The Same One?

I don't know if this is the same squirrel on the round green feeder today as yesterday but if not, another one figured it out. And they've gnawed off some of the plastic perches below the ports. Dammit. I knew I should have bought the $80 feeder which was configured so there was no freaking way a squirrel could get to the birdseed. Darned tree rats!

 

There's another generation of bunnies zipping across the patio and nibbling on the grass and weeds in the backyard. This one held still, looking at me out of the corner of its eye, hoping I wasn't going to come out and scare it off. I didn't because it's too short to get up to the bird feeder and wreck things.

 

I decided that Sailing the Seas was in good enough shape that I could have ProWritingAid run a Manuscript Analysis on it and I'd have just a few things that were concerning to fix. Well. That is not how things turned out at all. First, it decided that this is a Caribbean cozy mystery so it told me to thread mystery features through the whole manuscript. It's not a cozy mystery. Yes, there's a murder (offstage), but it's not the main feature of the story. It's much more a slice-of-life story about Rose and the different guests that visit Seaview and Rose's struggle to integrate into the island society. It printed out 22 pages of recommendations, 2 to a page, and I worked my way through them today. I finally got tired and slightly cross-eyed from looking at the screen and left the last few pages for another day.

 

Since I was tired of looking at the screen, I picked up How to Write a Cozy Mystery and read the chapter about suspects. That made me want to make a list of possible suspects, so it was back on Word and back on the screen and I made a list. Longer than I thought it'd be, but one guy's on there three times because he shows up at each murder scene. One cool thing I learned was that bodies #2 and #3 are suspects in the previous murders, dropping off the suspect list only when they croak. Then I had to work out alibis for each of the suspects and also think of reasons they could be the killer. It was very entertaining work.

 

Today's flower is a Tulip. It's a little small on the page. I'm not sure why it's so little but it still looks like a tulip.

 

Before coming back here to blog, I sat down and dashed off a gratitude journal page. Most of the things on there are things I've already talked about but I'm happiest with the way the squirrel turned out. I was going to try drawing it on the feeder but decided at the last minute that was beyond my drawing capabilities.

 

I've got one more round, maybe two more rounds, to knit on Scrap Hat #5. I hoped to finish it tonight but I'm a slow knitter and, well, it'll get done (maybe) tomorrow.

--Barbara 

A Quick Learner

You remember yesterday how I was sure that my new round green feeder was squirrel proof? Not so fast, Barbara. I walked out into the kitchen this afternoon and this is what I saw. I rapped on the patio door a couple of times and it jumped down, but it stayed on a chair for a few minutes to see if I'd go away. I didn't so it scampered off. Bye!

 

I wasn't in the mood to do much today. I spent most of the day back here reading the next couple of chapters in the how-to book and adding thoughts (in red) to yesterday's timeline outline. The more I read the more I think I have A LOT of work ahead of me.

 

I drew a Water Lily today. I did it fast so it isn't as precise as if I'd taken my time and the coloring is a little slapdash. But I drew and that has to count for something.

 

Over the last couple of nights I knitted on Scrap Hat #5 and got halfway through the crown decreases. Only about 5 more rounds to go and it'll be done. Knitting 2 stitches together with a very big needle and 5 strands of yarn of various thicknesses is challenging. 

 

After supper I drew a gratitude journal page. Not a lick of sunshine today so I had to just color a gray blob for the overcast sky. 

 

At Friday Night Knitting, I added rounds to the Dark Teal Chemo Hat. It's a good pattern for knitting and chatting. This yarn is half nylon and half acrylic so it isn't very sproingy which makes for tired hands. 

 

Last night I found Mythbusters on Discovery On Demand and happily watched the first 2 episodes. That was such a fun show.

--Barbara 

One Pretty Lily

Man, it was a hot one today. Humid too. So I didn't go outside much. I went out to fill the birdbath because it was nearly empty and I took a lily picture. Well, I reached out for the mail, too, but that hardly counts.

 

Another plant has buds on it but it won't flower until late next month. It's sedum and it has fleshy leaves and clusters of flowers that the bees love. One of the sedums blooms pinkish and the other is more bronze-ish. I like the bronze one better.

 

I spent most of the day back here at the laptop making a timeline outline of Three Cheers for Murder to see where I need more story. And there's a lot of room for improvement. One thing I discovered was a glitch in the time sequence so I did some cutting and pasting to rearrange the parts and a lot of making sure the day designation was right. I realized that it's been nearly 30 years since I wrote this and it's holding up pretty well. I'm glad I've got the how-to book to help me whip it into shape.

 

After I finished with the manuscript for the day, I decided to paint. Really paint, not coloring book paint, so I taped paper to a plexiglass board and started. I didn't really have a plan, I just wanted to paint a sky and water which turned out pretty well. The foreground is so-so. Next time I'll have a plan. That seems to work better.

