Frightened Canada Geese

When I see a flock of Canada Geese rise up in a panic, flapping manically to a different lake in the Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge wetlands, I look around for a bald eagle.  They don't care about the Red-tailed Hawks, or the Northern Harriers, but they are terrified of the eagles.  I caught the eagle on camera after it landed in the tree on the other side of the field at the end of the video.  Also, do you hear the other birds joining in the frenzied song?

Sounds like Sandhill Cranes to me.  What do you think?

Thanksgiving Day Parade

Happy Thanksgiving!

Another sunny day in the Northwest.  Here is a Thanksgiving day parade.  If you click on the picture, you will see the male Cinnamon Teals have cinnamon colored eyes.  Females have dark eyes.

Cinnamon Teal males & one Cinnamon Teal female

Cinnamon Teal ducks

Tundra Swan Love

This is my first attempt at editing a video on Youtube.  I added three videos together and then I couldn't help making it into a silent film with annotations and notes.  It is a romance between Herbert and Karen, kind of sad, but with a happy ending.  Unfortunately, you need to put it on full screen to see the annotations. 

Tell me what you think of my story video.  

Why the Tundra Swan has a black bill

Tundra swans are beautiful, majestic even.  But why do they have that black bill on the pristine white body?

Tundra Swan

I sat and watched them looking for food in the wetlands.  The water is not deep.  It looks as though he is searching the mud for yummy items. It certainly explained that black bill.

Notice how muddy the head is when it pops up out of the water.  Also, it appears he is stirring up the mud with his feet before lowering his head again.  The Mallards seem to enjoy whatever the swan is churning up.

If I were a duck

Contrary to popular belief, I am not a duck, but I have a few duck friends at the Ridgefield Wildlife Refuge. If I were one, I'd be very nervous to have this guy sizing me up for his next meal.

Bald Eagle

Those cute little ducks in the background don't seem all that worried, although one or two appeared to be sweating.

Bald Eagle

Usually I see eagles up in the trees, so this pose was delightful.  In fact, admission to the wildlife refuge was free all weekend because of Veteran's day and the place was packed with cars driving the winding route through the lakes and marsh.  Because this bird stood out in the open, there must have been fifteen cars stopped, taking the perfect picture.  After I took this one, I squeezed past each car, mentioning as I went by that the bird was plastic.  I think of few of them wondered, at least for a few seconds.

I get this from my father, who said the moose we saw from deck twelve of the cruise ship in Alaska was on a leash, and the caretaker was hiding behind a rock on the hillside.  He told people they bring the moose out every day so people feel they get their money's worth.

Thanks, Dad, for making me smile, and for serving in the Army Aviation division during WWII.

First sentences (and how to avoid them temporarily)

What is this bird?

First of all, the above bird has nothing to do with my book, except that it exists on earth, as do my characters, though the bird is alive now, and my characters are alive in 1805.  

How is that for a first sentence for a book?  At first I thought it might be good because it sets the time and the place, but a critique partner mentioned it is from the point of view of a narrator.  Since my book is in 1st person, alternating between the protag and the hero, I didn't want to add a third viewpoint from a narrator.

Plus, my sister and I have been arguing about what type of bird it is.  If one has a picture, one ought to have a caption which is not a question.  We've narrowed it down to a sparrow, but we are still arguing over which type of sparrow.  Still, it was easier for me to move forward with my book if I HAD a first sentence, good or bad.  I'd written the first two chapters before I deleted the above picture and that first sentence and began working on a real first sentence.

For days I'd run the first sentence past my co-worker.  She'd shake her head.  I'd change it.  She'd shake her head.  Change.  Shake.  Change.  Shake.

Here is the sentence I think might be the one.  She raised an eyebrow and smiled.

This time when I was almost killed, it wasn't my fault.

What is the time and place of your book, and what is your first line?

Note to thieves:  All first lines appearing on this blog and in the comments section are copyrighted.

Great Blue Road Block

Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge

About halfway through the refuge there is a duck blind.  It is the only place you can get out of your car, so I took advantage of it to get out and stretch my legs.  After a short time in the blind, shivering and trying to avoid putting my elbows in owl poop, I tip-toed back to my car to continue the drive.  When I checked my mirrors before backing out, this is what I saw.

Backing out of parking space

He ambled along behind my car, completely unconcerned by my back-up lights.  When he cleared the rear-end, I rolled out of the space and realized he was in front of me.  On the road.

And wouldn't let me past.

Sorry the video is a little jumpy.  Trying to drive and film at the same time is harder than driving, texting and changing the radio station.

(If you click on the "full screen" emblem, you'll get the full effect of his beauty.)

Drawing with Phia Video

One of the members of The Dead Bunny Club, my critique group, has an amazing daughter. She is about five years old, and knows how to draw birds. What is more, she knows how to teach you to draw them too. Ginger told me about her daughter's bird drawing video, where she starts with the letter "S." It is so easy, even I can do it.

Ginger's husband, David, is a cartoonist, and she assumed he had taught Sophia how to draw the bird. But he hadn't. Neither had her mother or the neighbor. Ginger has no idea how she learned it, but it is pretty clever and she is an adorable girl. See her video at Jars of Giggles, Ginger's blog: Drawing with Phia