Walking in Sunshine

I'm glad I waited until this afternoon to take a walk because the sun came out so I wasn't walking in the drear. It's so much easier to walk in sunshine than when it's cloudy. It feels warmer even on a cool day.

 

The daily squirrel did an acrobatic turn this afternoon. Instead of leaping onto the perch and getting right to nibbling seed it landed on the roof of the square green feeder and looked around a little before stretching down to eat the seed upside down.

 

After my walk I dug around in the shed and didn't find the feeder I was thinking was there (I must have tossed it) but I did find this tube feeder with big enough holes that the peanut halves in the mix can be gotten out. No birds or squirrels have discovered it yet but I have faith in the gluttony of the backyard wildlife that it won't take long. And this feeder looks like it'll be emptied much quicker than the square one. I had to reinstall a crook that I removed the other day to hang it but that's okay, the hole was still there so it was easy to put back in the ground.

 

I noticed the House Finches have faded to their winter coloration. Their breasts and heads aren't the bright raspberry red/pink of summer and are back to the washed out pink of winter.

 

For art today I decided to get out my watercolors and practice painting the landscape I want to paint in the last watercolor class next Wednesday. I'm happy with the way it turned out and sometimes when I look at it it kind of looks like the photograph. Kinda.

 

Just before settling down to blog I worked on writing the blurb for Anneke's Legacy. What I have is a hook (first sentence) I'm happy with and then two paragraphs of too much information for the final draft.

 

There was a home football game this afternoon and I can hear a rock band still playing at the stadium. I live over a mile away so if I can hear the drums and some singing inside my house imagine how loud it is in person. I just checked online and they won. Yay! That means people will be in a good mood for at least tomorrow. And the Brewers won last night too so the baseball fans will be happy too--for a while anyway.

--Barbara 

Stuck

I went downstairs to get some snack bars for lunch desserts and look at what I found.  A little mousie stuck in the last remaining glue trap. So, that means the pest nerds have removed 5 mouse corpses and they weren't the last of the basement mice. Here I was thinking there couldn't be any left. How many are down there?

 

And look who showed up at the square green feeder. The female Red-bellied Woodpecker! She came a bunch of times to the square feeder, each time prospecting for a peanut half. Once she had one in her beak she'd fly away.

 

Today's drawing prompt was Wildlife. I drew a couple bees because I like drawing bees and then tried my hand at drawing a Red-bellied Woodpecker. The bees are good, the bird's not bad.

 

When I went into the living room to draw the drapes I saw that the sky was alight with red orange light so I had to go out and try to take a picture without the streetlight pole in it. I love when the setting sun paints the bottoms of the gray clouds in colors like that. It was overcast all day but the sun managed to sneak between the horizon and the bottom of the layer of clouds. Nice.

 

I met my friend, KE, at the east side multiplex theatre this afternoon to see the Downton Abbey movie. It was good. We loved the dresses the women wore. Amazing! There weren't many people in the theater but we went to the earliest showing and it's a Packer home game weekend so people were concentrated on the west side. Then we went to a local restaurant, Mackinaw's, for an early supper. I ordered Nachos Grande off the appetizer menu and had a hard time eating half of them. Guess what I'm having for supper tomorrow. That's right, soggy tortilla chips with excellent toppings.

I spent part of the morning making one of The First Line stories legible by separating it into paragraphs. It's pretty long and very odd. I'll have to read it a few dozen times to see if it's something I want to share.

I am happy to be getting the blog post written and posted early tonight. The last two nights I've been up until after 11:30 and it's just too late, especially when a friend texted me at 7:15 this morning and woke me up. I'll sleep well tonight.

--Barbara 

Yay!

Look at what showed up this morning. A Red-bellied Woodpecker male! You can tell it's a male because the red on his head goes all down to the beak. It landed on the square green feeder but found a peanut right away and flew away. I was so happy when he came back for a peck at the suet nuggets AND he landed on the side so I could see the bird. Hooray!

