Eagles Nesting

Good Day Bloggers,

I thought that I would mention Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge today because Dorchester County on the Eastern Shore of Maryland is the home of one of the largest populations of nestin pairs of American Bald Eagles in the country.

It is hard to believe, but February is the time or year when our national bird lay their eggs and wait for the chicks to emerge. It is not terribly cold her in Maryland, for the temperatures rarely fall below zero, but I wouldn't want to be sitting on a bunch of broken twigs waiting for my babies to be born. Here is a link if you would like to watch the eagles and their chicks. I find it fasciating to check in there from time to time to see how the babies are doing:
http://www.friendsofblackwater.org/camhtm2.html

The bald eagle is a big bird, and I was amazed when I went in the Visitor's Center at Blackwater and saw one of these magnificient birds that had been taxidermied to illustrate the size of this bird and its nest, which was more than six feet across! Eagles feed on small animals and fish found in the marshy environment at Blackwater and I have the opportunity to see these huge birds feeding as I drove on the roads that ride the dryest portions of marshland on my way to the islands of Dorchester County.

What a privilege it is to see these beautiful birds in the wild. If you like eagles, pay a visit to the refuge, you won't be disappointed.

I hope you have a wonderful day you'll. Keep on the sunny side! Terry

Terry L White -Author of the Chesapeake Heritage Series
"Travel Through Time With Terry"
http://www.terrylwhitesblog.blogspot.com/

How Do They Do That?

Good Day Bloggers,

I happened across today's photo while looking for interesting art I can post here to keep my blog fresh and timely. I have always had a lively curiousity about ancient Egypt, in fact, one of my early novels Ancient Memories takes place in part in that mysterious place.

Ancient Memories is about reincarnation, and I think that at least part of me went there to try to find out how they did it. I can't help but wonder how the Sphinx, the pyramids and all the imposing statues and architecture were achieved without the use of power tools and fossil fuels.

I have always suspected that the ancient Egyptians had some sorts of knowledge we can only aspire to learn. I mean, look at all of those enormous rocks, shaped and shifted into awe-inspiring monuments that have stood silent in the deserts of Egypt for thousands of years. How did they do it?

It is just this sort of wonder that keeps me plugging at my own impossible dream. Lord knows, I would love to have a couple of best-sellers and to find that I have readers for my stories in every corner of the globe. Maybe then folks will look at the girl from Appalachia who dared to have a big dream and succeeded. Wouldn't that be sweet?

I sure like looking at the results of impossible dreams that came true, don't you? I bet President Obama does!

Ponder on it pligrim - and keep on the sunny side. Terry

Terry L White -Author of the Chesapeake Heritage Series
"Travel Through Time With Terry"
http://www.terrylwhitesblog.blogspot.com/

Pin Your Dreams on a Star

Dear Blogger;

This is for all my readers who have a dream, which probably makes it for just everyone I know. Who dosen't have a dream?

When I was a kid, my dream was to be a novelist because I loved to read so much. Reading took me to places I might never see, and it taught me things I might never have learned. Getting there was quite a struggle, but the good thing about a long journey is all the material one is given to use in one's books!

I got to visit to Mistic Connecticut about 25 years ago and when I came home from that trip, which was originally a visit with my brother who was mustering out after 20 years in the Navy. I wrote my novel, Mystick Moon after visiting the reproduction of that famous seaport.

Mystick Moon is the story of a young girl who finds herself in New England shortly after settlement. Elizabeth grows up fast. She is one of those abused kids who take care of their parents and grow up way too soon. Elizabeth wants someone to love her, and in time she finds a family and her true love, even though some people think she is a witch. They even go so far is to try and hang her, but love comes riding up to save her - just like in the fairy tales. Well, come on. How can you have a romantic novel without a happy ending?

I think that when we pin our dreams on a star, true love is one of the things we seek. The stars give us a goal, a place to go to visit the dream until it comes true. I know that is the way it works for me.

How many dreams have you pinned on the stars? How many of those dreams came true? I sure would like to know I am not alone over here. Maybe you will tell me one of these days - in the meantime, keep warm and stay on the sunny side! Terry

Bluebird of Happiness?

