Taking a Dive with an Eastern Pewee

The Eastern Wood-Pewee is described by Cornell Lab of Ornithology as a "dull  brown bird." I beg to differ. I happen to have fallen for these forest flycatchers. Why? Because, every summer, they come from our nearby woods to perch on our back fence and catch bugs around our pool. They don't mind if we're lounging on the deck or weeding the garden. They don't even care if our dogs are out. They simply ignore us all and come and go as they please.

This year, one female has chosen to be extra bold. She's  using our diving board to practice her diving skills. Last weekend, she spent several hours alternating between using the board as a perch to scope unsuspecting insects, and taking occasional dives into the deep end of the pool for a bath. She could care less if I got in the pool with her, nor if I used the diving board while she was on one of her numerous trips to her nest in a nearby oak tree. She even agreed to pose for a whole series of photos. I imagine she might take offense at being called dull. So, I decided to speak out on her behalf.

Also, a friendly reminder that today is Morgan & Holly's story day over at The Ravens Crossing. Head over to read the Young Adult Science Fiction/Fantasy Adventure Series written by myself and two other fantastic authors. Season 1 finale is right around the corner and the sparks, they will fly. In other good news, my Bonding with Hondo story about my relationship with two chimps I met during my zoo years will be officially published in the Canary tomorrow morning. I'll provide you with a link as soon as I have it.

Sick of Being Sick

While the world wakes up around me with the lovely sounds of spring, and the sun begins to warm up the over frozen ground, I am going back to bed. After a miserable time of nursing my Gramma back to semi-health from pneumonia a couple of weeks ago, I picked up whatever virus has been keeping every bed at every hospital in town full. Let me just state the obvious: I'm not having fun!

My doctor told me I was in for at least ten days of hell, and although I thought at the time it really wasn't helpful to be told such a thing, I guess it has kept me from panicking too much. I still don't feel a whole heap better at ten days than I did on day one. Alas, I did get one house call out of him, an extra-ordinary circumstance, to be sure. He was afraid I had contracted meningitis, but because the hospitals are so over-run, he came over to my house. I am happy to report, I do not have meningitis. Plus, I now am the proud possessor of antibiotics, something he doesn't give lightly.

Anyway, there isn't much fun to report here, nor do I have the brain power, filled as it is with all assortment of bugs and drugs, to write anything too delightful for your reading pleasure just now. So, I have opted to link you to a few places where my work has recently been published in hopes you might enjoy a poem or two of mine and some of the fine writing of others.

I was honored recently when my grad school professors invited me to publish some of my work on the Goddard Blog along with their own writings and some of the incredible talents of alums and current students.

Yet another poem has been published in The Canary this month by Hip Pocket Press. The editor, Gail Entrekin, has been fabulous to me, and I will be eternally grateful. You don't want to miss reading some of the back issues of this journal if you are a fan of poetry and prose.

Last, but certainly not least, I am linking you to an old article in the Lynchburg News and Advance about the Art Box move to its new location, because this is where you can find the new Art on 12th Studios and Galleries. I rent studio number one with my business partner, Terri Miller. We will be having our first opening to the public on Sunday, April 18th from 2-4:30 pm.

The paintings I chose to share are a couple of my new works in progress, which have been created since moving into my fabulous new space on January 1st of this year. We are excited to finally be officially opening the renovated upstairs spaces to the public. We being myself and a dozen other artists living and working in Lynchburg.

If you live in the area, come on down to the new Art Box on the corner of Grace and 12th Street in downtown Lynchburg, and check out all the great stuff Anne has for sale. Sign up for some of the ongoing classes by several resident artists in a number of media, and by all means, wander upstairs and visit the artists at work. We look forward to seeing you!