Kyle Pratt's Blog: Musings & Rantings, page 5

Chickens Come of Age

We don’t often buy eggs from the store.

Eggs from seven of our chickens

For the best chance of survival, we need our chicks to grow into laying hens before the shorter days of autumn turn blustery. This maturation process takes about six months. The top picture shows some of our older and younger chickens together. Six months ago many of these hens were tiny chicks. Now it’s getting hard to tell them apart.

However, the eggs tell a different story. In the lower picture, the color difference is caused by genetics, but the size difference has much more to do with age. Most of our hens are young, some still haven’t started laying.

Lorraine feeds some of our chickens

For the most part, my wife Lorraine takes care of the chickens. She rises before sunrise and lets them out of the hen house. For the rest of the day, the birds roam over a large area of the farm looking for worms, insects and other bugs. They could probably live on this, but Lorraine makes sure they are well fed from the house. Our chickens will go into this winter with plenty of fat on them.

If chickens are mature and have about twelve hours of daylight they’ll lay eggs. During the summer we have very long days here in the Pacific Northwest, but the leaves have already begun to turn color and, in less than a month, autumn will begin. I need to make a few more repairs to the hen house before then. Last week Lorraine bought bales of wood shavings and straw which are now stacked in the barn. These will provide insulation for the hen house during winter. Such chores seem to never end. 

When the short days of winter arrive our chicken will be plump, dry, and warm, but due to the short, dim days, they won’t lay as many eggs.

Maybe after Christmas, we’ll have to buy some eggs.

Click on the following links to read my author bio, or read more about my life on the farm.

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A Good Conference

I’m taking a few moments between sessions at the Oregon Christian Writers Conference to type some of my early impressions and thoughts.

I’ve had a great time meeting and learning from people like Steven James, award-winning author of Story Trumps Structure, Thomas Umstattd, host of several popular podcasts including, Novel Marketing and the Christian Publishing Show, and , writer, and producer of shows like The Case for Christ, When Calls the Heart, and Touched by an Angel.

As I mentioned, meeting, hearing, and networking with these people is great. I often learn new things or find doors opening for new projects with them. However, I’ve found that some of the finest moments are with other attendees, people like me.

Kyle Pratt and Kelsey at the Oregon Christian Writers Conference

On my first morning at the conference as I entered the bookstore a young lady walked over to me.

“Are you Kyle Pratt,” she asked.

“Yes,” I said, a bit tentatively.

She smiled. “I’m Kelsey. I read your blogposts about the OCW conference and sent you an email asking if it would be worthwhile for me to attend.”

As Kelsey spoke I recalled her email and that I told her the OCW conference was both useful and friendly and that I had learned a great deal from it over the years. I went on to say that if she did attend she should look me up and introduce herself.

I’m glad she did.

I always find it hard to pack my bags and head off to a conference. I love my family and the small farm where I live but; I always have new friends and new ideas when it’s over. So, as I turn back towards home, I’m always glad I went.

Also, if you’ve ever been to the Oregon Christian Writers (OCW) conference. press the red button below and let me know about your experience.

Click on the following links to read my author bio, or read more about current writing projects.

To receive a weekly digest of blogposts delivered to your inbox click Follow me

A Good Time

I’m taking a few moments between sessions at the Oregon Christian Writers Conference to type some of my early impressions and thoughts.

I’ve had a great time meeting and learning from people like Steven James, award-winning author of Story Trumps Structure, Thomas Umstattd, host of several popular podcasts including, Novel Marketing and the Christian Publishing Show, and , writer, and producer of shows like The Case for Christ, When Calls the Heart, and Touched by an Angel.

As I mentioned, meeting, hearing, and networking with these people is great. I often learn new things or find doors opening for new projects with them. However, I’ve found that some of the finest moments are with other attendees, people like me.

Kyle Pratt and Kelsey at the Oregon Christian Writers Conference

On my first morning at the conference as I entered the bookstore a young lady walked over to me.