 

I was lucky enough to catch two Sparrows on the round green feeder. At one point there were about five birds on there but as soon as I even thought about picking up the camera, they all flew away. Sheesh. Twice now I've seen a squirrel land on top of the feeder and try to figure out how to get down to the goodies. Both times it leaned over too far and fell off. Oh, too bad.

 

I even made time to draw a gratitude journal page. I think I'm most grateful that I didn't have to go outside in the hot and humid much.

 

Is there some kind of rule that every bag of apples has to have one rotten one?  The first bag I bought had one that was so rotten it was flat and squishy. Ick. This bag had one with a rotten core. I thought I could cut away the rotten parts but that didn't work. I like apples. I like having one for a snack in the afternoon. I don't like rotten apples.

The lawn mowers came and we decided together that the grass wasn't really long enough to mow so they went away. The lawn looks okay and it saved me money. A win-win.

--Barbara 

Figured It Out

It only took a squirrel a couple of days to figure out how to get up to the grape jelly. When I first saw this squirrel it had its back feet holding onto the top of a crook and was leaning across to the jelly dish with its nose buried. By the time I got the camera up and ready, it was where you see it. In the dish. It sniffed the orange but went right back to gobbling the jelly. One bad thing. By repositioning the feeder post and not being able to bury it as deep in the ground, I can't see if there's any jelly left in the dish or not. I'll figure it out.

I was quick enough to catch two Chickadees. Too fast to have a sharp focus image but at least you can see both of them.

 

This morning I signed up on a site called Booksprout where other members will read and review your books. I have to read and review theirs in exchange. Reviews sell books, so any way I can get more is a good thing. We'll see how this goes.

 

The dark red & yellow day lilies are still blooming every day. I went out this evening to take their picture because taking a picture in full sun is just too bright. it washes out the color.

 

This is a hosta flower stalk. I never think of them as having flowers but they do. Not very flashy but still they have flowers.

 

Today I drew and colored Foxglove. It turned out way better than I thought it would when I turned the page and saw what I had to draw.

 

And I even drew a gratitude journal page before coming back here to blog. I'm most grateful today for reading about a feature of the genre in the book and having an idea that I ran with. Before I knew it I had over three pages of narration and dialogue, plus a few ideas for further ways to extend the idea. The way things are shaking out, I suspect I'll be rewriting this manuscript using what I have now as the framework and hanging new ideas on it. I'm leaving Sailing the Seas alone until cda and I are done critiquing it. It came to me last week that this is the last run through so I need to stop fiddling with it and just be patient to hear what she has to say.

 

I started knitting the body rounds on Scrap Hat #5 tonight. There are only six rounds but I think I might add a couple more just to make the hat cover somebody's ears better. I don't have to worry about running out of yarn. I have a big bag of all sorts of leftovers I can add. And there's more downstairs. Much more.

 

 --Barbara

Learning

Today I read the next part of How to Write a Cozy Mystery. I learned a few things. Mostly how much I don't know about this genre. But I'm learning and willing to change my manuscript to fit the genre. The only part I'm not so sure I want to follow is to have the murder offstage, as it were. Then I started tucking the new parts into the old part, switching things around, and fleshing out other parts. One surprising recommendation is to have three, four, or five books written and ready to be published so you can get them out in quick succession. Would I have enough patience to do that? Finish a manuscript and not publish the book right away? I don't know.

 

On August 1, the BookFunnel promo I joined the other day kicks off, so today I posted the link on Facebook, both on my personal page as well as my author page. I also wrote an email to be sent to my email list on Saturday telling all my readers about the promo. As of today, there are 8 books in the promo so maybe I'll sell one or two this time. That'd be nice.

 

I tried and tried and finally caught a picture of a Sparrow on the new green feeder. At times there were a few Sparrows on the new feeder, but they'd fly away when I moved my hand toward the camera. Usually they're not so camera shy. Maybe it's the new feeder making them nervous.

 

Today's watercolor page is Clover. It doesn't look like any of the clover that grows in my yard or any clover that I recognize but it was okay to paint. I like the two-toned leaves but I was too heavy handed painting the veins on them. I have a hard time making thin lines with the pointy tip of the brush. Sometimes I can do it. Not today.

 

Here's the last Dad's rose for a while. When I came back from my walk today it was the only one that wasn't shedding petals.

 

One of the squirrels spent quite a bit of time up on top of the patio umbrella staring at the feeders. I figure it was trying to decide the best way to tackle the problem of how to get back to the grape jelly.

 

I even made time to draw a gratitude journal page this evening. I was grateful it was cooler and less humid today which made my walk much more enjoyable. I confess, I don't go walking if it's too hot and muggy.

 

In good book-selling news, yesterday I looked at the Amazon reports to find that I sold six books that day. Six! One each of four titles and two of another. That hardly ever happens. There's no way I can tell if six different people bought or one bought five and one bought one. I do not care. I'm just happy they sold. 

