Sealed With a Kiss.

Photo by Bill Farne 

Today, my first story at The Ravens Crossing posts. I am so proud to see my girls, Morgan & Holly in print. Happy Valentines Day to me and to all of you! If you make the jump to read it, you can win a Kindle Wi fi Touch. In other exciting news, one of my favorite authors, Jordan Castillo Price, actually blogged about me and this project yesterday. I was stunned. Thanks Jordan for the shout out! It feels kind of surreal and very, very cool!

Since it's big day for me, and I really love kisses, I'm sealing my Valentine's Day with a kiss. A puffin kiss to be exact. What could be better? In fact, I'm officially naming them the World's Best Valentine's Day Bird, since they mate for life, and they are notoriously big on kissing. (Actually, those in the know call what they are doing "billing," and it's a typical pair bonding behavior, but so what!)

Photo Courtesy of Project Noah

These amazing birds spend most of their time at sea only coming to land once a year to nest and raise their young. They usually return to the same location each year, where they find their same mate and greet each other with a kiss. There's some rubbing, and preening, and waddling around, and cuddling involved, too. Then they use those bills and the incredibly sharp claws on the ends of their webbed feet to dig out a nest, usually in the face of a sheer, rock cliff. The whole thing is simply amazing. So, in honor of the puffin, may your Valentine's Day be filled with kisses.