Julie Bloss Kelsey

@mamajoules

Short-form poet, writer, mom of 3, naturalist. She/her. Likes dogs, kids, nature, travel, haiku, science, art, fanfic, & the Oxford comma. Also at @senecacreekcrafts.bsky.social Links to my writing & Etsy shop:

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Julie Bloss Kelsey@mamajoules· 18d

I want to go back. 🥲💗🌴

Just after sunset looking toward Poipu Beach in Kaua’i. Ocean waves are rolling in and there are 3 little gray clouds being chased by a mama cloud.

Julie Bloss Kelsey@mamajoules· May 5

I have a new book! Purging the Monsters is a collection of psychological #horror #haiku and senryu published by Cuttlefish Books. You can buy it at Amazon & Bookshop.org. Let me know what you think! 😈🧌👺 #horrorku #poetry #speculative #booksky bookshop.org/p/books/purg...

The cover of Julie Bloss Kelsey’s Purging the Monsters horrorku book looks like a horde of Muppet monsters on a tan background. But it is actually Kawanabe Kyōsai’s art: Kyōsai’s Pictures of One Hundred Demons from 1890.

Julie Bloss Kelsey@mamajoules· May 3

From my new horrorku collection, Purging the Monsters. This is an older poem of mine, first appearing in the Twitterzine (remember those?) Outshine in 2009, the year I started writing haiku. quaking aspen: myriad blinking eyes witness the dawn - Julie Bloss Kelsey bookshop.org/p/books/purg...

An odd collage I made from a selfie in PSExpress with the horrorku poem:

quaking aspen:
myriad blinking eyes
witness the dawn

- Julie Bloss Kelsey, from Purging the Monsters

Julie Bloss Kelsey@mamajoules· Apr 1

Sending love to my trans friends, family & future friends & family. You are loved. 🩵🩷🤍

“I hope that you know that you are more than just seen. You are loved.”

Julie Bloss Kelsey@mamajoules· Feb 1

Not exactly what you asked for, but this is probably my favorite #politiku I’ve created. Given the terrible circumstances in my country, I’d probably write this differently now: strikeout the i and put all of ice in parentheses. #haiga #haiku #politics

A black background with the poem: rac(i)al
in(just i)ce
The letters and parentheses are white and in the same font; all of the other letters are in different colors and different fonts.

Julie Bloss Kelsey@mamajoules· Jan 26

In case the #snow has got you down… open.substack.com/pub/mamajoul... #parenting #kids #winter

A photo of “Snowflake” Bentley, the first person to photograph individual snowflakes (now referred to as snow crystals) with a link for Mama Joules’ Substack article on 10 Tips for Celebrating Snow Days.

Julie Bloss Kelsey@mamajoules· Dec 7

This image from poet Reinhard Döhl:

German poet Reinhard Döhl’s apfel is a concrete poem that shows the word “apfel” over and over and over in the shape of an apple, with one instance of the word “wurm.”

Julie Bloss Kelsey@mamajoules· Dec 2

fuzzy-side up dog and blanket in winter #haiku #dogku #brrr

A fuzzy damp caramel-colored dachshund on a cream-colored fuzzy blanket.

Julie Bloss Kelsey@mamajoules· Nov 29

Things could be going better here. How are you?

Julie shows her Scrabble hand which has no vowels: V, S, M, N, K, D, C.

Julie Bloss Kelsey@mamajoules· Nov 25

Day 24. A moment this week all of the board games home for Thanksgiving #2025GratitudeChallenge #poetry #haiku #monoku PS Thought I won that one but I was DQ’ed for misspelling woad. 🤷‍♀️

Julie’s losing hand of Bananagrams, which looks like a mini Scrabble board. She misspelled woad as wode and her kids disqualified her win!

Julie Bloss Kelsey@mamajoules· Nov 21

Day 20. A song I thought it would be fun to try a blackout of a song I like (spoiler: it was not “fun”!) This is a one-liner (a tanka?) with source material of Rush’s The Pass. electrical storm raging on a rocky ledge stars explode the sea #2025GratitudeChallenge #poetry #erasure #blackout

A screenshot of Rush’s The Pass with all the lyrics struck through but this:

electrical storm raging on a rocky ledge stars explode the sea

Julie Bloss Kelsey@mamajoules· Nov 17

Day 17. A piece of art several circles past the Milky Way . . . Wassily Kandinsky #2025GratitudeChallenge #haiku #poetry

A screen grab of Kandinsky’s Several Circles: An abstract painting of numerous overlapping colored circles of various sizes on a black background. A large black circle offset over a blue one creates a blue crescent moon that draws your eye. The overall flavor is whimsical, though, almost as if that big eye was looking into another world.

Julie Bloss Kelsey@mamajoules· Nov 1

One of my friends posted this November #gratitudechallenge on FB (not sure the original poster). I thought it would be fun to post a gratitude haiku/senryu a day instead. What are you grateful for? Day 1. A smell lavender & pine soap— easing my way into the holidays #2025GratitudeChallenge #Haiku

Julie Bloss Kelsey@mamajoules· Oct 23

reunified I find my inner child by the ocean — driftwood arms full of seaweed blankets - Julie Bloss Kelsey, first in Stacking Stones, An Anthology of Short Tanka Sequences, August 23, 2018 (Note: poem is about the Pacific #Ocean; photo is of the Atlantic. But you get the idea.) #tanka #poetry

Blue sky with puffy white cumulus humilis over an empty beach with Atlantic green waves taken on Morris Island, South Carolina (Julie Bloss Kelsey photo credit)

Julie Bloss Kelsey@mamajoules· Aug 4

Must-stop-reading-news if I want to maintain any #hope for the day. Share something happy in your life with me? Here’s a pic of my dog. 🐶 She brings me a lot of happy. And reminds me of this #senryu I wrote: a lapful of puppy curled into my ennui - Prune Juice, December 2024 #haiku #Mondays

A furry reddish dachshund curled up sleeping.

