Serious issues with the ebook, which was unfortunately published without my approval and at the wrong price, are delaying the release of the book. I have tried to get this unauthorized ebook removed, but it is taking a long time.Please do not purchase this unreadableebook .
I will announce the official release of the book when it is ready. For a limited time, the ebook will be available at a low promotional price. I hope this will make it easy for anyone who would like to purchase the ebook and perhaps post a verified review of Life on the Blue Planet.
The title caught my attention immediately. It brought back memories of swaths of vivid green and the sweet, pungent smell of bracken ferns. Ingrid Wilson is nature’s child, and her love of nature is evident in her poetry.
Beachcombing
I’m thinking about painting
the ocean with its fervor
and its froth.
But for an artist’s eye and hand
I’d render both the sky and land:
The glory and the splendor of the earth.
Photo by Sebastian Hans on Unsplash.
A Bracken Fern evokes the rugged landscapes of Ingrid’s beloved Lake country in Northern England. It is a place of history: impressive ruins from Roman times and, going even further back in time, mystical stone henges and sacred circles. Ingrid has an intimate connection to this land and its storied past that is reflected in her beautiful poetry.
Child of the Wild High Places
…Child of the changing seasons
collecting poetry and rhyming reasons
just to be still a while,
only to smile.
Accompanied by her two young sons, Ingrid recently walked the length of Hadrian’s Wall. What a history lesson…not only for her sons, but also for her fellow bloggers with whom she shared fascinating narration and gorgeous photos of the journey!
View of Hadrian’s Wall, Cawfields to Gilsland. Photo by Ingrid Wilson.
A Bracken Fern’s exquisite poems share intensely personal observations and emotions. In poignant poems, Ingrid candidly describes her difficult childhood, her grief over the loss of her mother at an early age, struggles with addiction, a troubled marriage, and her longing to return home to the English countryside she loved.
No Homelike Place
…Praying we can find
a homelike place
we build our houses
…but we can never build without
the homelike place
which we must seek, and find and build
within ourselves, which nowhere else endures.
Points North
…And at sundown
out came all the thousand stars,
And I can name the constellations
in this hemisphere
at any time of year:
There is always The Plough above, or “The Big Dipper”
and at its tip, Polaris
The Pole Star points North.
A view near Carlisle, Ingrid’s hometown growing up. Photo by Ingrid Wilson.
Ingrid found her way to health, found her voice in writing poetry, and found her way back to England. There she fell in love with a talented, creative soulmate. Together, they established a new life for themselves and their blended family. Ingrid founded her own publishing house, EIF, Experiments in Fiction.
Poems written about this period of Ingrid’s life are filled with joy. The pages of A Bracken Fern overflow with love poems and vivid descriptions of the family’s adventures. Ingrid has found her well-deserved happiness and has generously chosen to share it with her readers.
Seedhead Hope Song
…Our hopes, though fragile, rising high
as dandelion-seeds dance the sky.
When the Named Storms Come
…And if the post can’t make it through
then I will drive to you
and if I can’t get petrol
I will ride my bike.
All the Way to Midsummer
…all the way to midnight, I
watch full moons rise if only in your eyes
It’s more than moonlight, babe, it’s starlight too
and earth expands
in your cupped hands
Our wedding bands
in secret pledge
I do.
If I Could Paint
the Colours of Your Eyes
If I could paint the colours of your eyes
I fantasise, I’d swim that depth of blue
and what I wouldn’t do
to bring the sparkle back when it has fled
to lift your heart when it’s dispirited.
Ingrid’s poetry is technically perfect, as well as beautifully expressed. A person who spoke no English, hearing Ingrid’s poems read aloud, would surmise that they were listening to music. Ingrid’s background in English literature and her knowledge of history and mythology provide polish and an added dimension to her work. In this book, you will find well-chosen quotes from William Blake, William Wordsworth, Robert Burns, Lao Tse, and Bob Dylan.
If You Kill the Bird
…You’re just an empty cage girl
void of poetry, unheard.
You’re just an empty cage girl
if you kill
you kill the bird.
Photo of Bluebells by Diana Parker on Unsplash.
A Bracken Fern
…In a graveyard graced with bluebells whose heads bowed
drop pollen tears upon the fertile ground
as bracken ferns unfurl their bannered green
to clothe the hillside and these bones of mine.
Spend a pleasant hour or two reading the beautiful poems of Ingrid Wilson’s magnificent new poetry collection, A Bracken Fern. Pick it up again from time to time, and find your spirits lifted by Ingrid’s inspiring words.
The poem,”One Earth” perfectly expresses my perspective on Planet Earth. It will appear in the “Mother Nature” Chapter of Life on the Blue Planet.
Book Fairs & Trade Shows
For the last few weeks, I have been working hard preparing materials for the Children’s Book Expo in Shanghai in November, and the Frankfurt Book Fair, in October. I am also working to prepare for the Taipei Trade Show in February. My books will be exhibited and represented at these events, but I will not be present. If you go, please send me a photo or two! 😊
Dr. Jane Goodall
The world lost a groundbreaking researcher this week. Dr. Jane Goodall, who lived for many years among chimpanzees, died this week at the age of 91. Her reasearch revealed new information about the habits and social life of chimpanzees that revolutionized the way we think about animal behavior. 😄
There are many well-researched tributes to Jane Goodall online. Two that I enjoyed are:
“Instagram: Jane Goodall UK” by Selma Martin, 10/5/25 Selma
“Honoring the Life of Jane Goodall” by Michele Lee, 10/1/25 myinspiredlife.com
Personal Note
Lately, I have to enlarge small print in order to read it. After I have clicked “Reply,” I sometimes discover typos in my comments that I couldn’t see before. I think it may soon be time to schedule my cataract surgery. Please don’t judge me too harshly for the typos.😂
For the last couple of months, I have been experiencing heart symptoms again. Last week, I ended up in the hospital for an emergency angioplasty for a blocked stent in my heart. I was in the hospital for a couple of days and am recovering at home. After all of our recent surgeries, both Robert and I are OK, but quite tired.
