Category: Backyard wildlife

This blog post does not have a picture of a fox

But there was one in the backyard this week! It was down by the pond, and while I tried to get a photo, it wasn’t happening. All I got for my efforts was an orange blur.

Still, I haven’t seen a fox in the backyard for years (granted, I may simply be missing them), so it was nice that this one stopped for a visit.

Autumn and October have officially arrived:

October in the wetlands
October in the wetlands

In writing news, I’ve made it through the longhand edits! The last 200 pages or so are waiting patiently for me to start keying them into the manuscript.

After that, I’ll need to comb through the manuscript, adding here, deleting there. Looking for the crutch words and phrases I’ve used or overused. I know I’ve said aplomb far too many times (or, rather, Henry has). My characters do far too much eye-rolling (to be fair, it’s warranted).

I even started work on the cover. Here’s a peek:

A small cover portion of The Marigold Miracle

So, The Marigold Miracle is starting to feel like a real book.

I am, however, taking the rest of the day off. It’s lovely out, and while I may not venture far from home, I am going to enjoy this unseasonably warm weather.

Like a house finch

I sometimes feel exactly how this fledgling house finch looks.

Fledgling male house finch at the hummingbird feeder
  • What am I doing?
  • Is this edible?
  • Where’s Mom?

Maybe it’s the thunderstorms and fireworks we’ve had all weekend long. I should go out and weed the garden, but the grass is up past my ankles, and it’s far too soggy for that. For today, I’m letting the jungle continue.

Even so, I’ve made a fair amount of progress on the revision this week, and I’m pleased.

The next challenge, of course, is weaving the new scenes back into the narrative. I have a dual-timeline narrative (because I can’t make things easy on myself; I suspect when I stare at the manuscript, I look like the house finch above), and I pulled the two narratives apart to work on each separately.

Always a thrill ride, this writing thing.

Speaking of this writing thing: writers, heads up!

If you don’t already follow the Writer Beware blog, head on over there. This week, Victoria Strauss breaks down clues to spotting an email scam. If you publish your work, eventually you will end up with one (or many) of these in your inbox. Forewarned is forearmed, and all that.

That’s it for this week. Today I plan to read while expressly ignoring the jungle.

Happy Sunday, everyone!

Welcome back!

Look who I spied on the Hummingbird cam today:

Male Ruby-Throated Hummingbird

It’s a male ruby-throated hummingbird scoping out some territory for a lady friend (or so I assume). He does not seem all that impressed with the (currently-empty) raised bed in the background. Fair enough; it’s not all that impressive.

But it’s good to have the hummingbirds back, no matter what their attitude.