Penny and I haven't been able to go walking as much as I would like due to the smoke. While I could wear a mask, there's no way to protect her from panting in the smoke. So we have erred to the side of caution and reduced our number of walks.
This particular part of the Moose Head trail is her favorite. Not because of the flowers, but because it's a rocky dirth path on a high ridge...which means the garter snakes love to crawl out on to the path to sun in the mornings.
After the slither off into the grass, she likes to jump in the air and pounce on them like a fox after a mouse. She doesn't hurt them, just annoys them. They'd prefer to just slide out of the way until we pass and then slide back into the sunshine without having to deal with a nosy pup bouncing around them.
This month's writing update.
Good news on the writing front! I finished polishing my last new story, as I mentioned last month, and I sent it out...and it was accepted! It will be published in Spring of 2026!
I had decided that my method with this story would be to find publications that accept sim subs (allow a story to be submitted to multiple publications at the same time) and to send it to four or five of them. If it wasn't accepted at any of them, I would repeat the process.
This way, I don't get so wrapped up in sending stories here, there, and everywhere, and resubmitting with each rejection, that I end up using up all my writing time as submission time. And it worked out quite well.
Of course, it did mean I had to spend some writing time sending out withdrawal letters to the other publications after the acceptance, but that is a VERY good problem to have!
I've polished another of my favorite stories, and I've already sent it out using the same method. We will see what happens with this one.
My "Summer nostalgia horror" story is going well. I'm not quite done with the first draft yet, but I did finally work out where it was going. Sometimes, I come up with a really great idea, and some really great scenes, but have no clue how the story is going to end. This was one of those cases.
When that happens, I generally just keep writing to try and see if an ending becomes apparent organically. In the case of this story, it really took an effort to find my way to a potential ending. At times like this, I can definitely see the merit in the advice, "write the ending first," lol. Now I just have to get this first draft done so I can move on to editing/revision...soon, I hope.
What I'm reading this month.
I finished Tress of the Emerald Sea, by Brandon Sanderson, and I although I liked it, I probably won't read more in the series. It was enjoyable, but it was so much of a mashup that it seemed like a hot mess at times. It's science fiction with planets and strange worlds where pirates navigate spore seas; it's fantasy, with talking rats; it has zombies, princesses, pirates, dragons, primitive tech like canons, alien life forms that can travel space...
Next up to read for this book club (a varied genre club) is To Be Taught, If Fortunate, by Becky Chambers.
The other book I'm reading, Stranger in a Strange Land, by Heinlein, is for a different book club (re-reading the classics), and it is split over two meetings. I'm not sure I'm going to make it through the whole book. I really, really don't like it, and I'm having to force myself to read it. No es divertido.
I started reading the Heinlein book because I thought it would be fun to try two book clubs every month and because I had enjoyed Heinlen's work when I was younger. Now I think I was wrong, lol. In fact, I was so wrong that I didn't even make the first book club meeting to discuss it. *IF* I finish it, I may try to make the August meeting.
And, if I ever make it through Heinlen's book, I may end up alternating between THREE book clubs! There is a new book club starting in October that will be focusing on horror. Woot! But I don't think I'm going to be able to read three novels a month, so I'm probably going to have to start picking and choosing which one I attend each month.
As it is, the horror club is going to conflict with my writers group one meeting a month, so I hope it turns out to be worth it! First up will be Shirley Jackson's The Haunting of Hill House, a re-read for me. I'm looking forward to it!
What I'm learning this month/class report.
Education falls mostly in the "same old, same old" category: focusing on Spanish and Codecademy Full Stack, Biology/Java/Mindfulness when I have extra time . . . which isn't very often considering I've been prioritizing daily walks, writing, and reading, as well. So the "when I have extra time" stuff is infrequent.
I'm excited for my univerity class to start, but I know it's going to take some adjusting to fit it into my schedule again.
Also, it would be nice to finally find out what the textbook will be. Course materials were required to be turned in back at the beginning of the year (March, if I remember right), but they still are not listed in the bookstore. I'm not sure if they are just so short-handed they are behind on listing things, or if they are purposely waiting until the last minute as a business strategy. Either way, it's annoying.
This month's playlist. The ten songs I'm listening to on repeat.
This month's pondering/share/rant.
Hubby was able to get the wound vac removed, and the doctor said he can start bearing weight again. And, his blood tests are not gloom and doom, just a "monitor it yearly" to make sure it doesn't develop into anything of concern. So that is all GREAT news!
Of course, with the sunshine has to also come rain. In this case, the rain is the passing of my hamster, Hamilton.
I knew it was coming. He was elderly, for a hamster, and he had started having problems eating. I was supplementing his hamster food with soft foods like baby food and water-logged dog kibble.
He had also started to get a lot of lumps. None of the tumors were big enough to impact his quality of life, yet, but I knew it meant the end was near. It almost always does with rodents.
He was a very special hamster, full of personality and friendly, in spite of what the prevailing literature says about his particular kind. I may get another little cottonball in the future, but not anytime soon.
Also, in a totally weird but inevitable development, I bought my bear spray. There have been many in our area this summer, including one at the AFB about five or six miles from the park where Penny and I walk, and one in the Pemibina Gorge where the new park/campground is going (and where we usually walk in the fall).
Bears have been uncommon in this area (lots of fields, trees only by rivers and water sources, mostly), but it looks like they are moving into the area. From what little I've read about bears, it seems like they are most dangerous (aside from with babies) during the fall, when they are trying to bulk up, and in spring, when they first emerge. So, since we are getting close to the fall walking season, I figured I had better go ahead and get the spray.
Interestingly, it says it also works for mountain lion attacks. Mountain lions also used to be rare here, but they've started showing up more often in the last decade or so. So it doesn't hurt to have something for them, as well, just in case.
I just hope I never have to use it!
That's it for this month. Until next month, Stay Spooky, my friends!
~~Here be monsters . . . and corgis.~~