond 1967.” My sister and I are helping my eighty-nine year old Grammy move to an assisted living home this summer that is closer to the two of us and in the process it has been great fun tripping down memory lane in the form of all the material treasures that hold so many memories for us!! This book is one of them and the excerpt below lives in it.

This week I offer you the, “Snow and Ice,” region of the world. Polar and Mountainous regions of perpetual ice and snow cover one-tenth of the earth’s land area. Windswept, always below freezing it can support life only peripherally, if at all.

(Oh, I wish you guys could smell this book!! Did I mention I love the odor of old books! ;)




For those of us feeling the heat of summer, I thought we might enjoy delving onto the ice!! 



This in-flight photo from the IceTrek expedition shows the edge of the Larsen B Ice Shelf. The surface is melted, and ice flows off the edge like a waterfall. Photo Credit: Courtesy Ted Scambos and Rob Bauer, NSIDC.




The Cryosphere Glossary here’s a handy link if you have any questions or simply want to play with some arctic language.



(This thin sea ice has buckled Image courtesy Andy Mahoney and the National Snow and Ice Data Center, University of Colorado, Boulder).

So here are some links to images of some of the typical animal and plant wildlife that one would find in the arctic region.  

Here’s one of my favorites!
(Image/photo courtesy of the National Snow
and Ice Data Center, University of Colorado, Boulder).

One could embody arctic sea-smoke or become the epitome of a giant slow moving alpine glacier. The choice is  yours. The only rule is that if you’re going to choose to be human you must write from the POV of a native to that region and portray life from their particular view...

(Illanguau checks the sled before the group sets off again.Image courtesy Andy Mahoney and the National Snow and Ice Data Center, University of Colorado, Boulder).

….or the perspective of one of their team of helpers!

(This paw print was left by a sled dog Image courtesy Andy Mahoney and the National Snow and Ice Data Center, University of Colorado, Boulder).

Okay, call me a fibber! There are two other rules...write and link something brand spankin’ new...no sharing oldsies and above all...have so much fun!!! 


:)’s to all poetic toads and peeps in the pond today!! I hope you enjoy this, I’m looking forward to finding out who each of you chooses to be and remember to hop around to everyone’s bloggy-pads, too, when you get the chance!!

Also, if you wish to dedicate your poems to details of global awareness with topics such as the decline in sea ice etc.  feel free to “go there,” if you like.

Most of the images and information I’ve gathered is accredited to the National Snow and Ice Data Center,  any additional information on such topics can be found there. It’s a great informational tool!

20 comments:

Janine Bollée said...

Good morning Hannah,
blenza isn't showing yet: Maybe the postid=17Jul2012 should be 26 or 28?
You may need cool over there, but we are back to cool after three hot days :-)

Fireblossom said...

Remember, you have to add the linky code on "edit hmtl", not on "compose".

Hannah said...

Hmm...I scheduled this post a week and a half ago...Mister Linky is there now...maybe the magic Linky fairy came and fixed it? Either way I'm grateful and I hope it works...

Today brings me deep into the depths of my grandmother's house for packing today...again...moving day is Tuesday!!

I'll be gone all day... :/ But I hope I have a whole pile of your ice inspired poems to indulge in tonight!!!

Big smiles to you all!! :)

P.S. I think that may have been the issue Shay, I don't remember that detail...now I'll know...thanks a bunch!

Susan said...

What an amazing challenge! Thanks to Grammy for the book. Holding your move in the Light. . .

I stopped by to say I'm at Philadelphia yearly meeting (Quaker/Friends yearly event) for yesterday through Sunday, so will by lagging behind in writing and reading. I will catch up on Monday unless miracles keep me awake and alert when I come home to sleep. Efforts like this make the big 3 flair up--Sciatica, Arthritis, and Fibromialgia--known intimately by many of us. I shorthand it as SAF, ands when the back gives out too, as LAF (Lumbar and AF).

Ella said...

Thanks Hannah, for the cool prompt!
We are scheduled to reach 101 F today...ick! I need some of that gorgeous glacier blue ice...
I love the smell of old books, too...
Why hasn't someone made that into a perfume, lol ;D I have to run teenagers around...but I'll be back!

Kerry O'Connor said...

Thank you for this wonderful idea, Hannah. I expected something BIG from you, and this is immense. Sure to get us thinking about the environment from different angles.

Sherry Blue Sky said...

HANNAH!!!!!! What a SPECTACULARLY interesting prompt. GREAT idea. I love it!

Oh what good sisters you are, helping your grammy - and the stories she will tell as you sort thru the belongings of her life - listen closely and take good notes!!!!

Kay L. Davies said...

I need this, too, Hannah. The forecast is "only" for 31C or 88F today, but it's too hot for me.
I have to give a great deal of thought to this one, because the possibilities are endless.
K

Daydreamertoo said...

What a fabulous prompt Hannah. Good luck with the move. Your grandmother will have so many tales she can tell you :)
Loved the description of the book. I could spend all day in book shops, new or second hand and never tire of the look, feel or, smell of them.
Cannot believe I'm first past the post for this prompt. That's a first for me! lol

Unknown said...

Thank you Hannah!
You prompted the first bit of writing I've been able to produce in a month. You chipped through the ice so I could break through. I am grateful!!!!!

Tania A said...

Such fun! And with the forecasted temps reaching 100 around here in the next week, a cooldown much needed.

Peggy said...

Oh I like this prompt. Perfect for my trip to Antarctica in January and the photos I took there. And yes I did write this one new for today! Thanks for the prompt and I hope all of you in hot places can feel cooler soon.

Hannah said...

Thank you everyone!! I really enjoyed reading your comments here and really loved the poems that you've all written!!

I just posted mine....a bit of a downer poem but I hope you'll enjoy it still.

I'll be around tomorrow to read any others who're writing to this prompt, too!!

:)'s

Isadora Gruye said...

So this challenge finally prompted me to write a poem whose first line had been haunting me for months. Thanks for the motivation Hannah....it felt fucking great to finally spew it onto the page. Not promising quality work, but my brain feels lighter.

Susie Clevenger said...

Love thinking cold. It is so hot and humid here a break from it even in thought is nice. Thanks Hannah for the prompt!!

Sherry Blue Sky said...

Hannah, this prompt has inspired some wonderful writing. Thank you so much - I am very intrigued by your idea of exploring the various regions of the world. Love it, love it , love it!

Dave King said...

Hi Hannah, seems like an interesting departure. I shall be following this spot with interest.

Fireblossom said...

I'm late, cried the rabbit. I'm late! For a very important date...er, challenge. I meant "challenge"!

Mary B. Mansfield said...

If Fireblossom was late, then I'm later! Great prompt, a theme that is one of my favorites to write on.

Susan said...

Hey! I didn't expect to be able to post this on Monday! Yay! I'll put it at open-link Monday too.