Take a moment to appreciate those who died in defense of your country. Think about the values they were defending. Support democracy, and fight to preserve the rights andfreedoms promised to you in the Constitution.
Here, on the SW Florida Gulf Coast, the temperatures are rising, and grass is parched and brown. Yesterday, we got several brief thunder showers, our first hints of welcome summer rains. Today, the sky is overcast, promising more rain. We need it!
Happy summer! A little early for our friends in other locales, but heartfelt!
(Cheryl Batavia’s daughters, Ellen and Katey, meet Skipper, the bottle-nosed dolphin, and his trainer.)
getting to know all about you.Getting to like you,
(belly rub)
getting to hope you like me!You are precisely my cup of tea!
(It’s not polite to stick out your tongue.)
Getting to know you. Suddenly, I’m bright and breezybecause of all the beautiful new thingsI’m learning about you!Getting to know you,knowing we know how to play!Getting to know you.
(Ellen playing the piano, Skipper singing!)
Things I’m learning about you, Day by Day!
(Katey playing the piano, Skipper singing!)
Cuddle Up a Little Closer
Cuddle up a little closer, Lovey mine!Cuddle up and be my little clinging vine!I like to feel your cheeks so rosy.I like to make you comfy, cozy,I love you, I love you so muchfrom your head down to your toesies, Lovey mine!
Photos taken by a Theater of the Sea photographer. Please give credit if you use them.
This is a highlight of the vacation my daughters and I planned together. Due to a last minute emergency, I was unable to go on the trip. These photos make me feel like I was there.
Theater of the Sea in Islamorada, FL has various animals, many of them rescue animals, on display. There are sea turtles, rays, seals, and other animals to observe or encounter.
I hope you enjoy the vintage music. I also considered “Splish Splash!” by Bobby Darren. It didn’t quite fit, but it was fun!
My two daughters, Ellen and Katey, live in Dallas. We have missed our traditional yearly road trip for the last two years due to my illness. This year, we are taking the long-awaited trip to the southern part of Everglades National Park. I am hoping to see the wild flamingos that mysteriously settled there twenty years ago. Some people say they came from South America.
Flamingos had not lived in the wild in Florida for the previous one hundred and fifty years. I have dreamed of seeing these wild flamingos since I first heard about them . Maybe it will happen!
Before we leave, at the request of my younger daughter Katey, we will have an Easter egg hunt. I am filling plastic eggs with small chocolate bunnies, jelly beans, and some goofy little surprises. I will hide hide the eggs in the yard for Katey and Ellen to find. This is the first Easter I have spent with my daughters for many years, and I am looking forward to it!
Katey has also asked me to get a favorite ice cream that is not available in Texas. It is cherry ice cream with chococolate-covered cherry hearts mixed in. We will try to eat small portions!
My daughters are going kayaking. We are taking two boat tours, one in the Gulf of Mexico, and one in the back country.
Then, we are going to the Florida Keys to swim with the dolphins at Theater of the Sea. There are many other marine animals there, including sea turtles, seals, sharks, and rays.
We plan to eat some authentic Cuban food, locally grown tropical fruit, and some famous Key Lime pie. I will post photos and tell you all about our adventures when we return.
I will be on break from April 15-30, 2025.
Katey, Ellen, and Cheryl on our road trip several years ago.
Egyptian pyramids. Photo by Fynn Schmidt from UnsplashStep pyramid, Mexico. Photo by Raquel Moss from Unsplash
Morning!
Birds singing…
Phone ringing!
Open your eyes.
to today’s surprise,
a gorgeous sunrise!
Don shoes and pants.
Step around fire ants!
Feed birds, water plants.
Bye, birds! Parting glance.
Taking a shower, getting dressed…
Phone ringing… don’t get stressed!
Hucksters calling; I’m not impressed.
Morning walk… escaping these pests!
Cloudless sky, sunshine… mind rests.
Sitting down to eat breakfast, stress-free,
anticipating world news updates on TV…
Politicians debating… can’t seem to agree.
Storms, fires, wars, crimes… Goodness me!
Ads played loudly, repeat, repeat endlessly…
Enough! Time for a wildlife documentary!
Protest. Photo by Kayla Velasquez from UnsplashSea Turtle. Photo by Randall Ruiz from UnsplashZebras. Photo by Sutirta Budiman from UnsplashPolar Bears. Photo by Hans Jurgen-Mager from Unsplash
This is a ziggurat poem, a fun form invented by Paul Szlosek that I like to play with occasionally. His website is Paul’s Poetry Playground. Ziggurat poems are often written about humorous topics. The poem has the shape of a ziggurat, or step-pyramid. Each verse has lines with the same end rhymes.
The title is the first verse and has one word. The second verse is 2 lines of 2 words. The third verse consists of 3 lines of 3 words. The fourth verse has 4 lines of 4 words, and the fifth verse has 5 lines of 5 words.
I broke the rules by adding a sixth verse to this poem. 😎
Wishing everyone a beautiful day… informed, productive, but inspired and entertained as well. 💕
Gulf Coast Poet 