Animal Tales

It is an important and popular fact that things are not always what they seem. For instance, on the planet Earth, man had always assumed that he was more intelligent than dolphins because he had achieved so much - the wheel, New York, wars and so on - whilst all the dolphins had ever done was muck about in the water having a good time. But conversely, the dolphins had always believed that they were far more intelligent than man - for precisely the same reasons. ~Douglas Adams, The Hitch-Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy

I have the noisiest cardinal outside my window right now. I don't feed my birds anymore, not since last spring when we had a bear march up to my feeders in the back yard in the middle of the day and take one. I miss my birds. I really found a lot of joy and peace watching them.

My favorite time of year was when the Hairy Woodpecker babies would fledge and mom would show them how to use the suet feeders. She'd fly over, leaving them in a nearby try, get a mouthful of suet and take it to them. She'd do that a couple of times, and then then next time, she wouldn't take them any.

Finally, after peeping and peeping, they'd make their way over. They usually had pretty poor aim, and would miss the feeder the first few times. Finally, though, they'd land and eat. It was a lot of fun. I missed it last year (it broke my heart -- I pulled the feeders right around that time, and for a couple weeks I'd have woodpeckers in my trees peeping and peeping and looking at where they used to be... made me SO sad. Stupid bear.) and I'll miss it this year. I just can't figure out a way to "bear proof" my feeders, not to mention I'd rather not have bears nearby with Dakota and DD outside.

In other animal news, a third white duck has joined the crew at Quackie's pad. All of sudden they're coming out of the woodwork! Two seem to have paired up, and one tends to hang around the edges, but at least it's company. Plus there are still about half a dozen male mallards swimming around there. I hope that at least the white ducks stay -- I'd hate to see Quackie all alone again.

And in sad news, I just saw that author L. A. Banks was diagnosed with late stage adrenal cancer. They're accepting donations toward her medical costs, and I expect the prognosis is not good. Very sad. She's a talented author, and from what I can tell, a good person, too. My thoughts and prayers go out to her and her family.

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You Are Gothic

You can be too moody and impossible to understand. Most people don't have feelings as strong as yours. You are a sensitive, romantic soul. You live to love... it's the most important thing for you. You're quite loyal to those you love most - friends and family. You have a sweet heart. You are a deeply spiritual and wise person. You seek meaning in every aspect of your life.

Which Architectural Style Are You?

Oddly, that's quite close to correct. How'd they get that from the questions they asked? :::scratches head:::

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Birds and Trucks and NaNo (oh my)

So... yesterday, my very handy husband fixed a fuel line leak in his truck. It's awfully nice to have a handy husband around -- just saying. The repair itself was incredibly simple, but getting to the line? Not so much.

We had to pull the bed off the truck AND drop the gas tank (which, unfortunately, was full). When DH looked at some online forums to get information about taking off the bed, he said they all said you needed four men to get it off. Since we don't HAVE four men, and since it was a Friday and all them men we knew were off at their jobs, it was up to DH, DD and me to do the job.

I'm happy to say that, although it was a little dicey and DD nearly dropped her side when we took it off, we got it done. DH was tempted to leave it off and drive around what he called a redneck vehicle (kind of like when he was painting his car and almost clear-coated over the primer, just because).

In any case, here's the truck sans bed (I either cropped out or blacked out DH's face ... he's not a fan of pictures and he's especially not a fan of having them online):





Surprisingly, putting the bed back ON was easier than getting it off. But, my arms are a little sore this morning, and I'm willing to bet they'll get more so. It's not going to help that we're starting to split, move and stack our wood for the winter today. Whee!!!

In other news, we had our annual visit from the grackles. These things are amazing -- they come in these huge, NOISY flocks of several hundred birds. When they're here, all you hear is chirping (or whatever you'd call what they do) loud enough it's a little scary. Here's a partial picture of them on my lawn. I was taking the picture through the window and most of them are actually around the corner of my house:



It about drove Dakota nuts.