Good Monday Morning!

Every time I hear a commotion outside my kitchen window, I have only to look outside to see my favorite bluebird - the common jay!

Some people say they don't like jays because they are so loud and pushy, shoving other birds away from their feeders. Well, from what I understand, it is not such a virtuous thing to feed birds unless one takes pleasure in watching them feed because they come to depend on the un-natural supply of food. My privit hedge, more than 50 years old, provides loads of food for my feathered friends, and there is always a lot of activity there in the winter.

The jay was considered to be the messenger to the Native Americans, a bird that warned of approaching danger. They are also clowns, doing birdy acrobatics as they play among the branches.

I love to see a blue jay, they are truly one of the most colorful and beautiful birds in God's rainbow. The jay's feathers reflect the beautiful blue of the sky and his raucus voice reminds us to communicate. They drop their jewel-like feathers for me to find and treasure. I can't think of a better omen for my day than to see a jay first thing in the morning.

Perhaps this would not be a popular choice among bird lovers who favor the more elusive bluebird, but bluebirds are not terrible social creatures, preferring instead to live in hollow trees at the edges of fields and forests. One can spot a bluebird and consider oneself blessed, but the humbler jay doesn't mind crowds. For me, they are my own personal blue bird of happiness.

A Native American person might say jays are one of my totems. What a nice thought. I like the idea of having a chatty, handsome bird for a totem since words are my business. Think about it and keep on the sunny side! Terry

Terry L White -Author of the Chesapeake Heritage Series
"Travel Through Time With Terry"
http://www.terrylwhitesblog.blogspot.com/

In Celebration of Rejection

Good Sunday Morning,

Sunday is a good day for both reflection and thanksgiving, and when I ran across this book excerpt this morning, I thought it was very appropriate to my work. The thing is, no matter what people may have to say about a writer's work, it is always a good idea not to give up.

Like many writers of my generation, I submitted my work for years, and reaped a huge stack of rejection letters - the darned thing was over three inches tall - that represented hundreds of submissions that me told my writing did not please the editor of the day.

As happened, I was invited to a bonfire one evening, and the hosts of the party suggested that attendees bring items that stood for a condition they wanted to get rid of in their life. I looked around my place and decided that I really did not need to keep all the rejection letters I had collecte during the preceding twenty years. They were negativity made reality, after all!

I took that stack of paper and flung it into the fire, I even drank a toast to a new day. It wasn't long after that my work started to be accepted in the new field of e-book publishing. Believe me, I didn't know what a long road that would turn out to be, but I was glad that somewhere, somehow people would have the opportunity to read my work. My career in publishing is still evolving, but I do have some books out there and that means a lot.

Check out what some of these other well-known writers went through as they collected rejection slips. You might be surprised:

CELEBRATION OF REJECTION
From the pages of How to Get a Literary Agent by Michael Larsen

1. 112 Books by Louis L’Amour, even though he received 200 rejections before he sold his first novel. During the last forty years Bantam has shipped nearly three hundred million of his one hundred twelve books, making him their biggest-selling author.

2. 600+ rejection slips wall paper Jack London’s home.

3. 774 rejection slips for John Creasy who went on to publish under 13 pseudonyms 564 books

4. 14 rejected Pearl S Buck finally published The Good Earth

5. 20 rejections didn’t stop Jonathan Livingston Seagull’s publication and you know how famous it became, written by Richard Bach

6. 40 rejections before she sold her first book didn’t stop Mary Higgins Clark

7. 200 rejections Roots by Alex Haley was published.

8. 15 publishers and 30 agents rejected John Grisham’s A Time to Kill before it was finally published.

9. 375 publishers rejected Naked in Deccan over seven years before the Baltimore Sun deemed it a classic.

10. Dr Seuss – 24 in his file of rejections before his first books was published

11. 8 years after the novel Steps won the National Book Award, Jerzy Kosinski
allowed it to be send out again with a name change to 13 agents and 14 publishers – all of them rejected it, including Random House, which originally published it.

