Monthly Archives: June 2021
Father’s Day Bird Update!
Happy Father’s Day!
On May 21, I got pictures of a Carolina wren nest we found that had four eggs in it. Fourteen days later, on June 5, we checked in to see how things were going. There was a sleeping baby–at least two sleeping babies! The other two we couldn’t see, but there was a chance that they were snuggled up underneath the others. They didn’t have feathers yet, so they needed to huddle together to keep warm. Still, there was also the possibility that the other two eggs didn’t hatch, or that the hatchlings didn’t make it. Here’s a photo of the front most sleeper (I drew a thin red circle around his little developing beak).
Today, we have confirmation that at least three of the fledglings survived! I wish I’d gotten a picture, but Nathan didn’t have his camera. There were three fluffy, grumpy-looking baby wrens (that’s how you tell, other than the fact that they waggle their wings, make a lot of noise, and beg for food), and they were being fed by Mommy (Daddy–whom we call Fattypants–was singing elsewhere). We are very excited to welcome these little ones!
Also, Carolina wrens usually breed twice in a summer, so hopefully there will be another batch in a few weeks!
UPDATE: It’s confirmed–there are three little ones, but there was one egg left in the nest, which means it probably was inviable. I’m glad those that hatched are all alive and happy! Here’s the egg that was left:
Story accepted and I went and did THIS yesterday …
Yesterday was interesting! I got a short story accepted (cannot release details yet), I went over a friend’s and she made me a genuine malt (that tasted like the way my dad used to make them!), and … I did this…
I love my recent X-Men’s Rogue-inspired hair, so I’ll definitely go back to that, but I wanted to try something different for summer. I wanted something a little lighter, but this’ll fade as I wash. I’ve never tried crazy color before, but I figured, why not?
On another note, post-Tidings, I have an idea for a second Romantic Ecothriller, one that involves the sea. I thought it might be cool if my main chick has this color for hair.
It’s finally here: “Ghosts on the Sand”
I’m pleased to announce that my story, “Ghosts on the Sand,” was one of twenty-six winners in the H.P. Lovecraft Film Festival’s 2020 Microfiction Contest last October … and the anthology of winning stories is now available!
The anthology also includes the “Challenge from Beyond” round robin cosmic horror story, which features the grand prize winner and a stunning line-up of writers and artists.
This special double book is only $10, and it supports the annual Oregon festival, which features indie filmmakers from around the world. If you’re a short film buff—especially in the horror genre—then it should, at the very least, be on your radar.
“Ghosts on the Sand” can’t be read anyplace else, so if’ you’d like your copy, you can pick one up here: https://arkhambazaar.com/books/the-challenge-from-beyond-2020-lovecraftian-micro-fiction-double-book/
Only 250 copies were printed, so once they’re gone, they’re gone! Be sure to get your copy today if you enjoy cosmic horror.
Meet my most recent paginated lover …
I have started reading books only to break up with them a couple of chapters in (you will never hear me say, “that book was okay.” If it’s not blowing my mind, I stop). For me, a book is like an amazing lover: it has to rock my universe. It has to suck me in so completely that it becomes my world, my be-all, until I’ve finished it—and that’s often in as few as two days, or, at most, a week. I have to have a serious romance with it, to the point that when I finish, I go into a strange state of grief.
On a break from work last week, an article about unique historical fiction reads popped into my feed, and I was lucky enough to stumble onto A Fall of Marigolds by Susan Meissner.
From “7 Unique Historical Fiction Reads That Put a Twist on the Genre,” by Chris Gaudio over at Off the Shelf: “Historical fiction inevitably features tragedies of the past, but what’s so unique about Susan Meissner’s A FALL OF MARIGOLDS is the thread that connects two such events: Read the rest of this entry