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In writing news, I signed up for NaNoWriMo. I'm not feeling really positive about it this year, but I just can't NOT give it a try...

Yeah, I know. But it's in the blood. I love NaNo.

If you're doing NaNoWriMo, feel free to add me as a friend. My user ID is (oddly enough): MarianneArkins

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You Are a Silk Scarf

You are sensitive and emotional. You are easily moved by the world around you. You tend to be quiet and reflective. You prefer to stand back and observe rather than making a splash! You are a good listener and a truly caring person. You have plenty of time to devote to your friends. You try to tread lightly while making the world a better place. Doing good deeds brings meaning to your life.

What Kind of Scarf Are You?

I don't FEEL sensitive and emotional ... :::shrugs::: Maybe I hide it well -- even from myself. *G*

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Six Things

Always be a first-rate version of yourself, instead of a second-rate version of somebody else. ~Judy Garland

Yesterday, Maria Zannini posted an award on her blog:



And instead of awarding it to fifteen blogs, asked us to post one random thing about ourselves in her comments (I did *G*) and then another six here. I'm carrying the torch here -- anyone who reads this and wants to play: post one random thing about you in the comments, and then another six on your blog.

Suddenly I have the song, "Getting to Know You" going through my head...



Anyway.... here are my six other random things:

1. I'm trying to get up the nerve to try eating milkweed.

2. I have a tendency to start singing songs when someone talks -- I can find a lyric that goes with conversation almost without fail (hence the "Getting to Know You" above ... it just happens).

3. I don't like swimming in natural water, and I won't touch bottom if I'm barefoot, even if I'm in two feet of water. Who knows what lurks down there? :::shivers:::

4. I'm prone to depression, so have to consciously find ways to stay happy -- it's probably why I tend to write funny stories.

5. I suspect I'm a little OCD -- there are certain things that must be done a certain way (I mentioned one on Maria's blog yesterday), and if they aren't I have a meltdown. Either that, or I'm a control freak....

6. I have a soft spot for all creatures (great and small *G*) and even apologize to the ones I smoosh (like Japanese beetles ... I saw my first one yesterday). When I kill them, I make sure it's in the most humane way possible, and if they would just leave my stuff alone, I'd leave them alone.

Okay... who's next?

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I just saw a bird (it landed on my deck) that I don't know what it is! It had a dusty orange back shading into gray on its body, and a white tummy. It was about the size of a cardinal, which is what I thought it was at first... must go on a bird hunt.

Yes, I am this random in person, in case you were wondering.

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You Are Salsa Dancing

You are expressive, dramatic, and passionate. When you dance, you dance your heart out. You are outgoing and willing really put it all out there. You don't have a shy bone in your body. In fact, it's probably hard to hold yourself back from dancing. When you hear good music, you want to move. You think people need to get out of their heads more and hit the dance floor. Dancing is one of life's pure joys.

What's Your Dance Style?

That's about 80% true ... and I do love to dance!

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Preparing for Winter

When the bold branches
Bid farewell to rainbow leaves -
Welcome wool sweaters.
~B. Cybrill

I started tearing down the garden yesterday. On the one hand, it makes me sad, but on the other, we had such a terrible year (garden-wise) that it's almost a relief to pull everything up and get it out of sight.

I think I picked three full-sized tomatoes this year -- off about a dozen plants! And, though we certainly had more cherry tomatoes, there were never more than we could easily snack on in one sitting, and that was from another dozen plants. We should have been swimming in red.

We picked five cucumbers this year, off of eight plants. A few handfuls of beans and peas. The carrots died for no apparent reason. The only thing that produced decently was the squash, which is starting to die now, and I'm not sure why. I'll probably get 4-5 more squash off them before they're gone.

So disappointing. I really wanted to have tomatoes to can this year. And maybe more pickles. Good thing we aren't pioneers, and can go to the store when the garden flops!

