I find few moments more soothing
Than a cool, grey day
Whose listless breezes stir a gentle rain
Droplets patter pane and sill
And I, warm and dry
With a steaming mug
Turn the pages of a book
Offering scant attention to its contents
Howling Horse Hermitage in Grey
Gilmanton Ironworks
New Hampshire, United States of America
Taken during travels, 2023
Pic and a Word Challenge
Last week we let the light flow in through the cracks Cracks. This week, let’s create for ourselves a moment of Soothing. Or find something else to inspire you in this photograph of a delightfully grey day at Howling Horse Hermitage in Gilmanton Ironworks, New Hampshire, USA.
The Pic and a Word Challenge is a (usually) weekly creativity prompt (usually) offered Mondays.
With each challenge I provide a photograph of mine along with a single word. The challenge? Use the pic and/or word as inspiration to create something — a photograph, a painting, video, prose, poetry, fiction, non-fiction, longread or just a few words. You are welcome to use these two elements (photograph and word) literally, thematically or metaphorically. If you create both images and words, all the better.
To participate:
- Use any title you like
- Your response can be words and/or images
- You may use my image to illustrate your post, or any images you have created
- Mention that you are responding to the Pic and a Word Challenge
- Add a link to this post in your response
To help us find your response — whether on WordPress, Instagram, Flicker, Tumblr, etc. — you can also:
- Add a comment on this post to announce your response
- Apply the tag/hashtag “Pic and a Word Challenge” or “#picandawordchallenge” to your post
Each week, I’ll list the previous challenge’s responses at the end of the new challenge. I may also share some on my social media: Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Tumblr, etc.
The previous challenge was: Cracks

The word for last week’s Pic and a Word Challenge #341 was Cracks, along with this photograph of sunset leaking in under the storm clouds at Johnsons Corner in North Dakota, USA.
Two bloggers found the beauty in the Cracks this time. Thanks, Woolly and Mellow! 🙂
View all the Pic and a Word Challenges, including the current challenge, on the Pic and a Word Challenge tag page.
Happy Creating! ❤