 

I spent a lot of the day going over a folder full of short-ish stories I wrote back in 2009 when the members of my writing group and I were submitting stories to a journal called The First Line. As the name implies, they gave you the first line and you had to write a story from there. I've got about five of them that are polished enough to get in line to be posted on Substack. I thought I had more stories but it turned out I had, like, six versions of one story with different names. Just did an online search and the literary journal is still going strong so I turned the title into a link to the website in case you want to try your hand at submitting. Hurry, though. The next submission deadline is November 1.

 

And the squirrel was back today. It catapulted itself from the patio chair to the square green feeder and managed to knock the cover of it cockeyed again. I'm waiting for it to figure out a way to move the cover and get inside to really chow down. We'll see.

 

Tonight at Friday Night Knitting I worked on the first Llama Mitten and got to the end of the hand but didn't have a scissors or tapestry needle handy to finish the top so I could start on the thumb. So I switched to the Iron Pyrite sock and knitted an inch or so on the foot. I've got about another inch to knit before starting the toe decreases.

 

The lawn mowers came today. I was wondering if they were coming this week because they're usually here long before Friday. He started with the regular mower and then switched to the one with the collection bins on the back to suck up the leaves with the grass clippings. I was wondering if they were just going to mow over the leaves or how they were going to deal with them. I didn't take a picture.

And I forgot to draw or paint today. I got so wrapped up in The First Line stories to the exclusion of anything else except remembering to drain the borax water off the sheets (which I started soaking on Tuesday) and run them through a regular wash cycle with detergent and bleach and more borax. I am determined to make them white again. I even remembered to put them in the dryer. It'll be a while before I go down there to fold them, though. I'm in no hurry to do that.

--Barbara 

Evidently

All I needed to do was complain about it and the birds show up! When I opened the patio door drapes this morning there was a flock of Sparrows flitting around the green square feeder and pecking up any seeds that had fallen to the ground. The seeds on the ground aren't nearly as plentiful as they were under the green round feeder but the birds don't seem to mind.

 

Then a little later I happened to look up and there was a Red-bellied Woodpecker on the crook. Naturally it flew over to the suet nuggets as soon as I had the camera ready but I was patient and managed to snap a picture of its red head when it leaned over.

 

A Chickadee (or six) was darting onto the platform feeder and then over to a Slinky and back. I was lucky enough to get a shot of one on the Slinky.

 

The Sparrows took turns visiting the suet cakes. There isn't a lot of cake left in the feeder but I won't refill it until it's empty.

 

And finally this afternoon I saw a few birds I wasn't ready to see yet. It was Juncos, the little black-backed birds that migrate down to Wisconsin from the Arctic Circle because it's warmer here in winter. I wanted to go out and shoo them away at least until November. It's too early for them to arrive!

 

I had a $5 voucher at Michaels that they reminded me to spend before it expired so I went over there on my way to get more bananas and found a few skeins of yarn to use to crochet hats with LC. We've got a date later this month to get started on a simple crocheted hat so I wanted some fun yarn to knit with. Not that I don't have a boatload of yarn in the basement but I haven't bought any yarn in about a year so I didn't feel bad about it, plus I had that voucher and it was on sale buy one, get one half off. Couldn't pass it up!

 

Today's drawing prompt was Abstract so I pulled out some markers and got busy making shapes. They're not bad.

 

I realized this afternoon that I hadn't taken a picture of the latest Car Knitting Washcloth #18. So I did. I love the yarn colorway--High Sierra Ombre. It's from Hobby Lobby and their cotton yarn doesn't seem to be as absorbent as other cotton yarns but like I said, I love the colors.

 

In the afternoon I spent a little time reading Anneke's Legacy on the Kindle and making a few notes. I am so glad that I started emailing manuscripts to that handy little device and using the book-like look of it to help find things that need editing or changing.

 

I keep forgetting to tell you about my latest marketing effort. I signed up to do a FREE book promo on Book Funnel. Follow this link:  https://books.bookfunnel.com/octoberwomensfiction/n7us1oqcxd to find a page of a whole lot of FREE women's fiction books, including The Seaview. It's a newsletter builder promo so all you have to do to get a book for free is sign up for the author's newsletter. Check it out!