Today, I'll finish pulling up what's left, except for the squash which gets to live until it dies on its own. I'll also finish chopping down most of my perennial flowers which are done blooming. All I have left are the fall bloomers: asters and chrysanthemums.

Then I need to do my bulbs -- I want to plant pink daffodils for the spring since the voles and chipmunks have decimated my crocus and grape hyacinth bulbs, and I want something besides yellow. I think there are a few other deer resistant bulbs (which probably means vole-and-'munk resistant), so I need to research that as well.

And then hunker down and get ready for a long, white winter.

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ACK! A bird just flew into my slider -- not hard, but still. We don't have a plain glass one, either. What was it thinking? We had a bat slam into it once a couple winters ago and then land, motionless in the snow on the deck. I couldn't just leave him there, so I donned oven mitts and grabbed a towel, picked it up and put him in the rafters underneath our deck where he'd be safe until he regained all his facilities. I like bats. They are good doobies.

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For Hours of Entertainment...

Those little nimble musicians of the air, that warble forth their curious ditties, with which nature hath furnished them to the shame of art. ~Izaak Walton

I've been having squirrel problems at the bird feeders... more squirrels than I've ever had before. I have chipmunks, too, but they don't eat as much AND they typically eat what falls on the ground, which is fine with me. But the SQUIRRELS. DH is always saying he could "take care of them" for me... yes, a loosely disguised offer to kill them.

I'm a big believer in letting things live if they aren't a threat to my safety, or my plants safety (I say this, because I am pretty mean to the red lily leaf beetles, Japanese beetles, wireworms, tomato worms and the great number of other insect pests that strip my plants -- those assassinate without pity and without mercy), so I'm not going to entice the little rodents to my feeders and then kill them. That's just wrong.

Instead... I splurged and bought a new bird feeder: The Yankee Flipper.

Aside from (hopefully) keeping the squirrels off my feeder, I have great hope that it will provide hours of entertainment. Here's a YouTube video I found (keep the volume down unless you like the song "You Spin Me Round" by Dead or Alive:



And, my lovely local Agway (I really, really love them) assured me I can bring it back if it doesn't work. They're the best people ever -- I can even bring back OPENED pet food, or used bug spray or whatever if it doesn't work or I'm dissatisfied in any way. They're such great folks...

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I wrote -- not yesterday, unfortunately, but I did write the day before! Just over 1000 words on a short romantic comedy based on the short I did for Womans World that was rejected some months ago. It's so much fun to write -- because they are getting into one predicament after another. Do you think they're cursed? LOL.... Anyway, I don't know how long it will be (I'm aiming for at least 12k words), or where I'll send it (I'm torn between Samhain or a particular publisher that is looking for short stories for a print anthology... I'd sure like to see it in print), but I love it and I know how it ends, so should actually be able to GET THERE.

I also worked some more on Stiller Creek... this one is harder since I have to go back and add in a character and make it look seamless, as though he'd been there from the beginning. But, it's giving me a chance to work on some things I didn't love, and I might go ahead and resubmit it to Samhain once it's done (since she did offer to look at it again). We'll see...

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Rain is expected for most of the weekend, so fun will be had by all here... NOT. DH and DD can't go boating, Dd will be cooped up... ugh. Please, please let the sun come out tomorrow... and, wow, that was an inadvertant earworm, for which I apologize profusely.

Any plans for the weekend?

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All Dressed Up...

The trouble with weather forecasting is that it's right too often for us to ignore it and wrong too often for us to rely on it. ~Patrick Young

So, despite my precaution of checking the forecast for this week and finding nothing even CLOSE to freezing (and deciding it was safe to plant prior to Memorial Day)... I once again jinxed it. I can NOT plant early. I can't. Because last night, they amended our forecast and called for temps below freezing: FROST WARNING!

Well... shoot.