“Are you Kyle Pratt,” she asked.

“Yes,” I said, a bit tentatively.

She smiled. “I’m Kelsey. I read your blogposts about the OCW conference and sent you an email asking if it would be worthwhile for me to attend.”

As Kelsey spoke I recalled her email and that I told her the OCW conference was both useful and friendly and that I had learned a great deal from it over the years. I went on to say that if she did attend she should look me up and introduce herself.

I’m glad she did.

I always find it hard to pack my bags and head off to a conference. I love my family and the small farm where I live but; I always have new friends and new ideas when it’s over. So, as I turn back towards home, I’m always glad I went.

Click on the following links to read my author bio, or read more about current writing projects.

To receive a weekly digest of blogposts delivered to your inbox click Follow me

That’s Deplorable

YouTube had restricted access to a video called, The Ten Commandments: What you should know. That’s what the article by Dennis Prager, the creator of the video declared.

Dennis Prager and The Ten Commandments: What You Should Know

I did some checking. He’s right. Don’t misunderstand me; you can still watch the video unless you’ve activated the YouTube restricted mode. The restricted mode prevents viewing of pornography, violence, and obscenity. I didn’t even know there was such a mode before this.

But why would YouTube classify a video on the Ten Commandments as pornography, violence or obscenity? Well, there is that one commandment that teaches, “You shall not murder.”

Violence? Really? I shook my head in disbelief and then subscribed to Dennis Prager’s YouTube channel.

Even a casual perusal of YouTube will reveal a host of rampant violence, misogyny, obscenity and more. As I thought about all these fact I decided to write about it, but before I could, I heard about the movie, The Hunt.

The original title of this waste of money, time, and film was, “Red State vs. Blue State.” In the movie, wealthy thrill-seekers fly to a resort where they hunt and kill people they describe as “deplorables,” the same term Hilary Clinton used to describe Trump supporters.

I thought ultra-rich Hollywood liberals were concerned about guns and violence. Apparently, I was wrong. Even with all the recent shootings this movie is still scheduled for release in September.

But if YouTube found the Ten Commandments violent surely they wouldn’t allow the trailer for such a movie to stain their site. Again, I shook my head in disbelief.

If you really want too, you can see the trailer on YouTube here.

The credits at the end of any movie seem to go on forever with list after list of producers, investors and production staff. Imagine that for The Hunt. How could Universal Pictures, Hilary Swank, Jason Blum, and all the others involved, believe that pouring eighteen million dollars into this toilet, and tying their name to it, would be a good idea? But then what do I know, this deplorable movie might win an Academy Award. 

So, I have two takeaways from all of this. First, YouTube thinks it needs to protect me from the Ten Commandments, but thinks The Hunt is just peachy. Second, Hollywood liberals believe guns are bad except when they are pointed at red state deplorables. Sadly, that’s the country we now live in.

What are your thoughts?

Click “Add a comment,” on the right to tell me.

Click on the following links to read my author bio, or read more about my political views.

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Don’t Tread on Me

Recently, Yahoo Movies criticized actor Chris Pratt for wearing a ‘white supremacist’ t-shirt.’ You can read the now cleansed article here and see the t-shirt below.

Anyone with a high school education should be familiar with the flag created by Christopher Gadsden during the Revolutionary War. It was used by the Continental Marines as an early motto flag and has a completely non-racist history.

However, in this era of millennial snowflakes requiring a safe space from micro-aggressions, the original version of the article stated that “the flag has been adopted by far right political groups like the Tea Party, as well as gun-toting supporters of the Second Amendment.

“It has therefore become a symbol of more conservative and far right individuals and, according to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission of the U.S., it also is ‘sometimes interpreted to convey racially tinged messages in some contexts.’”

Kyle Pratt with his Gadsden Flag

So Yahoo, a guardian of progressive speech has declared that Chris Pratt wore racist apparel and may, by association be a racist. This false claim reveals more about the accuser than the accused. Wearing the t-shirt shows that Chris Pratt has knowledge of history and a degree of patriotism. The author of the article and their editor appear to lack that basic education.