12. The New Yorker rejected a short story by Saul Bellow after he won the Nobel
Prize for Literature.

Looks to me like rejection is part of the journey so don't let it get you down and keep on the sunny side! Terry

Winter From My Window

Good Morning Bloggers,

I used to like winter a lot more than I do now, but I have noticed that I take great pleasure in looking out the window to see what is going on in my world. A window can provide great insight, even when it seems as if nothing much is happening.

Yesterday I looked out across the back yard and saw a huge squirrel sitting on a stump. The squirrels in my yard are enormous due to a grandfather of a pecan tree that provides them with nourishment all year long. They are so bold in the summertime in fact, they chew on the green nuts and then pitch them at me. Needless to say, I am not very fond of the pesky little critters.

The west side of my house is sheltered by a huge overgrown hedge composed of yew, boxwood and some really shaggy privit trees. Yes, if left to their own devices, privit will grow up to be unruly trees. I don't much like them either, but this fantastic hedge keeps my house cooler in the summer and provides habitat and food for a large variety of birds that dine on the pepper-like berries of the privit. I understand a previous neighbor hated the hedge, but I like it. I like it way more than the danged squirrels!

Windows are great focal points for my imagination, giving me a screen on which to paint my next opus. (I can only stay at the computer for so long, and am in the throes of writing a four-book series based in rural Maryland.) A psychic once told me that the spirits come to talk with me, and that may be so. I certainly find my characters in odd places, and when they arrive, they always have stories to tell. I fancy they may even find me by looking in my windows!

One window in my house is still a source of fascination since it is the home of a small bat. Last week the weather was frigid and the little fella wound itself up into a tiny package and did not move for days. Yesterday was warmer, and Bert (I had to give him/her a name) had stretched out the little arms and legs to soak up any heat it could gather from the atmosphere. I can't figure out what the tiny thing eats, and I worry, but I do feel special to be singled out by a creature I surely would never have encountered otherwise.

As you can see, winter windows are the source of endless entertainment. I hope yours do the same for you. Who knows, you may even find yourself on the sunny side. Terry

Terry L White -Author of the Chesapeake Heritage Series
"Travel Through Time With Terry"
http://www.terrylwhitesblog.blogspot.com/

National Book Week

Good Morning Bloggers,

This week is National Book week. I think it is interesting that such an observance is placed in the dead of winter. Certainly, I am in favor of grabbing a good book and a favorite fuzzy blanket to spend an afternoon or evening deep in the adventure of a great book.


I was the eldest of eight children, and there was no money for college, so I went to work right out of high school. I had some adventures that make my own writing richer, and left more than one thing behind in my journey. One of the things I did manage to hold on to was a reading list a favorite teacher gave me in his English class. You have to know I looked for those books - classics - that gave me new ideas about the possibilities of life.

I even got the idea I might write a book or two!

Eventually, I managed to sidestep the toxic relationships in my life and journeyed to the local community college. I sold my kitchen table to pay the application fees, worked afternoon and evenings, and eventually graduated from both the community college and Skidmore College. I told everyone I wanted to be a writer and I worked at the craft, turning out several books while I went through the process of earning a degree. I even found time to read a few good books - and some that are representative of the spiritual underground of the time. Yep! I read Castenanza and Shirley McLaine; Ruth Montgomery and Richard Bach - authors who offered a new way to process information and to manifest the reality of my dreams.

Today I have several books in print and more pubished as ebooks. I write every day and I believe that one day my work will make a difference. Now that difference may affect only one person, and that is all right. I have walked in the footsteps of Poe and Dickens and Wittman and found the journey glorious.

I ask you, bloggers, to think about books when you are looking for entertainment, information or inspiration. Books - in paper or even electronic editions contain the path to freedom and greatness. I am blessed to be part of the endless army of writers who put down their thoughts and made the world a better place to be.

Think about it, and keep on the sunny side! Terry

Author of Ancient Memories, Mystick Moon, Runaway Hearts, The Picker, Hang Your Head Over, Hell or High Water, Imagine, Chesapeake Harvest, Chesapeake Destiny and more. Find her books at Amazon.com, www.writewordsinc.com, Fictionwise, Kindle, All Romance Ebooks, etc.