Tonight I was supposed to knit with friends but after we ate a delicious bowl of Italian Sausage, Butternut Squash puree, and gnocchi that CS made, along with garlic bread I bought, Caprese salad that DM made, and Snickerdoodle Caramel ice cream sandwiches that KE bought, we just sat around talking and never did get to knitting. Maybe next month we'll actually knit.

--Barbara 

The Daily Squirrel

One squirrel has learned that there's an easy meal in my backyard and shows up every day to partake of it. A few Sparrows show up but only a few and not very often. So I'm putting out seed for one squirrel. I made the decision to take down the Oriole feeder and the Finch feeder today. Haven't seen an Oriole in weeks and weeks and the House Finches stopped visiting the orange half so it just rotted out there and turned a lovely shade of black. Ick. I ran out of Finch seed so I soaked that feeder to get out the caked seed in the bottom of it and I put out the last of the safflower seed in the platform feeder. When that's gone I'll take down that crook and feeder. I'm debating what to do with the suet nuggets. It seems like nothing is eating them lately so they're rain-soaked and kind of mushed together. Evidently unappetizing. Should I dump out what's in the feeder and let the squirrels and chipmunks and rabbits have a feast? Probably.

 

I visited DS at Zambaldi this morning. He was brewing Maple Brown Ale and getting the tank ready to pump it into once it was done sanitizing and the beer finished cooking.

 

While the sanitizer was spraying around in the tank he drained off the yeast from the tank next to that one. He puts in something to "crash" the yeast out so it falls to the bottom of the tank and he can drain it off. It looks like liquid Silly Putty to me. It doesn't smell bad, it just looks gross.

 

Today's drawing prompt was Signs & Symbols so I decided to draw the symbols for different types of money. I had to stop and think which angle to cross the cents sign because it's been so long since I've seen one. Evidently nothing is cents anymore, only dollars.

 

In the afternoon I worked on the manuscript. I realized that I can go back to the original title of the story, Anneke's Legacy, and that's a better title than, The Summer of Blue-Black Nights, because it takes place in the winter. Therefore it fits the story better. 

 

And I drew a gratitude journal page for yesterday. I was glad to have the pest nerd come and take away the two dead mice and was happy to have a stack of landscape photos to choose from for watercolor class tonight.

 

Speaking of watercolor class, I'm not done with my painting so I left it there in a rack and forgot to take a picture of it. Nuts! I feel like it ruined it at the end anyway so I may start over next week which is the last class.

I've got knitting with friends tomorrow night. I said I'd bring garlic bread which I can't wait to eat. And I have to figure out what I'm going to knit. I could start another mitten even though I'm not done with the first one or I could just knit on the dishcloth/washcloth that lives in my car door and have something totally mindless and simple to work on. I confess that's the way I'm leaning.

My computer is frustrating. I had to do an update the other day and whatever it did, or didn't do, has made it so slooooow it's driving me crazy. It was nice and zippy and now it's slower than molasses in January.  Gah!

--Barbara 

Back to Sunshine

Today it was sunny until the late afternoon so I went out to inspect what was blooming in the yard.  All of the mums are happily blooming away. The gold ones popped open when I was gone last week.

 

The copper mums are all open too. I like the mound of flowers that they and the gold ones make. Kind of like a big bouquet.

 

However, the purple mums don't make a mound. They sprawl around Dad's rosebush and are wrapping themselves around a black plastic pot with soil but no plants. 

 

I thought all that was growing in those front pots were weeds but this morning when I was taking mum pictures I saw that a marigold from last year volunteered to come back and throw out a flower. Nice.

 

Today's drawing prompt was Stones, Rocks & Pebbles. I don't have any rocks handy to use as examples so I just copied a few of her examples in the book. Instead of markers or regular colored pencils, I used watercolor pencils that I then activated with water to make the color smooth and blur the hard edges. They're the best rocks I've ever managed.

 

Tonight I have lemon Jello for a bedtime snack. It's good, but not as good as lime or orange. That's okay, it's totally edible.

