Thinking Thoughts

Did you ever stop to think, and forget to start again? ~Winnie the Pooh

I've been thinking over the past few days... dangerous, I know, but sometimes I can't help myself. In any case, I've wondered what it is that makes a person read another person's blog. Why do you come here? What makes this in the least bit interesting to you? Why do you visit other blogs? Which blogs are a "must read" for you every day?

I have many, many blogs on my Google reader. I try to glance at them every day, but I seldom actually click through, and even less frequently do I comment. I have very little time, so can't spend my days blog-hopping (I wish I could!! There are so many neat blogs out there).

I read the ones that deal with the writing craft, but seldom comment. I'm not a terribly deep person, so when I hit one that is deep (or trying to be), my eyes tend to glaze over. Those? If it keeps up, I take them off my reader. I don't read literary fiction, so why would I read a literary blog?

The ones I hate to miss? My friends. Rest assured, even if I don't comment daily, I've read you in my Google Reader. I feel as though I've missed something if I haven't stopped by to see what you're up to. It may be the most trivial of things, but I'm interested... just as I would be if an IRL friend called to tell me about her day.

In the odd way my brain works, this led me to realize why I enjoy the books I do. Yes, I'd like them to be well crafted and tightly written with few (if any) editing errors. I'm a nit-picky person and those things are important. BUT... I will sacrifice just about anything else if the characters draw me in. If they become my friends. If I care about them, even in their day-to-day meanderings. I'm not a plot first reader, and I've come to believe that I'm not a plot first writer, either -- which is why I stall now and then. I don't know what comes next... that's not usually my initial focus. Creating interesting characters that the reader comes to care for is.

THEN I got to thinking about typical male/female stereotypes and why they *usually* prefer the types of books/movies they do. Women are *usually* nurturers. We are *usually* more emotion or heart driven. We feel, feel, feel. Our decisions are frequently based on emotion first, THEN facts. Men? They tend to be more intellectual or brain driven. They think, think, think. Their decisions are frequently based on facts first.

That's not to say that women don't think and men don't feel. But I do think it explains why men will sacrifice emotion in their stories for plot, and women are *usually* the opposite.

Bet you're waiting for some truly profound wrap-up, right? Hah. Nope. My brain doesn't work that way. Some days I sits and thinks, and other days I just sits.

It was just something I was pondering.

========================

In other news, my voles are still around. One of them leaped on my foot yesterday and I swore he put his paws in his ears and wiggled his fingers at me while sticking out his tongue.

In all seriousness, one did run across my foot while I was watering. He was gone before I even had time to squeal... those suckers are FAST. And they are living beneath my steps. And I am in despair.

=========================

Brandy, I can't grow roses. Sorry. I can grow pretty much everything else in the world, but roses and I aren't on speaking terms, so I can't help you. Anyone here grow roses? Brandy wondered what causes red spots on rose leaves.

=========================

You Are the Bedroom

You are an indulgent person. You enjoy rest, relaxation, and pampering. You know how to find peace in a crazy life. You are good at unplugging. You tend to be very private. You don't let just anyone in. You are also a romantic. When you have someone, you tend to be very couple oriented.

What Room of the House Are You?

Private? Yes. Indulgent and good at unplugging? No. Couple oriented? Nope.

===========================

The Garden

Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better. ~Albert Einstein

I got my garden tilled yesterday. That probably doesn't sound like much of a feat, unless you realize that I do it by hand -- using a pitchfork. My DH thinks I'm a little nuts for not using a regular tiller, but the fact is--I encourage beneficial wildlife to live in my garden, and don't choose to chop them up once a year. I actually bought earthworms from a place called Biocontrol Network a few years ago (and those bubbas are HUGE now) and don't want to to make the garden into a worm food processor.

