Author: Heidi

I'm a mother, wife, author and gardener. I grew up in Western Washington, 5th generation on the land my parents own. My passion is writing, which I have been doing since I was 14 years old. That did not mean the stories were not there before. I just never thought to write them down until then. I love gardening and reading. I am also addicted to puzzle games. They may be my downfall. lol While I will from time to time post a project that we are doing in the garden, I am hesitant to write a review on another book. I will say which ones I like and recommend that someone should read a particular book or series, but too many times I read reviews that nit-pick or slam a writer. We put out hearts, our minds, our souls into what we write. Who am I to say it is wrong, or something could have been done better due to my preferences. I am neither judge nor jury, and I don't want to be. I also won't talk politics or religion on here. For me, this is not the place. Besides, it will kill the creativity if all I do is rant and rave about what I think is going on or wrong in either subject. Soooo not worth it. Okay then. Enough about me. Please, look around. Tell me what you think, but I ask that if you don't like something, please be nice about it. :) Have a wonderful day!

Someone Dies Tonight

On By HeidiIn Flash Fiction, PoetryLeave a comment

Witches scream
fires bright
someone will die tonight.
Chaos reigns
while demons play
there is only one god tonight.
Devil spawn
chant deep magic
as shadows stretch in firelight
dark secrets revealed,
someone will die tonight
Struggling, pleading
deaf ears it falls
Crying out to a god
with words they were taught
who seems to care naught.
You are naïve,
they say
You have hope where hope is no more,
they say.
Give in
give him
your undying devotion
your hope
your soul.
Give him everything you are
you were
will be,
no one will die tonight.
One last chance
one last phrase,
no one will die tonight.
Silence ensues
breath held tight,
cracking flame breaks the night
With one last word
one last phrase,
someone died tonight.

© 2021 Heidi Barnes

Secret Dreams

On By HeidiIn Poetry2 Comments

One step
long, silky
black as night.
All eyes turn
breath stills.
Eyes hooded,
blood red lips
smile.
She is night
She is desire
She is all men’s dreams
deep in the darkness
where secrets lie
waiting for a spark
to set them afire.
Slight shift,
tongues slowly slide
wetting lips
suddenly dry.
Full of possibilities
unknown danger.
Who will fall
prey to a strangers
desire.

Open Your Eyes

On By HeidiIn Poetry, Uncategorized3 Comments

I try.
Every day,
I try.
Yet,
it’s never enough.
I see what I want,
feel the rush of love
a warmth that envelops me
soothes me
lifts me.
Yet,
I cannot reach you.
Don’t you feel it too?
Can’t you see
all I want is for you to feel
what I know is true
what is real.
Fly with me.
All you have to do is
open your eyes and
see.

© 2021 Heidi Barnes


My Decision

On By HeidiIn Creative Writing, Poetry1 Comment

My mind is a jumble.
I don’t know who I am
where I should be
what purpose I have.
The world uncertain,
I stare at nothing
while seeing everything.
Do I throw caution to the wind,
live without care or worry
or shall I stay trapped
within my fears
too timid to see
who I really can be?
No one can help me
but me
for it is my decision
to be.

© Copyright 2020 Heidi Barnes

Gardening – Summer Project #2

On By HeidiIn GardeningLeave a comment

Well, I’m not sure if the first one was an actual project. Seven yards of compost on all the gardens in April. Eight yards of dirt around the yard and filling in the round bed in May and a lot of Preen in those areas that I don’t want things growing. (Spring Project) While compost is usually a bi-yearly job for most, I haven’t put any down in a very long time, and you could tell. Now everything is growing wonderfully. I do think the two or three weeks of hot sunny weather we got om April helped a lot. We usually aren’t in the 80’sF that early. It also meant a wet cold spring. Well, actually the cold went until halfway through July. Nice and hot now though. We still have some areas where the grass is having issues, but we plan on reseeding in the fall.

For project number two, we decided to put a Pergola on the hot tub pad. When we moved in there was a hot tub under an eighty foot cedar tree. While I loved the hot tub I did not like the spiders or the mess, even with a lid, in the hot tub. It was also old, so after a few years it decided that it wasn’t going to work anymore. So it went bye bye not to be replaced. The tree was damaged in a huge storm and had to be cut down before it fell down. So since then the pad has been tiled, untiled, then black rubber squares that you piece together we bought a Costco. Something to make it not look like a giant square of cement.

What is great about this product is that it covers a multitude of issues. Like all the grout we were too lazy to chip off. It worked until we finally figured out what to do with the space. After a few years the black rubber comes off and we spend hours annoying the hell out of the neighbors and every animal within a mile radius by grinding all the grout off. (By we, I mean my husband. he he he) But now we have a clean slate. Time to put up the Pergola we bought off of Amazon.

This product is engineered. We wanted something like our deck where we did not have to worry about staining and rot.

Although under the posts there are wood 4×4’s that are bolted into the cement to hold it up.

Then you wrap those posts with wood so the sleeves you slide over these posts do not wobble.

After that it’s a puzzle you put together. As you can see we also re-tiled the floor with lite non-slip tile that has a wood look to it.

Then we added lights and furniture we already had for the space. Now all we need is the world to return to normal so we can have a party! *sigh*

On to the next project so we can keep some semblance of sanity as we try to survive the pandemic!

Stay safe!

Heidi

© 2020

Do You See Yourself?