Peace and Hope for a New Day

Good Morning Bloggers,

Today I am reviving an important symbol from my youth when everyone knew what the peace sign meant and all of us kids were looking to make love instead of war.


Unfortunately, love brought us a new killer in AIDS and the wars never ended. I have an idea that there is just as much destructive energy as there is energy to build in a positive way. The oriental idea of yin and yang wasn't created by accident. Someone way back when noticed that there is a universal law that rules the universe. Our Buddhist friends call it the law of Cause and Effect, and Christians call it the Golden Rule.


I think this means that in order for something good to happen in our lives, we have to clear out the things that are not good for us. When I was a kid, I witnessed segregation and the terrible struggle that caused the sleepwalkers in this country to wake up and see the injustice in an old system that no longer worked. Yesterday the son of a black immigrant became president of the United States of America.


As I listened to Presiden tBarak Obama's inaguration address, I heard a call for responsibility and the tearing down of more old attitudes. My ancestors were Native American, so I have an idea of how the African Americans feel. We need a society where the individual is judged not by the color of his or her skin, but by what they can contribute to the good of the entire society. I heard President Obama mention various ethnicities, and those who have labored in the arts, professionals who may never have prospered in their lives - no matter how great their contributions to their society.


I think the greatest thing President Obama promised was hope. I would certainly like to think that things will be better a little further down the line. I would like to think there will be enough work for everyone and that even the artist and dreamer will be worthy of their hire.


So, Peace! friends. Keep on the sunny side, the world is changing, and the change is good! Terry






Terry L White -Author of the Chesapeake Heritage Series
"Travel Through Time With Terry"
http://www.terrylwhitesblog.blogspot.com/

Rockin' the Presidency!

Good Morning!

Today marks the inauguration of Barak Obama as president of the United States. As I watch the festivities in Washington, I am reminded of another inauguration back in the 60s when another young family was in the spotlight and the American Camelot was born.

A lot of things have happened since then, and I have witnessed the inauguration of a number of individuals who came into the Oval Office, changed what they could, pushed some issues into the closet, and sometimes were downright embarassing. Every of those inaugurations marked a new beginning for American. In some cases we were embarrassed at the result.

Yesterday Washington was full of visitors, people there to welcome the new president and to witness the concert at the Lincoln Memorial. A veritable galaxy of stars came out to welcome Barak Obama. They quoted Martin Luther King, Abraham Lincoln and others who were not afraid to step out from the crowd and make a difference. This concert saw thousands of people at the national mall, watching the concert - which rocked more than a little bit - and singing along with Garth Brooks, Pete Seger and an array of stars.

I admit I was moved. I admit I was moved, and I can't wait to hear President Obama's acceptance speech today. In the meantime, I am prouder than ever to be an American and to see a time when real change becomes a reality.

'

All that said, I wish you a bright day. Keep on the sunny side, Terry

Terry L White -Author of the Chesapeake Heritage Series

"Travel Through Time With Terry"

http://www.terrylwhitesblog.blogspot.com/

Dandelion Dreams

Good Monday Bloggers!

I was searching around for some nifty clip art for today's post and came across this shot of a dandelion growing in gravel. Dandelions are hardy plants -I saw some in bloom here only last week before the cold clamped down on the Eastern Shore. The first time the thermometer edges up ove 40 degrees I am sure to see those familiar yellow blooms again.

Dandelions are useful plants and we know this from childhood when Dad held a bloom under our chins to see if we liked butter. I never asked why liking butter was so important, but I do remember that the dandelion test appeared on sunny days when the family was together. When the blooms faded, I found it great fun to blow the fluffy remnants of each flower to watch the seeds dance in the summer air.

When I got a little older, I was part of the great hippie back-to-the-earth movement and I learned to harvest the tender spring plants and either eat the bitter greens in salads - or to cook them for greens. Dandelions taste good in their many incarnations, but I am not done yet

I plucked buckets of the golden flowers and brewed a kick-butt batch white hooch my grandfather said reminded him of the finest sauterne wines. Maybe. I am not a fan of green wine and it was too cold in upstate New York to age my brew since the house didn't have a basement.

