Tag Archives: trail

The Wilderness Speaks ~ #poetry #RDP #FOWC

28 Wednesday Nov 2018

Posted by in FOWC with Fandango, Poetry, Ragtag Daily Prompt

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A snow covered trail, with no brilliance glistening

Disheartened, they weep, through cold, frosty air

What’s most important is, we must stop resisting

Or nature, in human hands, will remain in despair

 

FOWC with Fandango – Trail
Ragtag Daily Prompt – Brilliance

©2018 Dorinda Duclos All Rights Reserved
Photo via Pixabay CC0

Plumes of a Pigeon ~ On the trail of a mastermind – #JulyWriting

06 Friday Jul 2018

Posted by in July Writing, short story

≈ 13 Comments

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Join me every day at Noon EST for the continuing adventures of the bungling detective, N. Owl, in her quest to bring the mastermind, ~M, to justice!  If you’ve  missed any episodes, you can find them HERE!


Little did we know that ~M had another place she kept her secrets hidden. A place she called “Her Writing Haven”. THIS is where she would strategically pen her poems, which I was pretty sure were really secrets messages to her army. I decided to take the crew out one night, past ~M’s place, to see if we could figure out where this other lair was. As we got closer to the place I first saw her with her feet in that God awful dirt, I noticed something rather odd laying on the ground. I picked it up and examined it. It appeared to be a feather from a bird. Not one you’d normally see around here, though.

I asked Cory if he knew what kind of bird this came from. Upon closer inspection, he triumphantly shouted, “It’s the plume of a pigeon!” at which point we all smacked him for shouting so loud. There was movement in the bushes. I thought we had been made for sure, but as I pulled everyone back behind an old oak tree, we saw what was making the noise. It was a pigeon. Poor dear, it had lost half its feathers. Or had it. I looked at the feather I had picked up and realized it had something dark on the tip of it. INK! This was ~M’s plume, the one, or one of the one’s she used to pen those crazy word lists of hers.

We must be close to her haven or this bird would not be here. I looked up, and in the window of the house, next to the one where she had been sitting with her feet in the dirt, was ~M! I could see she was busy writing away, another plume in her hand. That dastardly woman! How could she do that to a poor pigeon? Maybe he pooped on her and she got mad. Revenge? Anyway, didn’t matter. We had found her.

I motioned to the others, signaling this was our chance to head over to the other house and snoop around for clues. One of us needed to remain behind to be sure ~M didn’t go anywhere. After arguing for several minutes, I booted them all, and made Fred stay behind. Geez, nothing’s ever easy.

Tiptoeing away from the house, hiding in the shadows, we made our way over. The front door was locked. So we headed around to the back. There was a deck, and of course, the back door was locked, too. Guess you can’t be too safe in this neighborhood. We needed another plan to enter the house undetected. No amount of gas was going to work here. We had to try something else.

 

Stay tuned for more from this crime solving wordsmith…

 

July Writing Prompt – Plumes of a pigeon – Day 6/31

©2018 Dorinda Duclos All Rights Reserved
Photo via Pixabay CC0

Unexpected Revelations ~ On the trail of a mastermind – #JulyWriting

05 Thursday Jul 2018

Posted by in July Writing, short story

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Join me every day at Noon EST for the continuing adventures of the bungling detective, N. Owl, in her quest to bring the mastermind, ~M, to justice!  If you’ve  missed any episodes, you can find them HERE!


As luck would have it, it was my room key and soon we were all slumped over the small coffee table in the middle of the room. Ideas went back and forth, some good, some not, until Mildred (not her real name, of course. I’d be silly to tell you that), had an unexpected revelation.

Now if I told you about this revelation, it would give it all away, right? So I’ll just let you stew a bit before bringing it to the forefront. I’m sure you understand. Okay, back we go.

Cory (not his name either), Fred (you know) and I waited as Mildred let us in on her idea. What if ~M was not as powerful as she had led us all to believe? What if she not only had a flaw, but a soft spot, too?. Mildred’s revelation? Dirt. Yep. Dirt. Imagine that.

It seemed we need only to deliver fresh dirt to ~M’s home so she could stick her feet in it. But here’s the catch. After more thought, we decided it wouldn’t be real dirt. Nope, it would be wet cement, disguised as dirt. Once she stuck her feet in, she’d never be able to get out.

Wait, what did you say? You don’t think that will work? The cement will dry too quickly? Sigh. I think you’re right. Back to the drawing board. Surely, there had to be a way to get to this mastermind once and for all.

