We made it to the end of December! All the way through 2025! \o/ If you made it this far -- even if you haven't finished everything you hoped for -- then pat yourself on the back. You worked hard for that. We have reached the beginning of winter. If you're doing seasonal goals, share what you're working on for this winter.

This year I'm trying something new, continuing to track goals at the end of each month. So far it seems to be helping, so that's encouraging. I'm looking at my goal list more often and trying to keep ticking off more of them. The main drawback is that this update becomes more of a chore each month. I have some new ideas to lighten the load for next year.

These are the previous check in posts:
New Year's Resolutions Check In January 4
New Year's Resolutions Check In January 10
New Year's Resolutions Check In January 17
New Year's Resolutions Check In January 24
New Year's Resolutions Check In January 31
New Year's Resolutions Check In February 28
New Year's Resolutions Check In March 31
New Year's Resolutions Check In April 30
New Year's Resolutions Check In May 31
New Year's Resolutions Check In June 30
New Year's Resolutions Check In July 31
New Year's Resolutions Check In August 31
New Year's Resolutions Check In September 30
New Year's Resolutions Check In October 31
New Year's Resolutions Check In November 30

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An American artist is making fully functional plate mail for mice.

Today is cloudy and cool.  It spit snow a bit yesterday but didn't amount to anything.

I fed the birds.  There was a mixed flock of sparrows and house finches perched in the forest garden waiting to be fed.  :D

I put out water for the birds.

EDIT 12/30/25 -- I did a bit of work around the patio.

EDIT 12/30/25 -- I did more work around the patio.

EDIT 12/30/25 -- I did more work around the patio.

As it is getting dark, I am done for the night.

I have made bingo for Amnesty this month. Counting each 5 fills as a bingo, I have made two. \o/

5-1-25 B3 "In a Splash of Color"
11-1-25 B3 "The Sand of Celebration"
8-1-25 B2 "Until the Rain Comes"
5-1-25 O5 "A Palette of Appetizers"
11-1-25 O5 "User Interfaces"

2-1-25 B5 "Protect the Inner Core"
5-1-25 B5 "The Marvels of Brush and Ink"
11-1-25 I2 "The Car That Didn't Like Bullies"
11-1-25 B2 "Learning New Skills"
11-1-25 O4 "The Unicorn Door"

This is an advance announcement for the Tuesday, January 6, 2026 Poetry Fishbowl. This time the theme will be "short forms." I'll be soliciting poetic forms of 60 lines or less, so basically below my epic range rather than only the short-short length of 10 lines or less. Free verse below the length limit is also fine. Here are 15 short forms with descriptions. Among my favorite short forms not listed there: hexaduad, indriso, sestina, villanelle. This list of 168 forms is alphabetical. Poets Garrett has my favorite list of forms, including a list of repeating-interlocking forms. Their main page has links to poetic forms of 3-10 lines. Plus a few of my own: A darrow poem is a short, haiku-like musing by dark elves. A khazal is a Whispering Sands desert poem in couplets. A moose track is a repeating-interlocking form. A tweet wire is a tiny 10-line poem designed for Twitter. Some short forms, like haiku and tanka, work well as verses in a longer poem. I have The New Book of Forms by Lewis Turco so most forms should be in there. You can also prompt with a link to any exotic form you find; I collect these things.

In addition to forms, I also need topical prompts. One-word or short-phrase framing will assist in keeping them small enough to fit within the theme. Here is a huge list of common themes. This page of idioms has alphabetical and topical listings. I love writing poems about an individual word; see The Phrontistery (WARNING! Black hole caliber time sink ahead!) for glossaries. Have an orientation that is not well represented in literature? Ask for a sexual, romantic, or other orientation! If it's not on any of my lists, just include a description or link to one. I also list gender identities and my characters with disabilities. Want to help me play with my bookshelf? :D I have The Conflict Thesaurus, The Conflict Thesaurus Volume 2, The Occupation Thesaurus, The Emotional Wound Thesaurus, The Urban Setting Thesaurus, The Rural Setting Thesaurus, The Emotion Thesaurus, The Positive Trait Thesaurus, The Negative Trait Thesaurus, and The Emotion Amplifier Thesaurus. Simply click "Read Sample" and view the table of contents for a list of cool ideas. You can prompt a sestina with six end words; I usually pick 5 short flexible words and one long exotic word, but I'll work with whatever I get. Favorite characters, threads, series, settings, etc. are also fair game but this is NOT the time for long plotty prompts. Consider combining a name or title with a short form, theme, or idiom. If you like to prompt with photos, this is a great opportunity for that. Just type in a topic (see above for possibilities) and click the Image link in your favorite search engine.

Among my more relevant series for the main theme:

Arts and Crafts America is ideal for picture prompts, or just name a craft.

Clay of Life suits words from Yiddish, Ladino, or Hebrew.

Fiorenza the Wisewoman suits Italian forms, most of which are short; also Italian words or phrases.

Hart's Farm suits Old Norse poetry or words.

Kung Fu Robots goes with Chinese forms.

Lacquerware suits Japanese forms.

Or you can ask for something new.

Linkbacks reveal a verse of any open linkback poem.

If you're interested, mark the date on your calendar, and please hold actual prompts until the "Poetry Fishbowl Open" post next week. (If you're not available that day, or you live in a time zone that makes it hard to reach me, you can leave advance prompts. I am now.) Meanwhile, if you want to help with promotion, please feel free to link back here or repost this on your blog.

( New to the fishbowl? Read all about it! )

Be careful with each other

How activist groups can build trust, care, and sustainability in a world of capitalism and oppression.

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Happy Snowflake Season to all! As we prepare to kick off the 2026 snowflake_challenge, please feel free to promote this event within your own circles. You are welcome to use any of these new banners for that. The community page also has icons.



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These are some posts from the later part of last week in case you missed them:
Friending Policy 12-28-25
Transformative Works Statement 12-28-25
Poem: "Incompressible"
Poem: "A Stronger Woman"
Wildlife
BirdfeedingPoem: "Tenacity, Creativity, and Bravery"
Communities
Birdfeeding
Philosophical Questions: Government
Photos: Lights on the Prairie Part 2
Photos: Lights on the Prairie Part 1
Today's Adventures
Birdfeeding
Poem: "Genuinely Sufficient Resources"
Follow Friday 12-26-25: Learning
Poem: "The Heart to Change the World"
Poem: "Technique, Timing, and Leverage"
Read "The Fëanorian Zine"
Climate Change
Friending Meme
Birdfeeding
Vocabulary: Bokeh
Poem: "A Human Scale, Full-Featured Settlement"
Food
Birdfeeding
Cuddle Party

Food has 47 comments. Trauma has 46 comments. Affordable Housing has 78 comments. Robotics has 119 comments.


The 2025 Holiday Poetry Sale has closed, with a massive amount of material to post. It will take me a long time to get it all online, so please keep an eye on the sale page.


Watch for snowflake_challenge to open on January 1. This panfandom activity is one of Dreamwidth's biggest events and a great time to make new friends.

Watch for threeforthememories to open on January 3. It features your top three photographs from the past year.


"An Inkling of Things to Come" belongs to Polychrome: Shiv. It needs $72 to be complete. Shiv and his classmates discuss magical weather, magical geography, natural resources, plants and animals, history, and other aspects of worldbuilding.


The weather was mild for most of the week, but today it stormed. Seen at the birdfeeders this week: a large mixed flock of sparrows and house finches, a flock of mourning doves in the ritual meadow, and two fox squirrels running through the trees.