Reflections
Kris and Kritters Preview: Fawn in the Canal and Gabriel Raccoon
Just a heads up: Both of these stories end sadly because of teenage boys with grownup toys…but they’re worth telling anyway. Fawn in the Canal Huge, racing irrigation canals crisscross the arid half of Washington State. These canals, at least twenty feet deep and sixty feet wide, direct billions of gallons of water…
Read MoreKris and Kritters: Into the Woods with Bears
Into the Woods with Bears (Sneak preview from upcoming blog series) While we lived in Cle Elum, Washington, our home and property pretty much butted up against a National Forest, so we were well aware of the wildlife that surrounded us. I was never particularly afraid of the furry neighbors who lived in the…
Read MoreWomb Man Has a New Subtitle
Androgynous Kris by Greg Barton I’ve been toying with the subtitle of Womb Man to help it more adequately reflect what’s inside. It’s still pretty close to the original subtitle, but just different enough to give it what it needs to accomplish that. Womb Man is less than 10,000 words in length as…
Read MoreIdeological Differences Aside…
No matter which side of the ideological divide you find yourself on (or even if you can place yourself right smack in the middle), I think we can all agree that the current economic and government systems aren’t working for us and haven’t been for a very long time…if they ever were. In the…
Read MoreAbout Actors and Acting
I stepped out the back door this morning into what felt like “balmy weather” after the past few days of “witch’s tit” cold. When I looked at the thermometer, it read thirty degrees–still a couple degrees below freezing, but very survivable in jeans and a sweatshirt while caring for the critters. There’s a 60%…
Read MoreLast Night’s Dreams Have Stayed with Me…
I had a series of upsetting dreams last night … followed by a wonderful one. In the upsetting dreams, I was failing mightily as a “designated protector”. In the first upsetting dream, I was taking care of three large dogs that kept getting away from me in a heavily-traveled area. I was afraid…
Read MoreBaby It’s FRIGID Outside!
Goodness gracious sakes alive! It’s arctic out there this morning! I stepped outside briefly to take the trash and recycling bins to the road (less than fifty feet away) wearing a sweatshirt and sweatpants, and froze half to death. Minutes later, I had to keep dashing in and out to take hot water…
Read MoreNew Year, New Cheer…Oh Dear!
Someone in South Carolina went on a spending spree using my credit card number recently. Luckily, the fraud department spotted the atypical purchases and knew that wasn’t like me at all, and that I live clear across the country from S.C. so they called last night. The card is cancelled; all will be well. …
Read MoreWhat I Learned about Life from Cats
Have you ever sat and observed a cat as it transitions from one response to another? If you haven’t, you’re missing a valuable lesson–especially if you experience anxiety attacks or other nervous disorders. I grew up with chronically-clenched fists. I didn’t know it at the time, but the baseline emotion in my nuclear…
Read MoreSunny Side UP!
My parents didn’t want me to leave home–ever. I was their “sparkler”–their weird, unfathomable optimist … their cheery valentine. I was their Pollyanna. They never told an off-color joke in front of me until I was middle-aged. Mom even castigated me for returning from Hollywood with the f word in tow during one…
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