--Barbara 

Not For Lack of Trying

This squirrel tried its best to get up to the jelly and orange half by climbing the feeder pole, but that's one of the ones I reattached the Slinky to, so it would grab and the spring would sag. It would let go, then try another feeder. Same story. Grab, sag, let go. It went around about four or five times and never got up on any feeder. Oh too bad.

 

This morning I drew a gratitude journal page for yesterday. Sometimes it's easier to do it for the day before than to carve out time in the evening. 

 

After it stopped raining, I went over to the birdseed store to see if I couldn't find a new feeder to replace the one that gets gunked up with wet seed. Turned out it was wet and moldy seed. Yuk. Anyway I found this 3-tube feeder that seems like it'll empty faster and be easier to clean. Some Sparrows landed on it but I wasn't fast enough to get a picture. Next time.

 

Today's watercolor is a Ladybug. It was fun to paint. While I was painting it, I realized that this book is kind of like paint-by-numbers without the numbers. One of these days I'll go back to painting without the sketch to fill in, but for now I'm having fun.

 

I sat down after supper and knitted a few rounds on the Scrap Hat #5. Only two or three more ribbing rounds before it's time to knit a few rounds even for the hat body and then the nine rounds of crown decreases. I should be able to knit faster with big needles and a big handful of yarn, but wrangling five yarns is a bit of a challenge.

 

Once I turned off the TV, I sat down and drew a gratitude journal page for today. Look at me! Two in one day! My biggest gratitude today was getting to give LC a ride to her trombone lesson this evening. DS and DIL1 had an unavoidable meeting so I got to be the designated driver. I don't get to see her often enough so it was a real treat.

 

There are a couple more tiny yellow mums on the plant in front. The purple ones are about the size of silver dollars but the yellow ones are smaller than dimes. Pretty color, though.

 

Every day I have a little mandarin orange with my lunch. They're usually seedless. Today's was not. In an orange barely bigger than a ping pong ball there were 29 seeds. 29!!! Yes, I counted them because I couldn't believe how many I had to spit out. That orange should have gone to Svalbard to the seed vault to preserve the species.

 

--Barbara 

I Refilled Them All

The other night I said I planned to be stingy with the bird/squirrel feeder filling. Well, I haven't seen many birds over the last few days and I miss them, even the bratty little Sparrows. So I filled everything today. It was time to refill the Hummingbird feeder too. I pulled up and repositioned the Oriole feeder. It was leaning forward from the weight of marauding squirrels so I made it stand up straighter. I didn't get it as deep into the ground but it's not going anywhere.

 

The first squirrel I saw, actually, the first squirrel part I saw was this tail hanging out of the square green feeder. I think I need to replace that feeder because when it rains the seed in the ports gets wet and kind of solidifies so the ports are effectively blocked. I'll go over to the birdseed store tomorrow or Tuesday and see what they've got.

 

Then another squirrel was hanging on the suet nuggets and having a lovely snack. That squirrel sniffed the orange but didn't stay long and didn't move over to the jelly. We'll see how long it takes for them to realize that the sweet goodies are back. While I was filling feeders, I reattached two Slinkys on the crooks. Maybe they'll deter the squirrels a bit. Probably not, but I have hope.

 

Today's watercolor is a Fern. It was more tedious than fun to paint. All those tiny leaves and I don't think it looks very fern-y. I like the brownish greenish paint color though.

 

When I was going through my emails this morning, one of them was a Book Funnel sales promo offer. I looked at it and my books qualify for the promo--clean and wholesome--so I signed up Better Than Mom's and Anneke's Legacy. Even though I didn't sell any ebooks or audiobooks in the last two promos I was in, I'm not giving up. It doesn't cost anything to be in them and all I have to do is send the info to my email list and advertise on social media. I can do that.

 

Dad's roses are still blooming a little. The big flush of flowers is past but there are a few still out there looking beautiful and smelling awesome.

 

After supper I sat and watched TV and knitted on Scrap Hat #5. Two of the strands I was carrying ran out so I had to dig around in the bag to find other yarns to add in. One I had to just join by knitting it into the next stitch, leaving a nice tail to weave in at the end, and the other I could tie the two together with a magic knot and have no tails.

 

I spent hours working on adding a sidekick to Three Cheers for Murder. I dreamed her up yesterday when I was following the worksheets I printed off, so today I wrote a page about her in her store and talking to the main character. Then I skimmed the manuscript to find the parts that I'd highlighted in red that needed big changes and put them in separate documents to work on at my leisure. I really like the sidekick. Her name is Juno Windsong and she sells crystals, herbs, and Tarot cards in her shop The Queen of Wands. It's next door to The Alchemists, the main character's lotion shop and across the street from another character's bookstore. She'll be fun to write and insert into the story. I also have to dumb down the detective. Maybe dumb down is the wrong way to put it. He has to be a little bumbling so the main character/sleuth can figure out the culprit before he does.

--Barbara