Free Spirit Day!

Happy Spirit Day! It's one of my favorite days of the year. A day to wear purple and be seen around town, so you can show all the LGBTQIA youth in your area that you support a community of tolerance and acceptance for all! So, today, I will be dressed in purple, of course, but this year we are going even one better to show our spirit. The Ravens Crossing has gone purple, too. For the entire weekend our first anthology, The Ravens Crossing, Book One: The 13 will be ABSOLUTELY FREE. Head on over to Smashwords to download a copy and celebrate Spirit Day with a fun science fiction adventure!

Baby Gorilla Born Saturday at NC Zoo

Congratulations are in order to twelve-year-old Jamani of the NC Zoo who gave birth to a bouncing baby boy gorilla this past Saturday at 8 am. Good friend Tom Gillespie has shared some of the latest photos with me today. The baby has been named Bomassa after a town of the same name in the northern Republic of the Congo. Welcome Bomassa and congrats to the staff of the NC Zoo who have not seen a baby gorilla born at their park since Kwanza was birthed back in 1989.

Also, The Ravens Crossing (TRC), the free science fiction online series I write for began Season 2 today. If you haven't been following along, you are seriously missing out. Go find out what a Gaea is, and how they are related to humans. Visit Wildwood and meet our diverse cast of characters. Find out how they Balance the power of nature. You can read  free stories 6 days a week here. Season 1 is also posted on the sight in case you need to catch up. Don't miss the fun!

And, if travel blogs interest you, you might want to go give Old Pair of Jeans a read. It's my mom and her man sharing their adventures as they cross the US in an RV this summer. They are all the way across the Mississippi already. You can follow along and view Gene's fantastic photography to share their favorite adventures along the way.

Orangutans as Engineers

Photo by Adam van Casteren

A study published yesterday in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), argues that Orangutans practice technical engineering that is quite complex when building their canopy nests for sleeping. Adam van Casteren and a group of seven other scientists looked at "the architecture of the nests to determine the degree of technical sophistication used in it's construction."

Orangutans build their nests some 60 feet above ground, constructing it very quickly and efficiently, often within ten minutes. The structures are not only sound and safe, but comfortable as well, with a mattress-like lining of live branches atop the thicker structural weave for the main structure. Not only are these nests comfortable, apparently, these great apes are fans of keeping things green, since they often only fracture the branches they use without breaking them. The nests remain green and alive in the trees, and can be used again later. Though, often the orangs only use a nest for one night and move on, it's nice to know they don't go around destroying the trees they build in.

If you don't already have your own subscription to PNAS, which is pricey, you can read a little bit more about this study for free over at The Huffington Post.  

On the entertainment front, don't forget to stop by The Ravens Crossing this week for some fantastic science fiction, fantasy adventuring. My Morgan & Holly story was published today as part of the website's Earth Day, Week 10 celebration. All of the stories by all of the authors this week are at least double the usual 1000 word flash fiction length. There are some big reveals, some new characters, and lots of cameo appearances by all the favorite characters from the entire series. I highly recommend you give all six stories a read this week! One will post each day through Saturday, as always. The site is absolutely free and appropriate for all ages. You might even consider building your very own coach nest and settling in to read the whole series. We've gotten lots of compliments from people of all ages, and in just ten short weeks, we've gathered quite a following of regular readers to whom we are very grateful. Don't miss out on the fun, and happy nest building!