Wait a minute, I forgot something. Back in the olden days a tea made of dandelion root was used to stimulate good kidney function. But that isn't all. Roasted dandelion roots can be steeped to make a coffee substitute. No, it doesn't taste quite like coffee, but it has a rich flavor, good for folks that don't want caffeine.

I bet you didn't know dandelions were so useful. I know you don't want the pesky weeds in your lawn, a lot of peope don't. You know something, though? I think they are great! Not every plant in my yard is as beautiful and useful. I think there are people like that - individuals who don't seem to be all that, but turn out to have many good gifts to offer.

My thought for the day? Embrace dandelions and keep on the sunny side. Terry

Fear of Thorns

Greetings Bloggers,

Many moons ago when a writing career was an impossible dream for me, I was be riding down NY 29, a winding country road between Johnstown NY, and Saratoga Springs. Can't remember why I was on this particular road, but I was, and I happened to notice some very interesting graffiti painted on an abutment situated right at the elbow of sharp turn. I expect the source of this folk wisdom was Skidmore College, which later became my alma mater.

The retaining wall was painted with a giant rose, and the legend: "Let not the fear of thorns keep you from the rose." At that time, I was between toxic relationships, wondering what on earth I was going to do with my life - and I was already tinkering with a novel, The Picker. I always knew I wanted to be a writer, but I did not know that I could be one!

Every time I passed that abutment, I saw that rose and read the message, and somewhere in the depths of my soul I began to understand that all things are possible if one is willing to brave the journey. Eventually, I applied to Skidmore, was accepted and graduated, braving thorns all the way. My advisor recommended I explore the benefits of experiencing the International Women's Writing Guild conference held at the college each summer and one thing followed the other - with the help of the Guild, I became the published author I always believed I could be.

Today, I have published more than a dozen books - all ebooks, some in print. I still have to figure out how to get noticed in the larger sense, but I believe that will come in time. In the meantime, if you like my blogs, perhaps you will also like my novels, which can be found at http://www.writewordsing.com/, Amazon.com, Fictionwise, All Romance Ebooks, Mobipocket, Kindle and more.

After that, I would say to you, don't let the fear of thorns keep you from your own rose, and keep on the sunny side. Terry

Blank pages

Happy Saturday Bloggers,

I guess you know by now that I have been obsessed with stories and writing ever since I was a kid. Blank sheets of paper have drawn me in and I have responded, writing down every stray thought, and occasionally drawing paper dolls (and their wardrobes) for my little friends when we all attended that little three room schools back in Pennsylvania.

Writing is hard, lonely work at times, but the good part is that it is also consuming, edging every other concern out of my mind when I faced hard situations in relationships or my personal economy. Working on a story can remove me from any problem and leave me relaxed and happy when the day is done.

I won't say that writing has fixed my problems, although it has provided an income over the years. I wrote for a daily newspaper for quite some time - providing up to five stories a day for the front page. A daily takes a big lot of stories, an sometimes the greatest challenge was to simply come up with enough ideas to fill the page. In a very real sense there are times in the life of a reporter that it is all the news that fits and the blank page can be a very real problem.

I like paper in all its various manifestations and have paper in neon hues and shades of pastel. I have textured papers and papers that are smooth and shiny - like that expensive magazines are printed on. Paper is great!

Don't get me wrong, I adore paper with words on it too. I read all the books in the three-room school library and tried to read all the books in the high school library. My house is too full of books and even though I purge them frequently, they keep coming back.

But I digress. This is an essay about blank pages, and I will say that it is sometimes a bit of a struggle to think of things to write about every single day. Sometimes the words just won't come, but you know something? There are always work that needs to be edited because the gremlins get in my work and take away punctuation marks and change the write word for the wrong one. Man! I have work to do! Keep on the sunny side, Terry

Terry L White -Author of the Chesapeake Heritage Series

"Travel Through Time With Terry"

http://www.terrylwhitesblog.blogspot.com/

A Winter's Journey

Good Friday Morning,

Today's art reminds me of the dirt roads of my childhood when walking to school was part agony and part awe. There is nothing quite like a frosty morning with the temps below zero and particles of ice dancing in the air. The passing scenery seen from the back seat of Pop's car on Sunday rides was like something out of a fairy tale.