Julie Bloss Kelsey@mamajoules· Jun 22

This one is going out to a friend. 💗🌸 #ornaments #crafts #Etsyshop #dragonflies Should I make more? 🧐

A dragonfly wreath ornament made from a 3 inch wooden ring, light purple yarn, stickers, rhinestones, ribbon, a paper flower & love.

Julie Bloss Kelsey@mamajoules· Jun 21

I make Christmas wreath ornaments but I also make these. 👻💀🎃🕷️ #Halloween #crafts #Etsyshop

Tiny black, purple & green Halloween ornaments.

Julie Bloss Kelsey@mamajoules· Jun 20

Finally got a chance to do a little craftin’. Do you have a favorite place to buy craft supplies? With AC Moore & JoAnns gone, Michaels is the only game in town & they seem to be moving away from craft supplies in favor of pre-fab junk. #Etsy #ornaments #miniwreath #tinyshinythings

A 3-inch blue ribbon handmade wreath ornament with a decorative blue & white butterfly in the center, a double bow on top & lots of clear and blue tiny rhinestones for pop.

Julie Bloss Kelsey@mamajoules· May 25

This was at Trillium Trail at Thompson Wildlife Area in VA on May 4. So pretty! #flowers #trillium

Julie Bloss Kelsey@mamajoules· May 10

Beware of #Facebook #AI screwing with your pinned posts! The bottom post is mine. The top is what happened when I tried to pin the post to the top of my Seneca Creek Crafts FB page. #Etsy

Facebook AI changed the text of Julie’s pinned post asking customers to contact her on Etsy to asking customers to contact her through Facebook—the exact opposite of the message she had originally posted.

Julie Bloss Kelsey@mamajoules· May 6

My @gonatureforward.bsky.social class went to Thompson WMA in Virginia on Sunday. I’d never seen trillium before & there were so many! Cute lil 3-petalled flowers with 3 leaves. The pictures below are all white trillium - the flowers turn purple as they age. #trillium #flowers #spring #Virginia

A white trillium. They turn purple as they age. This one is lavender in color.

A white trillium. They turn purple as they age. This one is quite purple.

A white trillium. They turn purple as they age. This one has just a hint of purple.

Julie Bloss Kelsey@mamajoules· Mar 29

DC’s Blossom Kite Festival! #kites

Julie Bloss Kelsey@mamajoules· Mar 28

Craftin’. :)

A 2-inch mini wreath ornament wrapped in pale, lime-green ribbon with an off-white paper daisy & a matching bow, capped with a light green rhinestone.

Julie Bloss Kelsey@mamajoules· Mar 23

When Scrabble flirts with you. 😉

A blank digital Scrabble board with the tiles spelling “you fine.”

Julie Bloss Kelsey@mamajoules· Mar 11

I saw this today & was reminded of a poem I wrote: never where I plant them . . . daffodils — Julie Bloss Kelsey, Golden Haiku Competition 2018 #haiku #spring #gardening #maryland

A little patch of bright yellow daffodils against monochrome brown leaf litter & bare trees. Photo taken by Julie in Maryland.

Julie Bloss Kelsey@mamajoules· Feb 14

This is a screen grab from my IG account. Note that directly below a post from someone I follow about saving #section504 & #disabilityrights, I’ve been fed a cartoon from someone I don’t follow questioning whether I should care. (Nothing against the cartoonist, this is all on Meta’s algorithms.)

Screen grab from Instagram with a post about disability rights directly followed by a cartoon asking “Should I give a f*ck?” “Does it affect me?”

Julie Bloss Kelsey@mamajoules· Feb 1

I’m running a 25% off #sale in my #Etsy shop for #Valentines Day. ❤️ All Valentines, #heart & love-themed miniwreath #ornaments are on sale. 😃 senecacreekcrafts.etsy.com

A group of Julie’s 2 and 3 inch miniwreath ornaments. Lots of hearts, rhinestones, ribbon & yarn items made with love. ❤️

Julie Bloss Kelsey@mamajoules· Jan 29

I forget just how many miniwreath ornaments I’ve made until I have them all out at once! This was at a craft show yesterday - good reception to Halloween #ornaments! (There’s a link in my bio to my #Etsy shop, if ornaments are your thing. My husband acts surprised when I say we need more, lol.)

Julie standing behind a table with two pegboard displays of little wreath ornaments.

A table full of Julie’s colorful miniwreath ornaments. Some have bells & ribbon, some are made of yarn & rhinestones.

Julie Bloss Kelsey@mamajoules· Jan 26

My dog has learned that if she sticks her nose on my iPad, something happens & I react. 🐶 #Dogs #BlueSkyDogs

Julie Bloss Kelsey@mamajoules· Jan 5

#completethehaiga #87 #haiga #scifaiga? 👽 #poetry