So, I did what any other sane gardener would do. I protected my babies. I had a lot to cover... but my biggest concern were my veggies. I pulled out the big guns (and was so thankful for tomato cages!!!). See:



I had NO idea I owned so many sheets, lol. I went to the linen closet and found FIVE SETS. Some, I've deliberately kept for drop clothes, etc., but I don't know why I have the others... do we need five sets of sheets? Really? (Actually if you count what are currently on the beds, we have eight sets).

The various soft annuals, like my impatiens, all got plastic bags over them. A funny -- Dakota is a very visual dog, moreso than any dog I've known. And, last night when I took her out for her last potty break, she trotted of the back steps and started to squat and then SAW THE BAGS. She got all poofed up and stiff-legged, growling and oofing. Funniest thing I've seen in a while. I may do stuff like that now and then just to mess with her. *G*

BTW, have you checked out the LASR spotlight this week? Because our guests are Charity and Darcy of "The Geek Girl's Guide To Cheerleading" fame and there's some great stuff. Charity tells us how to cook bacon and eggs in a paper bag, and Darcy dishes about getting her first tattoo... Go see! (And, as an added bonus, you can enter to win the book).

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We have a bird (I've yet to ID it) that comes to visit daily -- she sits on the top railing of our deck and screeches for 5 or 10 minutes. It's cute, but I wish she had a sweeter voice.

Mr. Turkey hasn't been been back in some time, and I'm a little worried. It's turkey season here... I sure hope he's okay. I miss him :-(

Why do you suppose my woodpeckers prefer the seed in the feeder over the suet? It's very odd.

My milkweed is about a foot tall now -- I know we won't get Monarch butterbabies until end of June at the earliest, but I'm getting excited. Hope we have more than last year! (I will once again have milkweed seeds if anyone wants them -- I'd suggest putting them somewhere you don't mind if they spread. But monarch habitat is becoming scarce, so any help is good).

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You Are Conditioner

You are naturally nurturing and calming. You smooth things over. You can have a neutralizing effect. You can deal with chaos well. You are encouraging and supportive. You have a gentle touch. You are generous and bighearted. You have a lot to give.

What Bathroom Product Are You?

Not so sure about that... IMHO, I'm kind of selfish, lol...

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And the Winner Is....

My favorite weather is bird-chirping weather. ~Loire Hartwould

I ran all last months comments through Random.org and the winner of this month's contest is: LYNN REYNOLDS!!!

Lynn, email me at authormariannearkins AT gmail DOT com and tell me which prize you'd like to win from this page here.

Thanks to everyone for commenting... a new contest will start later today, when I've had a chance to peruse recently read stories and decide which one I want to share with someone.

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This weekend was absolutely lovely. Warm! Okay, warm for NH -- in the 40s. Sunny! The snow is melting like crazy -- almost my entire front lawn is exposed. Of course, we get brutal, full sun all day long there. My crocus are coming up like CRAZY. I'd forgotten how many bulbs I planted last fall -- I hope they all bloom at the same time. It'll be amazing. There must be 150 little plants all over the place.

Even better? The birds are beginning to sing up the sun. I LOVE that! It's such a happy way to start the day -- just as the sun begins to lighten the sky, the air fills with song. Yep... spring and summer are the best times of year.

I took LONG walks both days. One was 90 mins, the other an hour and my legs HURT today. I am so out of shape. It's so easy to turn into a blob in the winter. There's something about sunshine that begs you to go outside and DO something. Snow and clouds? Not so much.

I've finally talked DH into getting a treadmill for all of us (including Dakota!), but now I have to do my research and get the best bang for the buck. I'm looking for something with a wide enough track I'm not going to fall off with a misstep, something that inclines safely and will take a 200+ lb man running on it. I'd prefer something that folded, but that's optional. And I don't want something that's going to break down after a year. Anyone out there have any suggestions? I could use your help.

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I was going to do a test I found on a quiz site -- but I had some reservations as to its accuracy. The title? TEST HOW HIGH YOU'RE IQ IS.