My concerns were very much proven yesterday as I carefully turned the earth. I found four toads that were still hibernating in the earth (what a rude awakening for them!), several wolf spiders carrying egg sacs (I know, most of you are probably a little squicked out by spideys, but they are good bugs and we encourage their survival), and lots of earthworms (both young and old... some were so tiny it's a miracle we saw them... I'm glad the mamas are having babies). Unfortunately, we had our share of bad bugs, too: wireworms, cutworms and grubs.

We also got a bit of a brutal biology lesson: I turned a rock to pull some grass out from beneath it and woke an ant hill. Unfortunately for a wireworm that was also living there, the ants attacked it. WOW were they vicious!! Thank goodness ants are small or we wouldn't any of us be able to survive them (and, yes, that just made my writer's brain go, "Hmmmm....").

I didn't get anything planted, I was just too tired by the time I finished the job (some three hours after I started). We'll plant today.

Did you do anything fun or productive this weekend?

=========================

Your Spicy Score: Medium

You enjoy letting loose and having fun, but you don't go overboard. You know that a little spice can go a long way. You keep yourself in check. When things are too boring, you really know how to bump up the temperature. When things are getting hot and completely out of control, you know how to pull back.

How Spicy Are You?

Okay... lol..

=====================

Spring... in pictures

“Spring is when you feel like whistling even with a shoe full of slush.” - Doug Larson

The weather has been so nice, and so mild the past few weeks, I have to admit to being tempted to put in my garden: tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers and all. Still, I know if I do it'll snow. ARGH.

I hope it remains mild because so much has come up (far too early) that is on the more "tender" side -- and if it does cool down below freezing again, I'm going to lose plants.

I do plan on tilling the garden today and putting in the stuff that will take the cold: carrots, peas and maybe some chard or spinach.

I love watching everything come to life. My DD has her own flower garden in the corner of the area where her swingset is and it's got some great flowers blooming.

Phlox (growing out of a rotting stump and decorated with stones she finds in the creek nearby):



Bleeding Heart:



Wait... that picture doesn't show how gorgeous the flowers are. Check it out:



Despite the fact that black flies are out IN FORCE (I can look outside at any given time and see clouds of them... ICK), I still am enjoying the weather.

==========================

Some gratuitous pix of Dakota because I haven't posted any in a while:





We'd keep her around for the amusement value alone. :-)

A little story (and not for the squeamish...): Yesterday I was out pulling dandelions from our lawn and let the dog run around and chase squirrels. I glanced over to see where she was and she was rolling in the woods. That can only mean one thing: dead body. I shouted and she jumped up and then picked up whatever it was in her mouth. I shouted "drop it" and she did (she's actually surprised us with how obedient she turned out to be, but that's a story for another day). I went to look and... it was one of those "good news, bad news" things. Bad news? Dead body full of (ickick) maggots. Good news? It was A VOLE!!!!

As an aside, I think my Vitamin D bombs might be working. The vole damage to my plants has gone way down and no new holes have sprouted in my mulch. Since I can't think of anything else to do, I'm going to continue putting them out and hope for the best.

==========================

Another couple weeks and it's going to be butterbaby season again. Time flies, doesn't it? First will come the swallowtail:




And then the monarch:


==========================

Happy Spring!!

==========================

Congratulations!

It's hard to detect good luck - it looks so much like something you've earned. ~Frank A. Clark

Congratulations -- Jennifer Shirk won my contest this month. She chose a copy of "No Greater Loss" by Diane Craver.

For May, I'll be giving away either any of my book in eFormat or one of the following:





I've read all of these books, and they're fantastic. I think you'll enjoy any and all of them. Just leave a comment and you're entered into the contest!

========================

I've been fighting pretty massive headaches the past few days, so haven't been blog hopping, since I need to use my limited good times to work. If I eer get them under control, I'll be back. Sorry folks... I miss you!!

=========================

You Are a Lizard

You are intuitive and sensitive. You pay close attention to your subconscious and your dreams. You embrace your fears and the darker side of life. It's easy for you to be detached and objective when you need to be. You are able to let go easily. You don't get attached to much. And considering how often you change course, people shouldn't get too attached to you.