On By HeidiIn PoetryLeave a comment

I see you
standing among the trees,
aware of the pain
surrounding you.
Uncaring that you
are its cause.
What are you waiting for?
Are you waiting for me?
Do you think I could forget?
Forgive?
The wisest of us are wrong.
Time does not heal all wounds.
It just wears you down
until the burden of pain
is too heavy to carry any longer.
Until one day the anger
the hurt
seems to fade away,
until I see you.
Does this mean I forgive?
No….
Forgiveness is a privilege
you have not earned,
may never earn.
Does this mean I forget?
Only for my sake
my sanity
will I dwell no longer
on memories wrought by selfishness,
by betrayal.
You, however, must carry the burden,
shoulder the pain
of what you have done.
I see you,
but do you see yourself
or do you walk the forest
blind to what you did,
what you are
what you have become?
Look into the mirror
tell me honestly
can you forget,
Can you forgive yourself?
Or will you continue
uncaring
of the pain you cause?

Copyright © 2020 Heidi Barnes

Gardening – Spring Project

On By HeidiIn Blog, Gardening5 Comments

Spring sprung early this year, and with Covid 19 shutting everything down a lot if people were able to get ahead start in the yard work. I have posted a couple of projects. The seven yards of compost, the back corner with the shed that has filled in nicely.

Because seven yards of compost wasn’t enough, I ordered seven more yards of 3-way. (For those who don’t know what that is, it is a compost/top soil/sand mix.) Like the compost, when I ordered it it was sunny. When it arrived it was raining….. Sigh. So what I ordered this dirt for was to fill some holes in the grass that refused to grow and to also fill in an area of the garden that has slowly sunk down. Mostly due to weed pulling over the years and taking the dirt with them. Here is a picture of the before. It’s the path within the roundish bed. There are roots showing and the ground is rock hard. You can see where the rocks in the back are layered and holding in the dirt around the Rhody. It also goes down at the back of the patio.

Also, by a large stump we have the ground has sunk down about a foot.

You can see how much dirt I had already put in this area, and I wasn’t done. My husband also voiced his dislike of the rock boarder. To him it was too messy. To me it was a cheap natural fix for a problem. Every time I dug up a rock it went into the border. Ta da! Now I will admit when it comes to my garden that I have worked hard in for many years to make it look the way it does, I may be a little touchy when someone suggests a change. I know, for those who know me, what a surprise!

As it turns out he was right. (Don’t tell him I said that out loud.) It does look much better without the rocks.

We were going back and forth on what to put down for the path to help with the weeds – pavers, stepping stones, gravel – but the more we look at it the more we like the natural look. Yes, it will have weeds and maybe we will change our minds later, but for now I think it’s an opportunity to buy some more shade loving plants to soften up the edges. Such a hardship. 😉

Until next time,

Heidi

Oath Bound – Trials

On By HeidiIn Poetry4 Comments

Oath bound
Naivete spoken
With wisdom
Time lost
Soul broken
Eternity stretches
Never ending
Love given
Not taken
Anger lashes
Inside crumbles
Must forsake
Must forswear
Redemption pleading
Forgiveness denied

Copyright © 2020 Heidi Barnes

Just too Funny

On By HeidiIn Blog2 Comments

I wanted to share something that happened last night because I’m still snickering over it. It was one of those moments when you are in say a library or a large meeting, and you try to keep your emotions inside because you don’t want to disturb the person next to you and you have an epic fail. One of those moments.

So last night, my husband and I had gone to bed and we were doing our nightly reading of different books. Currently I am reading J.R. Wards new The Black Dagger Brotherhood series book Sinner. J.R. Ward is one of my favorite writers. She holds no punches and neither do her characters. A couple I would love to reach in a slap sometimes …. coughcoughLassitercough … because of their antics or, as we all have from time to time, acts of stupidity. I cry and laugh with them. I have read all the books in this series, which are many, so know the characters well. Don’t panic! I will not give away any details or spoilers of what happened and who it happened too in this latest book. I just want to relate what happened to us while I was reading this one particular passage.

So we are laying there, quiet, each lost in our books. It hadn’t been very long when I started reading this one particular scene. As a writer, I know their are times when the words flow, what you see in your head write beautifully onto the paper. When that scene just clicks and it’s marvelous. Better yet, it’s when the reader can also see that clear picture in their head and laugh, cry or be angry at the same level you were when you wrote it. This particular scene was hysterical.

As I started reading it, I could picture that character so well. Know how he would react. See the scene with his expression and the villain’s expression as it played out. I tried. I really tried not to burst out laughing, but it kept coming out in small spats. My husband kept telling me to stop, that it was annoying, but I just couldn’t help myself. I offered to let him read it so he would know why I was laughing, but he grumpily declined. So silence ensued for about three seconds. Then we both starting laughing. Me because of what I was reading. Him because I was trying so hard to keep it in and failing. I was seriously in danger of having the giggles.

The next bout of silence lasted about 20 seconds. I finally was able to get myself somewhat under control, read past the line I had been stuck on to the next, when he burst out laughing. That was it. Giggles were on! I put my kindle down, tore off my glasses and completely lost it. And because giggles are contagious, so did he, and he didn’t even know why!

A few minutes later, and some coughing until I couldn’t breathe, I told him if he wouldn’t laugh then I wouldn’t. Finally, I was able to get past that scene with only a few little giggles and a couple of coughs.

I can probably blame some of it on the stress of the last month and a half, some of it on my husband, but mostly it was the author of the book I was reading and her wonderful writing. Can’t wait to see what happens next.

Stay safe!

Heidi

Copyright © 2020 Heidi Barnes