So instead I give you:

You Are Fairly Skeptical

You're not the type of person who will fall for anything... But you do keep your mind open to all sorts of possibilities. You figure that anything could be true. After all, the world is a strange place. However, you're going to need some convincing before you can believe in aliens or reincarnation!

How Skeptical Are You?

Yep.. that's about right.

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Monday Morning Meme and More

Year's end is neither an end nor a beginning but a going on, with all the wisdom that experience can instill in us. ~Hal Borland



1. When you are having a bad day, what do you do as a little ‘pick me up’?

Um... eat? Seriously, I tend to medicate with food. Otherwise? I have no idea. How weird is that?

2. How long have you been blogging? Who is your target audience? How often, if at all, do you think about quitting or taking an extended break?

Since July 10, 2005. I don't know that I HAVE a target audience, lol. I suppose I started to promote my writing, and I do ... but I just like "meeting" the people who read it. And, heck, I like to gab.

Have I thought of quitting or taking a break? Sometimes. But I don't think I could do so, to be honest. I'd miss you guys.

3. Think back over the past year. Tell us: five good things that happened in your life, three bad things that happened in your life. Now go through your blog archives and pick five posts that you personally liked/resonated with you, or, you would like to share with your new readers. Link to them, please.

Five good? Hmmm....

"One Love for Liv" was released in eBook AND print! (is that two?)

My daughter didn't lose her toes in the boating accident.

Dakota is *mostly* learning how to be good and doesn't eat my plants or tear apart the cushion in her crate anymore.

Um... the LASR website is really, really busy -- that's good, right?

GAH... I really can't think of anything else. How sad.

Three bad? Hmmm...

I didn't write nearly enough.

I still miss my mom and my mom because neither of them live here anymore.

My daughter is struggling with her school this year and we're both frustrated.

And... seriously -- no time to find blog posts. Sorry.

4. It’s a new year - a new beginning. Please finish this sentence: I will work very hard to make the following three things happen in 2009:

... write and submit more.

... lose these stupid extra 20 pounds.

... find the patience to deal with a frustrated daughter and stubborn, willful dog.

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Anyone else find it odd that I had red-breasted robins in my yard yesterday? Did they not the get "time to migrate south" memo?

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We've started the relaunch of the Long and the Short of It. Take a look at the new pages and see what you think.

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You Are A Nightgown

You are a bit old fashioned and elegant. You aren't very casual. You are well mannered and modest. You don't make a fool of yourself. You tend to be a bit reserved, and it's hard for strangers to get to know you. You are likely to not let anyone outside your bedroom see you in your pajamas.

What Kind of Pajamas Are You?

Yep... pretty close...

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Gone to the Birds

My favorite weather is bird-chirping weather. ~Loire Hartwould

I'm really excited! I picked up a new species of bird as a regular on my feeder: the Baltimore Oriole! I had two on my tree a couple weeks ago, and noticed they didn't eat, so I researched it and discovered they are primarily fruit eaters. I have a handy screw on my platform feeder, just begging for half an orange, so I put one out, and have had regular visits from them.

This is NOT my photo, but aren't they lovely?



Additionally, I've been visited quite a few times by a male Rose-Breasted Grosbeak -- not only are these lovely birds, but they have the most amazing song.

Again, not my photo, but had to show you how pretty he is:



And, I was thrilled to discover that my cardinal couple -- after being AWOL from the feeder all winter -- has returned. Along with all the many goldfinches who visit us, I hardly need flowers to have a colorful front yard.

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I am happy to report that I made time to write on Sunday morning and put the finishing touches on the first draft of my mystery!! Woot! I'm about 200 words shorter than I'd like, but that's easy to fix.

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The Long and the Short of It has suspense author Lisa Jackson in the author spotlight this week and we're giving away two of her books!! One, her latest entitled "Lost Souls", is in hardback and BOTH books are autographed. Swing by every day to learn how to enter. This is one giveaway you don't want to miss.