 

The pest nerd came to check the traps this morning. He found two dead mice and reset the traps. I don't know what they use for bait but whatever it is mice seem to like it. "Pest nerds" is what they call themselves in all of their texts and emails. I don't want you to think I'm dissing them.

There's a frost advisory tonight. Three days ago it was 80 degrees. We could have frost tonight. The weather is out of control.

I did laundry today because I ran out of short, white cotton socks. Nothing's folded yet. And I wanted to soak the sheets in borax water so they come cleaner. These sheets are so old they don't get as white as they used to so I went back to the old ways. I bought a box of 20 Mule Team Borax and dissolve a bunch in hot water and then let the sheets soak in the washer overnight. Tomorrow I'll drain the tub and refill it with fresh water and detergent. 

The program at Writer's Guild tonight was on AI. It's a controversial subject with writers. We learned a lot about what it does well and what it doesn't. I use the app I have for punctuation and grammar help but don't take the "you should change these words" suggestions.

--Barbara 

A Rainy Day

It was overcast and cloudy all day and spit rain off and on. Fortunately it didn't rain much when I had to be out and about. That was good. It was about 10 degrees cooler today too.

 

The first visitor to the birdfeeder today was this little Sparrow. There were a few others that took turns at the feeder sides. I got a text from my neighbor early this morning that the little Hawk was on the fence but by the time I reached the window it was gone. Dang it. She texted me a picture but I haven't saved it yet.

 

Then the squirrel was there. I haven't seen it leap up there but it must have been a hard leap because the roof of the feeder was knocked out of place. It worked hard to get seeds out of the narrow gap, changing position to keep it open.

 

The drawing prompt today was Holidays. I chose Halloween, mostly because I could draw a jack-o-lantern and a witch's hat. I combined two orange colored pencils to make a good color.

 

There was another colored leaf on the fern fronds yesterday so you get to see it today. I'm show you because most of the fallen leaves are brown so a colored one is a treat.

 

Today was the monthly lunch get-together of the St. Agnes Class of '65 at a sports bar. I had a chicken sandwich with pepperjack cheese and bacon on it and sweet potato fries. It was enough food that I skipped supper. And I made some lemon Jello but it isn't jelled yet so I have to wait until tomorrow.

When I left to go to lunch the garage door opener wouldn't work to close the door so I had to go inside, push the button by the back door, and leave through the front door. It wouldn't work coming home either. It was only once I was inside I decided to go to Batteries + to get a new battery in it. So I had to repeat the process to close it again. Then it didn't work when I came back with a new battery. Gah! It seems not to want to work when it's damp. So frustrating. Maybe I need a whole new opener?

I realized tonight that I need to have a landscape photo for watercolor class on Wednesday night so I sat here going through Clearing photos and sending them to Walgreens to have them printed. I picked out 22 of them. I'll have to narrow it down to one. I do not feel confident about the idea of painting a landscape. I know I've painted them before and they've never turned out. Trees don't turn out well for me either. I'm sure I'll be the worst in class.

Tomorrow morning the pest nerd is coming to check the traps downstairs. I went down to put my suitcase away and it doesn't smell too bad. That either means the dead mice have been dead long enough to stop stinking or the first wave of snapped traps pretty much cleaned them out. I don't care either way I'm just glad to have them taken care of.

--Barbara 

Book Event

I had a book event today at Townline Pub & Grill in Howard which is attached to Green Bay to the northwest. This was the first event GBB and I did with this promoter and at first we were not impressed. She said when we arrived that we weren't on her floor plan which I knew couldn't be right because we'd signed up and paid for the spot in June. Turned out there was a Barb who got there before us and hadn't signed up until October 3 so SHE wasn't on the floor plan and got our corner spot. The promoter showed us a couple spots way back in a remote place of the room but we dismissed them as not what we'd paid for. Then I mentioned I'd paid for a corner spot she asked my last name. She'd given our spot to the other Barb but gave us one right next to her and it was actually a better location. So I had a whole table to spread my books out which I liked. I sold six books and may have sold some ebooks. Time will tell. I wish there was a way to sell ebooks at book events. QR codes maybe?