Speaking of fairy tales, I happened to see The Golden Compass a week or so ago and I was truly amazed at what computer generated characters can do. The battle between the ice bears had me on the edge of my seat and I can see how writers are gradually going to become producers of something much grander as time goes by. This movie garnered all sorts of awards with sequels going by the wayside due to economic constraints, but it was just wonderful.

I have been a writer all my life, and I will tell you that I always struggled to do a better job and to present a better product. My first book was written in pencil on a tablet of yellow paper. The second was delivered from a portable typewriter. I had a better portable for the third, but I was still typing books over and over again as I tried to reach perfect prose.

Back in the late 80s I was introduced to computers and I was scared to death I would do something wrong and break the darned thing. I loved, however, features like spell check and the ability to make changes without using paper or ink ribbons. Then I went to work as a news reporter and learned that the darned things don't break that easily. Page lay-out jangled my nerves. I just knew I couldn't do it -- but I did. The next thing you know I was working for a non-profit and producing 8-page newsletters and all the ephemera attached to event planning. I got so I sort of enjoyed computers and do to this day.

Some of my friends think I am a nerd and call me for help with computer problems, but I am just a writer struggling to keep up and stay on the sunny side. (I call more savvy users myself when I hit a techno-wall!)

Happy computering! Terry

Predictions for a New World

Good Morning Friends,

I sure hope you are keeping warm these days. I know I am finding it increasingly difficult to get out of my fuzzy robe when it is below zero outdoors. You watch, I predict one of these days the medical profession will perfect a hibernation pill and people will be able to nap away the winter with no ill effects.

Is that wishful thinking? Maybe, but I am a writer and I can't help but notice that writers are always thinking up nifty - but impossible - stuff that comes true in 20 or 40 or a hundred years. They call it Science Fiction, but I have the idea something else is at work. I think some writers develop a future sense that allows them to tell others what to expect a few years down the line.

Following that theory, I would like to throw out a few predictions:

In 10 years, people will be vaccinated for the disease of depression, saving thousands of lives and dollars every year.
In 20 years, science will 'discover' that people make themselves sick and that drugs do not fix disease.
In 30 years, people with middle and upper level incomes throughout their lives will have to prove real need in order to collect Social Security benefits.
In 40 years, wars will be waged on computers, with losers required to do community service.
In 50 years, all transportation will use alternate fuels and the use of petroleum products will be outlawed.

If you are still around after that, let me know how I did. Oh yes, and keep on the sunny side! Terry

Chesapeake Legacy

Chesapeake Legacy Arrives!

Friday morning I had a knock on the door and the very first ever copy of Chesapeake Legacy was delivered into my hands. I think the only other experience in my life that came anywhere near the excitement I felt was the day I delivered my son. A book is a big piece of work, one that takes months to mature. You can't imagine the emotion I experience when the first of any volume comes to hand.

I had a busy day planned Friday, but you can be sure I sat down and ran my hands over the cover, admiring Dawn M. Tarr's cover art. Then, I couldn't help but take time to read a few pages. I don't know if a non-writer can understand, but the day the first copy of one's book arrives is a very special time.

The work is pretty much finished, although my publisher admonished me to take time to read the copy very carefully for errors. You cannot imagine how much different one's words appear; first on the computer screen, in the print-out, and finally in a bound copy. I have an idea there are error gremlins that wait until the final copy. It brings home the notion that nothing is ever perfect, but I truly understand why Native Americans always left a hole in a weaving or a mistake in their art - a place to let the bad spirits out. I won't justify my grammatical errors by saying I left them in on purpose, but I do believe I cannot create perfection - only the Creator can do that.

