This Is the Year!

Moon phase watch I bought in Germany way back in the 1990s. It’s long stopped working, but I keep it on my writing desk for the warm and fuzzy memories.

New year, new outlook, new attempt at blogging (boy, does that sound familiar). Maybe . . . maybe this year will be different. My novel BIRD NERD is coming out in October, so seeing that on the horizon might be the kick in the pants I need to finally get this blog rolling.

I’ll even make this my New Year’s resolution. And I’ll throw in a brand new feature to boot: the Bird of the Month, which you can find under my site's BIRD NERD page.

Okay, since I’m still calling this blog Birds and Stars, I’ll get right to it.

Project FeederWatch

Cornell Lab’s Project FeederWatch started in November and runs to April. I’ve done it for years, but this is the first time from my new Delaware home. So far 16 different species of birds have visited my Delaware backyard.

And just as I was drafting this, about 30 Red-winged Blackbirds landed, mostly pecking seed from the ground. I also spotted a Red-bellied Woodpecker in the big maple tree next to my feeders!

This season, I’m one of a limited number of participants selected to build a brush pile and to monitor that activity. So far, just lots of sparrows (White-throated, Song, and House) hopping around inside and perching on top as lookouts.

Christmas Bird Count

This is the first year I’ve participated in Audubon’s Christmas Bird Count, which is organized a bit differently than Project FeederWatch. To join, you have to reach out to the person organizing and compiling counts for a particular area. When I contacted my area’s compiler, I was offered the choice of going out with an existing group or covering a section that hasn’t been counted yet. I chose the latter (lone birder that I am) and decided to go birding at Abbott's Mill Nature Center.

On the blustery morning of December 19—the “Christmas” part of the count actually means any day within a designated three-week period—I arrived at the park and spent over four hours exploring its woodlands, meadows, farmlands, ponds, and wetlands. The highlight was finding a Hermit Thrush in a swamp forest.

Stargazing

Long nights and low humidity make winter the best time for stargazing. The only drawback is the cold. That’s why for now, I’m stargazing from my cozy office in the wee hours before I start my day. I don’t have a vast view of open skies, but there’s enough to keep me interested.

Over the past month I’ve been enjoying Venus, although it’s dipping lower and lower to the eastern horizon and by March will be washed out by the sun. The entire constellation of Corvus and part of Virgo (mainly its brightest star, Spica) have also filled my view. I tried finding the Stargate Asterism near Corvus, but my binoculars weren’t strong enough to get the full effect. (I really do need to get a telescope again.)

In other space news, I added my name to a list that will be traveling aboard a spacecraft to Jupiter’s moon, Europa! (Just my name, not me.)

I also added my husband, although he was less enthused about the whole thing. In addition to the names, the Europa Clipper will be carrying an exquisitely beautiful poem by Poet Laureate Ada Limón. The clipper is scheduled to be launched in October 2024 (same time as BIRD NERD!) and will arrive sometime around 2030.

Okay, that’s it for now. And I promise, I’ll do my best to keep blogging!

Better Late Than...

Okay, did I totally forget I had a blog? Looks like it. I blame my move. Moving is stressful. Yeah, that’s it. I also hear blogging’s going the way of the pterodactyl, so maybe it's not just me.

I know—excuses, excuses.

But way, way, back in November I did promise to give out more details about my big announcement once it’s confirmed. So here it is:

I’ve posted this all over social media, so this is likely old news for some of you.

The newer news is that I’m a member of a group of kidlit writers with middle-grade novels coming out in 2024. We’re called the 24/7s. If you’ve got a minute, please check out our website! You’ll find inspiring interviews, and for the month of June, we’re hosting a giveaway where you can win a critique or one of our members’ already-published books. Click here for more details.

Okay, I’m keeping it short and sweet for now—maybe save up my energy for a new post!

It's Happening!

GREAT stuff has happened on the writing front since my last post! I have an agent now, Amy Thrall Flynn from Rubin Pfeffer Content! Things fell into place in a way that completely snatched me by surprise and threw me into a whirlwind. I wish I could give more details on how it all unfolded, but that would give away the other big news, and since that official announcement hasn’t happened yet, I have to keep quiet.

So I’ll wait…

Speaking of waiting—looks like my blog reboot failed again, as evidenced by the gulf of space-time between my last post and this one. So without further ado, here’s some birds and stars stuff:

Project FeederWatch has officially begun! I haven’t started yet, but there’s no pressure since the event runs through April 30. This year I’ve got suet, Nyjer seed, and a no-frills mix. The birdseed market hasn’t escaped inflation, so the neighborhood birds will have make some sacrifices, too. No fancy deluxe blends, unless I can score some on the black market. Just kidding. (Although, if any of you know a guy…)

As for the stars, I got a thrill—and I mean, THRILL—watching that DART spacecraft hit the asteroid at the end of September. Just seeing the asteroid getting bigger and bigger as the spacecraft got closer and closer…and then bam! The picture cuts off. Which some people actually found anti-climactic. I guess I can see that, but the thing was torpedoing into the asteroid, so I didn’t expect it to film its own destruction. Those ultra close-ups of an asteroid millions of miles away was totally enough for me.

Dimorphos asteroid shortly before impact. Kind of looks like something breaded and fried. (NASA/Johns Hopkins APL, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons)

Okay, that’s all for this post. I hope to be writing a new one in the next week or two with the big news. Until then, in the immortal words of Casey Kasem:

“Keep your feet on the ground and keep reaching for the stars!”