Again? Now what? Just use regular dirt to keep her occupied? You really think that will work? Looking around, I realized there was no one else in the room, except the other three, who had worried looks on their faces, while trying to figure out who I was talking to. I guess it was time to take a break and get some food into us. Grabbing a menu, we ordered Chinese, had it delivered and worked while we ate.  Chop sticks were never my cup of tea, so after much of my dinner was on me, instead of in me, I reached for a fork and finished what was left of my dinner.  Hoping the fortune cookie had the answers, I quickly broke one open and read it.  No such luck.  It said “Better luck next fortune”.  Who writes these??

Stay tuned for more from this crime solving wordsmith…

 

July Writing Prompt – Unexpected revelations – Day 5/31

©2018 Dorinda Duclos All Rights Reserved
Photo via Pixabay CC0

Vigilant Vigilantes ~ On the trail of a mastermind – #JulyWriting

03 Tuesday Jul 2018

Posted by in July Writing, short story

≈ 19 Comments

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Join me every day at Noon EST for the continuing adventures of the bungling detective, N. Owl, in her quest to bring the mastermind, ~M, to justice!  If you’ve  missed any episodes, you can find them HERE!


I was awakened abruptly by the sound of knocking on my hotel door. Still a bit foggy, I made my way to it, bumping into the service tray that contained my uneaten dinner. What time was it? As I approached the door, I took caution as to walk to the side of it and not directly in front, in case someone had the cockamamie idea to shoot me.

“Who’s there?” I inquired.

“Room service, ma’am, here with your breakfast order.”

So it was morning. I must have worked through the night and fallen asleep without touching my dinner. A waste of a good burger, I imagined. I carefully opened the door and sure enough, there was the breakfast tray and the young lad from the kitchen. I waved him in, eying him every step of the way. I guess he felt the stare because he turned with a curious look on his face. I motioned for him to take the other cart and, handing him a $5 tip, escorted him to the door, closing and locking it behind him.

As I glanced around the room, I saw the bed scattered with papers. I walked to it, grabbing a piece of French toast on the way. No point in ruining two meals. That would just be silly. Right? Okay, enough about my breakfast, back to where I was. Where was I? Oh right, Wisconsin and that mastermind, ~M!

I had sketched out my plan to enter ~M’s living quarters, and realized I would need more help than just me, to achieve this. I needed to call in my minions, a group of vigilante’s, ever vigilant when it came to orders from me. I couldn’t ask the local law enforcement for help, they’d think me insane. But not this group. They were always ready when I called. I picked up my cell phone and tapped out the number. An immediate response, information from me, and they were on their way.

I would wait for them at the airport, dressed as a baggage handler, near the gate. They needed to exit the plane as unnoticed as possible. This, I might add, takes great skill. I had no doubt they’d pull it off.

 

Stay tuned for more from this crime solving wordsmith…

 

July Writing Prompt – Vigilant Vigilantes – Day 3/31

©2018 Dorinda Duclos All Rights Reserved
Photo via Pixabay CC0

Turning Back Tuesday ~ On the trail of a mastermind – #JulyWriting

02 Monday Jul 2018

Posted by in July Writing, short story

≈ 15 Comments

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Join me every day at Noon EST for the continuing adventures of the bungling detective, N. Owl, in her quest to bring the mastermind, ~M, to justice!  If you missed any episodes, you can find them HERE!


I could see exactly what she was trying to do here. It was beginning to feel like Groundhog’s Day. She wanted us to repeat Monday over again. No thanks. One a week was more than enough, we all knew that. Did she really think we’d fall for it? Her mastermind tactics had a flaw. I would have to jump on this opportunity to find out exactly what ~M was up to.

I had to be covert about it. There was no way I could let her know I was on to her. The problem was, I was never one to be quiet about anything. Just ask my family. If I had something to say, I said it. It got me into trouble more times than I could count. Oh, so sorry, I’m babbling again. Where was I? Oh yes…

So, back to ~M. I hopped a plane to Wisconsin, hoping she’d never realize I was that close by. I wasn’t really sure where her hideout was, but I figured if I found piles of dirt in someone’s yard, that had to be hers! Sure enough, as I casually walked past a house, carefully piled mounds of dirt scattered the lawn, and a brown haired woman lazily sitting on the grass with, you guessed it, her feet in the dirt.

Now I had to figure out how to get inside without her being even remotely suspicious. I suppose I could just stop to chat, but she might recognize my face. I’m famous, you know. Ok, maybe in my own mind, but that has to count for something. I went back to my hotel room, ordered room service, and began to plot out my next move…

 

Stay tuned for more from this crime solving wordsmith…

 

July Writing Prompt – Turning back Tuesday – Day 2/31

©2018 Dorinda Duclos All Rights Reserved
Photo via Pixabay CC0