 

The squirrel was back on the birdfeeder this morning before I left for the book event. I can't figure out how it manages to have two paws on the perch and not close the cover over the ports but it figured it out. A Bluejay landed on the back of a patio chair but was gone before I got the camera up, darn it.

 

When I went out before supper to fill the birdbath I noticed that there were colorful autumn leaves that landed on the fern fronds next to the patio door. I was disappointed not to see many leaves changing colors up in Door County last week. A lot of the leaves falling in the neighborhood are brown or pale yellow. Maybe we didn't have enough rain? Maybe it's been too hot? I miss the blaze of colors in the fall sunshine.

Today was the first of a long string of 7 more book events from now until December 14. I'm pinning my hopes on selling a few books at each one. Six was a nice number. One cool thing, a woman called me by name and she turned out to have been a tenant of mine when my parents lived in this half of the duplex, so probably 30 years ago. It was great to see her again, I even remembered her first name (whew!), and she bought a book. I did not order lunch though. What came out into the room from the pub looked and smelled good but after eating all that good food last week I thought it'd be smart to just have my brown bag lunch of a cheese stick, crackers, grapes, and a WW brownie. Sometimes I have willpower.

--Barbara 

Home

I made it back home this morning. Left The Clearing at about 8:30am and got home just after 11am because I stopped for a car wash and to pick up some fruit at the grocery. I drove on gravel a lot and it was dusty but I was happy to see that "The Meemaw Mobile" which LC wrote in the dust on the passenger door is still barely visible and the smiley face that OJ drew on the rear window is mostly there too. The suitcase is unpacked and all the dirties are down the chute. I haven't taken the suitcase and writing stuff crate downstairs yet, though. I'll get there. I did a (very) little shopping at The Clearing's book/gift shop and picked up a tee-shirt on sale, some colored pencils, and tiny pink scissors in a little sleeve.

 

It was a perfect week, weather-wise, sunny most days and high 60s/low 70s until yesterday and today when it was in the high 70s. It was in the mid-80s when I got home which made unloading the car a little unpleasant. I don't like to be hot. Once I had all the Clearing stuff out of the car I folded the seats down and loaded the table, chair, book rack, books, and accessories into the car so I don't have to do any of that stuff in the morning. Sorry the picture's so dark, I forgot to take it when it was light outside and the flash didn't go far.

 

This is the room I shared with my writing friend, MH. It's room #9 and it's pretty small. We figured out how to store the wooden benches you can see in the picture away from the foot of the beds so there was room to get by to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night without breaking toes. It you look closely you can see that I'd already set up my writing desk before I took this picture on Saturday.

 

They feed us well up there. I took a picture of each meal's menu board so I could remember what we ate and put it into my journal. Each meal was better than the last. This is the midday meal yesterday. We had pork tenderloin with rhubarb compote, roasted squash with honey-lemon butter (it was a little too spicy for most people but I tolerated it pretty well), garden salad with pear vinaigrette, and pumpkin bars with cream cheese frosting. No one goes hungry there. EVER.

 

I took a copy of each of my books and laid them out on a table in the Lodge where everyone goes to eat. I sold a couple to writers but none to anyone else. Oh well, two is better than none. I almost forgot, they needed two more copies of Horizon for the bookstore so I took those over and will get a check in the mail.

 

I was surprised when I got home today to see that the birdseed in the new/old feeder was only down about an inch and a half in a week. It's going to take a long time to get through my 40# bag of birdseed at this rate.

 

Here's a kind of self-portrait. I was walking back to the central campus from our classroom and noticed that the sun was behind me casting my shadow on the path through the woods. I think I like it a lot.

 

Last month I signed up to join a newsletter builder promo in October through a book website. It requires you to give away a book so I chose The Seaview hoping that people would read it and buy the next two books in the series--and the Christmas novella too, of course. It's only the fourth of the month and already 42 people have "claimed" a book which means I have 42 new names on my newsletter email list.  I'm signed up to do the same next month too so maybe I'll make more sales because of it. That's the hope, anyway.

 

I had a great week but I'm glad to be home in my own home with my own bed and bathroom. Besides if I'd been there for much longer my pants wouldn't have fit!

--Barbara