Tuesday, April 10, 2012

I is for Indian Paintbrush and Iceblink

I can't resist--I just have to bring you two "I" words today, one that's an old favorite and one that I just discovered.

Indian Paintbrush:
© Copyright 2011 [Roy Tennant], FreeLargePhotos.com

When we were kids, my sister and I spent a lot of time outside. We loved taking walks through the woods and fields surrounding our house, where we'd pick flowers and weeds and grasses to use as ingredients in our famous (to us!) mud puddle soup.

What's mud puddle soup? Well, whenever it rained, a huge mud puddle would form in the driveway, and my sister and I would pretend that the water was soup. We'd get our ingredients, then stir the "broth" with big sticks. I'm sure our parents wondered what we were doing whenever they looked out the window and saw us standing there, staring into a puddle, but hey, we were using our Imaginations--another great "I" word, by the way!

One of the ingredients we chose for our soup was the Indian Paintbrush. I don't know about my sister, but I always gravitated toward it because of its bright reddish color and the way it does indeed resemble an artist's paintbrush. Every time I see this plant my mind goes back to those wonderful spring days.

Iceblink:

I discovered this word last night when I was searching the Internet for "I" words I had overlooked. I found this one at The Phrontistery, a site that celebrates the English language with its definitions of obscure words. There I learned that an iceblink is a "glare in the sky caused by light reflected off ice." Further investigation at Dictionary.com found that an iceblink is "a yellowish luminosity near the horizon or on the underside of a cloud, caused by the reflection of light from sea ice."

Isn't this a great word? Right away I began I imagining how I could use it in a poem...

So what about you? Have you ever seen Indian Paintbrush? How about strange or obscure words: have you encountered any lately--especially those beginning with I?

14 comments:

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    1. I know! Fields full of them are gorgeous!

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  2. Hi Dana!

    Thanks for visiting my blog and commenting.

    Your post brought back memories for me. When it rained at our house the puddle was big enough to SWIM in! So I guess we were in the soup!

    I also have to thank you for the links you provided in your writing! I don't have a "J" word for tomorrow!

    tammy

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    1. Yes, you were definitely in the soup! :)

      I'm not sure of my "J" word yet, either. Guess I'll be checking out the links as well! :)

      Thanks for stopping by!

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  3. We used to make mud soup as well. My sister & I would add a few acorns for extra flavor:)

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    1. LOL That's awesome! I think we added the Indian Paintbrush because we wanted a dash of color. ;)

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  4. Cute post! I've never heard of Indian Paintbrush. But I love the story about your mud puddle soup. So Inventive - hey, another I word! And yes I love the word Iceblink too.

    I had trouble coming up with I words myself. In fact, I completely digressed from my theme b/c I was tired of it and couldn't come up with a good I-word to fit in. But now I'm coming up with I-words all over the place and threw several into my flash fiction piece.

    Nice to meet another wife, mom, writer like myself. :-)

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    1. It's great to meet you, too. Welcome to my blog!

      Thanks for your comments! I'm looking forward to the rest of your A to Z posts. :)

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  5. I was a great mud-puddle-soup chef! Thanks for the memories.
    Rhia from Five Minute Piece for Inspiration (about #802 on A to Z list).

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    1. Thanks for stopping by!

      I just checked out your blog. I'll be following!

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  6. I hadn't heard of either of those things, so it was nice to learn! Your mud puddle soup story made me smile. I was one of those kids too. I used to love making perfumes and potions in the garden :)

    Thank you for the nice memory!

    Nikki – inspire nordic

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    1. Glad you enjoyed it. Thanks for stopping by!

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  7. I guess I've seen iceblink before and never knew it. Delightful!

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    1. I know what you mean; there are so many things I didn't know had names! LOL

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