I started this blog on August 21, 2012, with the release of my first book, Titan Encounter. Most of those posts are now in what I call the “Early Blog.” I’m gradually updating their format and bringing them into this new journal. Back then the sole purpose of the blog was to promote my books, but gradually that changed.
That’s how it started but, over the years, I’ve mused about other things that are important to me, such as my family, my farm, rural life, and occasionally about politics and country. However, I try to limit the politics in this journal. If you want to know more about my political leaning go to The Conservative Alternative.
I’m retired but I have several jobs that keep me busy.
I spend most of my day writing manuscripts for books, opinion articles for my other website, The Conservative Alternative, blogposts like this one, or social media posts. Those are the usual tasks that consume my day but I still have another job.
Read MoreAfter years of procrastination, I can finally check this off my bucket list. Yesterday, I passed the amateur radio technician class test. With a bit of luck, I will soon be a ham radio operator. I say “bit of luck” because I’m dealing with the government. My call sign must appear in the Federal Communications Commission license database before I can go on the air. These guys are like the DMV of the airwaves so, who knows how long it will take?
Read MoreJust as it was opening this morning, Lorraine and I arrived at the Southwest Washington Fair entrance. It had been hot all week and we had talked about not going, but this morning there was a touch of autumn coolness in the air. So, we jumped in our car and traveled to the cities. I said cities because the fairgrounds are located between the two biggest cities in the county, Centralia with a population of 18,500, and Chehalis with a population of 8,000. I often joke about going to the big city for something, but I like that I live in rural America.
Read MoreAnd advances in audiobooks
I’m using computer technology to create auto-narrated audiobooks. Race to Refuge is my first such audiobook and, it has already been released on Google Play Books.
Read MoreAs chickens get older they lay fewer eggs. That’s why about a month ago, I blogged about the new chicks we were raising. However, recently a couple of our older hens have laid some tiny eggs.
Read MoreIt’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas.
I love a white Christmas, but this is April. Yesterday I awoke to a cold, dark, house. The power had failed, and several inches of snow covered the ground. My wife had a fire roaring in the woodstove by the time I stumbled from the bedroom. After a cup of hot chocolate, heated on the woodstove, I stepped onto the back porch and measured the snow at almost six inches deep.
Read MoreSigning a book contract is one of the high points in any writer’s career.
My friend, Debby Lee, has just done that with Barbour Publishing for an 80,000-word romance novel titled, Beneath a Peaceful Moon. I’ve already read most of the novel (even though romance is not my thing) because Debby is a member of the Inklings critique group along with me and five other local writers.
Read MoreAnd chickens at the back.
During the winter the deer come by our house almost daily. Sometimes when snow-covered every bit of pasture, there would be five or six deer waiting near our door in the morning. My wife would talk to them like friends as she tossed out apples for them to eat.
Read MoreMy wife is not a fan of roosters.
They can be aggressive with people, and they have sharp talons. Also, they crow, often in the middle of the night. Years ago we had a rooster that I named Colonel. He was never aggressive with me, and I easily slept through his predawn crowing. My wife never liked him. I still think she had him killed.
Read MoreThis morning I woke to the croak and ribbit of hundreds of frogs. We have a small pond near the back of our house. On one side of the pond, the grass is high and the ground is marshy, perfect for these amphibians.
Read MoreOn the last day of February, the temperature rose to about 54 degrees. That meant I could open the one active hive I had and perform a quick inspection of the bee colony. I knew this colony had survived, but I didn’t know how healthy they were. Dead bees littered the main entrance of the hive.
Read MoreWell, much of it anyway. Many of you know that I live on a small farm. During the winter I make up a long list of farm chores to work on during the summer. This year’s list includes repairing the greenhouse and henhouse, fixing fences around the orchard, and building a new raised bed garden for my wife.
Read MoreWhen you live on a farm, work changes with the seasons.
Winter is a time of rest, for the soil, animals, and people, but not for bees. They collect together and vibrate to keep the queen and brood warm, but all too often, they don’t survive the cold and damp of winter. Despite my efforts in the fall, my two colonies didn’t endure the harsh short days of winter.
Read MoreEvery year we lose a few hens to illness, hawks, or raccoons and need replacements. In years past we had a rooster named Colonel and he took care of that for me. I slept right through Colonel’s predawn crowing, but it drove my wife to distraction. One day she told me that the rooster had disappeared. Yeah, sure, Colonel just decided to move. I think she had him killed.
Read MoreThis has been an exciting weekend!
Even before it was released, Race to Refuge, my latest 16,000-word short story, had climbed onto the Amazon short story bestseller lists. On Friday morning, March fifteenth, when Amazon released the story I checked and was thrilled to see it at number seven on the Science Fiction & Fantasy Short Story List. But, it kept climbing all day. By evening it had reached the number two slot on the bestseller list.
Read MoreI enjoy singing 10,000 Reasons.
I’ve sung the hymn in church for several years, but other than enjoying the music and lyrics, I’ve never given the song much thought. Then my wife found this video of it being sung in a packed Royal Albert Hall in London. For me, the performance, setting, music, and words all blended together to create a spectacular event
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