Still, the moment I hold the first copy of any of my books in my hands, I will tell you honestly that I feel my baby is perfect. It is always a sunny day. Terry

Weekend With Sis

Good Morning Bloggers,

I spent this past weekend with a friend in Delaware. I met Sue nearly 20 years ago online, she paid me a visit shortly after, and we have been friends ever since.

Sue just loved Cambridge, and she has visited often over the years, helping me over the hard spots, and supporting the artistic endeavours I seem to need to keep my life going smoothly. People think we are sisters, and we don't mind. In fact, it seems like a good thing.

I do have some natural sisters, but they are far away, and we have not been close over the years. That happens sometimes, and I don't know if the situation will ever change. There is an old saying that you can choose your friends, but you can't change your family. Seems to be true.

I have had some truly wonderful friends and some issues with sisters. If you don't take the blood connection too seriously, the bonds of friendship have remained far stronger over my years.

So, let's hear it for friends that are truer than sisters. I know I enjoy my female friends very much and thank the heavens for putting them here where we can enjoy each other during good times and bad. So. I suggest we call today 'sister appreciation days' and think about the friends who are as close as sisters.

Big hug, Sis. Terry

A Rose for a Friend

Good Thursday Morning,

Yesterday started out damp and got worse as the third day of rain dampened the Eastern Shore. A couple of plans fell through and I tried to keep busy, but one can get tired of her own company after several day cooped up in the house.

I had about given up on the day when a friend called and suggested we go shopping and then return to her house for supper and a movie. She deserves a winter rose for being a great friend in need.

Most of the time I can stand being alone. I always have things to do, and if all else fails, there is always housework. There are times, however, when nothing will do but the company of a friendly being.

This lady really made the day fun, so I wanted to mention it in today's blog. We can plan all we wish, but when it comes right down to it, heaven has a plan for all of our days and an angel to banish loneliness when the time is right.

So. I hope that your angel shows up today and that you have many blessings in your life. I am going to get to work and send you a rose!

Keep on the sunny side. Terry

Winter Memories in a Cold Season

Good Morning Bloggers,

I am so glad today is Wednesday. It is still raining and hump day offers hope that the rest of the week will clear up and the sun will shine.

It has always puzzled me that the sun is actually closer to Mother Earth in winter than in summer because winter is always a bit inhospitable. Well, I guess there are people who enjoy winter sports, but I never did like the season of cold. I was never quite warm when I was a kid - we lived in a farmhouse heated by a wood stove in the kitchen for cooking and an oil burner that did its best to warm the rest of the house.

There was a great competition at home for spots near the fire and I have clear memories of sitting in the woodbox behind the range in order to do my homework in comfort. Dad had his feet in the oven and the rest of the family was gathered around to make the most of cold winter days. Pop did his best to maintain a party atmosphere, popping corn and making jackwax by pouring hot sugar syrup over fresh snow. We laughed a lot, and we got along. If one was mad, one could get sent to bed and it was cold upstairs, I have clear memories of the snow blowing in under the bedroom window.

Today, I live in my dream house a couple of states south of the wintery days of my youth. The house is cold in deference to fuel shortages throughout the country and my small budget, but I wouldn't change it for the world. I should, however, wish for the sun to shine - so keep on the sunny side wherever that may be, folks. Terry

Freezing Rain

Good Tuesday Morning,

I can't think of a single weather condition I like less than freezing rain. It absolutely strikes terror into my heart to have to go outdoor when winter throws its worse at me.

Winter is bad enough. I tend to be cold in winter and wear so many clothes I can hardly waddle. Don't laugh. I was meant to live in the sun - or hibernate. Come to think of it, why isn't hibernation a viable option for human beings? Just think. We could all put our thermostats down to fifty degrees and sleep away January and February (and maybe March in the colder states). Imagine the energy savings.

I have an idea the emerging human race took a page from nature and did not venture outside during the winter months. Sure, they bulked up in the autumn, but they emerged from their snug little caves as svelt as a Parisian mannequin.

I don't care for the slipperyness of ice underfoot. Like every individual over the age of 10 or so, I fear a fall and the subsequent helplessness a broken limb would entail. Let me settle in for that long winter's nap and I will be happy.

