Nature / Writing

Friday December 27, 2013 Sometimes when I go for a walk, I'm hoping for a good birding day. Maybe the weather just seems right, or I spotted a hawk through our window, or someone online has reported an uncommon sighting in the area. Today though, I just wanted to get some pictures of the ice. There was an ice storm in Ontario before Christmas, which knocked out power for thousands of people. We were lucky, and have been well-lit and warm all through the holidays. But today was my first chance to go out with the camera. Although I wasn't particularly looking for wildlife, a Mockingbird showed up within minutes, and the ducks were out and about.  But those are the usual suspects in our neighbourhood. This lady or gentleman, however, is not: If my I.D. skills are serving me well, that's a Long-eared Owl, and it's the first time I've ever seen one. Actually, it's the first time I've seen any wi

Tuesday December 24, 2013 It started with Thanksgiving , and now for Christmas the silly videos continued at our house: When I was young, no one ever had to point out the little oranges to us on Christmas morning. They were happily devoured by my brother and I, and still are today.  Steve's not a big fan, but that just means that now I get the crate to myself. Happy holidays to you and yours, whether or not you celebrate Christmas and whether or not you do so with citrus fruit. Bonus Material! Of course an epic production such as this deserves a few behind-the-scene photos. You know, capturing the magic and whatnot: Basically I'm just making a mess at this point. Mmm... edible puppet innards. What clothespins were really made for. Our elaborate in-home studio. Now if you'll excuse me, I have some set dressing to eat. Connect Online: Facebook Page | Twitter | Google+

Sunday December 1, 2013 Just before the start of November I made a last minute decision to sign up for National Novel Writing Month, an annual challenge to write a minimum 50,000 word novel between November 1st and 30th. Unlike the 3-Day Novel Contest, you don't submit your work for judging and there are no prizes - NaNoWriMo is just about using an online community and a deadline to get yourself motivated to get a first draft down on the page. I've participated in and "won" NaNoWriMo twice before, but both of those books have been sitting around for years in need of major rewrites. I decided to sign up again this year when I looked at the rules and realized you're allowed to work on a revision of a previous work, as long as you start your prose from scratch. So I decided to use this November to completely rewrite one of those languishing NaNo books. I knew I'd be off to a late start, since I still needed to figure out my revised outline AND finish off som