What Reptile Are You?

Um... yes and no.

====================

Chim-Chim-eny...

If we had no faults of our own, we would not take so much pleasure in noticing those of others. ~Francois duc de la Rochefoucauld

Over the past two days, we've had a houseful of guys fixing the chimney. I've discovered things about myself that I found interesting (and may have to add to a character someday! *G*).

1. I can't eat in front of people I don't know if they aren't eating also. For instance, I have no trouble eating in a restaurant, but I found it impossible to eat lunch while the workers were working. Had they taken a lunch break, I would have been fine, but otherwise? I skipped lunch both days. It was good for my figure -- I lost 3.5 lbs!! Maybe I should skip lunch every day?

2. I was VERY disconcerted by their use of my bathroom. And, when they would use it, I made a point of going away so I couldn't hear them.

2a. I couldn't use the same bathroom -- what if they heard ME? LOL... So, I went upstairs to use the potty when I had to go.

3. It was strange to hear someone older than I call me "Mrs.____" -- the man who ran the crew was easily 10 - 15 years older. I'm used to kids doing so, but not people my age or older. It made me jolt every time.

In any case, our chimney is now better, stronger and faster than before. It's double lined (appropriate for running a wood stove), and a pretty new pipe hooking it up to the chimney. Now, DH just needs to clean and repair the stove (it took a beating in the fire and we have a cracked grate and fire bricks, plus it's just plain dirty from being tossed into the snow).

This whole house maintenance thing is for the birds, I'm telling you. If DH dies before me? I'm moving into a condo.

===========================

You Are a Blueberry Smoothie

You are original and expressive. You have a strong, vibrant personality. You tend to be attracted to the unconventional and obscure things in life. You have strong opinions and preferences, even if they do tend to change a lot. You are not particularly artistic, but you have an artist's temperament.

What Flavor Smoothie Are You?

Strong opinions? ME? Shocking...

==========================

Living With Wildlife, Part 2

Our suburbs are stretching a little closer to the woods, and we like living in the woods. We enjoy the wildlife, so we're now a bit closer to where the predators are.” - Stephen Zawistowski quotes

The past three nights, DH and I have been awakened around midnight to screaming. Okay, it's not people screaming... it's this (go listen to the YouTube video, I'll wait -- you need to hear it to get the full affect of why it's been such a rude awakening for us):



That's a Fisher Cat.



What makes this even more amazing is... yesterday morning, before anyone but the dog and I were up, Dakota laid at the back door, staring out like she always does. Then she started growling... then louder... then "oof-ing". I looked, and saw nothing until ... HOLY COW! An enormous fisher cat popped out of the woods and sauntered across my lawn. The thing was just HUGE -- maybe two-thirds the size of Dakota. I've seen them before, but not this closely and never one so large. Dakota wanted to get out there and take him on, but fisher cats are very nasty buggers, and she'd have been torn to pieces. The articles I've read indicate that very large males can reach 20 pounds, but that's unusual. I'm guessing mine is one of those. Yikes.

So... no lions and tigers but even so, the wildlife count this year is through the roof.

============================

I heard from the owner of Resplendence Publishing two days ago. A very nice email and request to resubmit. I might do that. I'm making a few changes in the story first, but there was a reason I'd wanted to submit to them in the first place. So, kudos to Resplendence for making it right.

============================

You Are a Burrito

You're not a picky person. You're able to go with the flow and really enjoy life. You have a taste for the exotic, and you're quite adventurous. You're willing to try almost anything. You're very low maintenance. You don't mind getting a bit messy if it means having fun. You aren't superficial or easily impressed. Someone has to be the real deal if they're going to impress you.

What Kind of Fast Food Are You?

Except for the "adventurous" part, this is pretty close to right.

Plus, I love me a good burrito... mmmm....

===========================