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Your Body's Element is Air

You are competitive, assertive, and dominant. You live to win, and it really makes you angry if you lose. You are brilliant and competent. No matter what you're doing, you know your stuff. People tend to be intimidated by your intelligence. It's hard to measure up to you. Your energy tends to be: ebbing and flowing Your power color is: white

What Element is Your Body?

Gee... I sound sort of scary. Am I? LOL...

It's a Cold, Cruel World

There are many things that you're not supposed to eat, especially children. -- Mary Margaret McBride

That struck me funny, so I had to share. It really doesn't have much to do with today's post (and, a good thing, too).

I probably have an overly rosy view of the wild -- a little Snow White-ish, with bird singing, and raccoons dancing. And I do hate the idea of killing a critter for what I think is no good reason. Hence this story:

Over the past month or two, our lawn has been the lumpy home of a mole. We have a healthy, green lawn and is probably full of yummy bugs (most likely earthworms, since I bought a passel a couple of years ago and I'm sure they've multiplied), so it's almost like we put up a "welcome" sign to the critter.

My DH, who is a fanatic about the lawn, demanded I kill him. I said I would look into non-lethal mole eradication, but I didn't figure we should kill him. Moles are awfully cute and fuzzy. We found one out a couple years ago (actually, I think my dog dug him up) and I carried him far, far away a released him (to the horror of my DH who thought, again, I should have killed him). My luck, this is the same mole.

Anyway... I tried those little stakes that beep (Mole Chasers), and it worked fairly well. They have a much smaller range than the package claims, but the mole didn't come into that area. Until DH lowered the mowing deck too far on the mower and shattered the top. The moment that thing was broken, the mole came back.

I kept hoping the ground would freeze, so I could ignore the problem until next year. But we've had a very mild fall. DH declared I had to buy poison, he'd had enough. I was supposed to go get it last week, but couldn't *ahem* find the time.

Well... Thursday, something happened that took that right out of my hands. As you probably know, I have lots of bird feeders. Now and then, unfavorable birds come by to join in the feast -- grackles, crows, etc. We have a local murder of crows (I love saying that!) who visit regularly. I let them be because they clean the mess on the ground (them and my gray squirrel -- I don't chase him because he doesn't get on the feeders like those rotten red squirrels do). On Thursday, one of the crows was pecking, chowing down on all the seed those sloppy finches and chickadees leave when he did this weird hop, grabbed and flew off.

With the mole.

It's amazing we were even watching (what are the odds? It's not like I spend all day looking out the window!) and amazing the crow found the sucker (who must have stuck his head up for two seconds... bad timing on his part). We weren't sure at first that it was the mole -- it happened pretty fast. We knew it got something small and gray. But I went out later and stomped down all the mole hills and they haven't come back.

So, though part of me is sad for that fuzzy little critter, at least his death served a purpose AND absolved me of the lifetime of guilt I would have felt if I'd poisoned him just so our lawn could be pretty. I never thought I'd be thankful to a crow. Ugh.

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My latest story, The Christmas Curse, is in the bottom spot of the overall bestsellers at The Wild Rose Press. I was worried for a bit that I wouldn't hit this time (for the first time!)

It's also number three in the short stories, and number four in all general contemporary sales. So, I can't complain. And Dru sent me the nicest email about it yesterday. Warmed the cockles of my heart. Thanks again, Dru! It's always nice to know that your work is appreciated!

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You Are a Chick Rocker!

You're living proof that chicks can rock You're inspired by Joan Jett and the Donnas And when you rock, you rock hard (Plus, you get all the cute guy groupies you want!)

What Kind of Rocker Are You?

Thank goodness for that! When I was in high school, the Go-Gos were all the rage ("We Got The Beat!") and I wanted to be in an all girl band like crazy. I had a friend who played the drums, and I would sing (not much call for the flute in a rock band...) but we never did manage to find anyone to fill out the numbers. Oh well.

You?