As it stands, I am going to have to cope with the winter God gives us and maybe write something interesting for my constant readers. Wish me luck.

See you in the spring, and keep on the sunny side if you really must go outside!
Terry

What's With the Frogs?

Good Sunday Morning,

When I was a kid, Sunday was the best day of the week. We went to church to learn about God and Jesus, and once that was over the whole days stretched forward, with all the rewards of childhood. Sometimes we had a big Sunday dinner and then just lolled around the house (on winter days) staying close to the heaters. When it was nice we would go outdoors and take advantage of all the gifts nature provided.

One of my favorite things to do was to go down to the creek to look for pollywogs. You all know about pollywogs? They are these little fish critters that hang around in the water for a while, then grow legs and turn into frogs. I don't think they worry about either condition.

Which brings me to the point of this morning's blog. Tadpoles and pollywogs don't worry about anything, they just hang around secure in the knowledge God will take care of them - and then they turn into frogs without doing one darned thing. They Fully Rely On God and end up able to hop up out of the water and sit on the bank until some likely bug comes along.

The point is, I have the idea if we just do whatever it is we are supposed to do, we will all end up as frogs one day . . . as long as we Fully Rely On God. Are we seeing a trend here?

I have an idea that Cinderella and the princess who kissed a frog all came from the same line of thinking. People who do what comes naturally no matter what others may have to say, those who trust their own unique process, tend to be transformed in the end.

Let's hear it for frogs. And let's hear it for transformation. I hear it is pretty sunny over there! Terry

Editing Woes

Greetings Bloggers,

I want to make a confession. I sent a book to a friend of mine who took the time to find many corrections in what I believed to be the final draft of my latest print release. The book was dedicated to her, and I am grateful for her critique. She found dozens of errors.

For those of you who are writers, I want to say: Get some new eyes to edit your opus. No matter how you try, you aren't going to see what may seem like glaring errors to others.

I know I went through Chesapeake Harvest a dozen times - and a friend also vetted the manuscript and found several errors. It seemed to me that the work was done, and now I understand that it is full of clinkers and not worth the paper it is published upon.

I feel terrible, and I hope this friend is up for some work as my editor. I surely need her help. In the meantime I am going to lick my wounds and try to figure out how I am going to get this book in better shape. Oh yes, and try to keep on the sunny side. Terry

False Spring and January Thaws

Good Morning Bloggers,

Seed catalogs arrived in mid-February when I was young, and I always considered them to be the harbinger of spring. Last week, on the tail end of 2008, I received two of them and I felt a little bit let down. Seed catalogs arriving in February bring hope and the reminder that spring never fails to arrive. Seed catalogs in late December make me wonder where to put them in the holiday chaos. Talk about premature!

I know everyone is focused on finances these days, but winter has only just barely arrived and I have not even begun to think about planting anything at all. Anything I plant would die of the cold, even here on the fairly temperate Delmarva Peninsula.

When I lived in the Adirondacks, you couldn't plant anything at all until Memorial Day. Here on the peninsula, which is warmed by the winds off the Chesapeake Bay and the Atlantic Ocean, you can't plant until maybe late March or early April. Things grow well here, and it is not unusual for farmer to harvest two crops in the summer, but even these canny husbandmen wouldn't think of planting in January.

The fact is, we have been locked in a cold snap that started back in November and I can't wait for our January Thaw. We used to have those, even back in the Adirondacks - warm days with sunny skies and warm winds would break up Jack Frost's grip and allow us to wander out to sit in the sun for a day or two.

It seems to me that the seed people need to re-think their advertising campaigns. I love looking at seed catalogs, but I really need to do so in the middle of February when I can't stand winter any more and do dumb things like cutting my hair or painting the batheroom chartruse. There are times when you need hope, and times when you wonder where to put the catalogs until it is time to drool over beefsteak tomatoes and purple roses.

That said, I am going to put this out to the universe. Hold the seed catalogs until spring seem tardy - and keep on the sunny side! Terry

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year Folks!

Wishing you all the best in 2009.

Terry