If you come down the driveway to my house you’ll see two flagpoles. One always has the American flag. I have an assortment of flags that fly from the other. Being a far-right, gun-toting patriot and a supporter of the Second Amendment, I’m going to support Chris Pratt with this blogpost, seeing his movies and with my flags. Until this media nonsense fades the Gadsden flag will ripple in the breeze atop one of the poles near my home.

Click on the following links to read my author bio, or read more about my political views.

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Life on Hold

Well, 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.

Those tasks might not get done.

Until now most of you didn’t know that I have a heart condition, atrial fibrillation. That means the top half of my heart beats at a fast and irregular rate. Anything to do with the heart is serious, but in my case, it has been treated effectively with drugs for about five years.

Of course, having this problem means I see doctors (yes, more than one) on a regular basis and they keep track of my heart. They recently noticed that the ventricle (lower part of my heart) was occasionally pausing for two or three seconds. That’s about as long as you can go and stay conscious.

So, last week, I had a pacemaker installed and, while I heal, much of my life is on hold. I can’t exert my left arm and my range of motion is somewhat limited. Those tasks I mentioned at the start of this letter are impossible for me to do. I can’t even drive.

But I can type!

All my fingers work just fine and it doesn’t bother my arm so, with most everything else on hold I sit in my office and type out my stories, answer emails and write this newsletter. The doctors tell me I should be back to near normal in about a month.

As much as I enjoy writing, I hope they’re right.

Click on the following links to read my author bio, or read more about my life on the farm.

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What the World Dreads Most

This all came about because of the What the World Dreads Most ebook giveaway. It simply didn’t fit into my regular email schedule. In the past, I’ve just turned down such opportunities, but this giveaway included some fine books that I thought you, my readers, would be very interested in.

However, this is a very limited time offer that ends on May 29, so be sure to click on the graphic and check it out!

The offer includes some fantastic authors including A.R. Shaw, author of Graham's Resolution, Phil Maxey, the British author of Survive, book one of the Cascade Series, and Rachel Aukes, author of the 100 Days in Deadland, book one of the Deadland Saga and more!

So, I decided to do a special edition of the Dystopia & Dissonance newsletter to promote it. As I was getting this ready I thought doing special editions isn’t a bad idea, but before I another, I want to hear from you. Let me know what you think, by leaving a comment below.  

Also, if you haven’t read my bestselling novel, Through Many Fires, and The Storm Rises, the preview editions of both are included in this giveaway.

Happy reading!

Click on the following links to read my author bio, or read more about contests and giveaways.

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Hiving the New Bees

When you live on a farm, work changes with the seasons.

I’ve opened the Nuc box and removed one frame with several thousand bees on it.

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.

I’m putting one of the frames into its new home.

But spring is a time of renewal. All those chores you couldn’t get to because of bad weather now need to be done. The chicks have been moved from the bathroom to a special pen outside. Fences are being mended, and gates fixed. Despite the workload, I love this time of year. Months ago, I ordered a single replacement bee colony and it arrived, along with dozens of others, at a nearby apiary this morning.

On this warm and sunny day in April, one of the chores that must be done is hiving the bees. These little workers will soon pollinate our orchard trees, garden, and flowers.

We let them keep all the honey they produce during the first year. If they survive until next fall they’ll have made enough for us to harvest gallons of honey.

But, that’s a chore for another season.

Click on the following links to read my author bio, or read more about my life on the farm.

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Chickens in the Bathroom

You know you’re a hick if ….

Chicks in the bathroom. Click to enlarge.

Every 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.

The chicken box. Click to enlarge.

Since hens lay eggs even without a rooster I decided not to make too much of a fuss, but since then we’ve had to buy chicks in the spring. This year we bought a mix of Gold Sex-Link, Orpington, Marans, Welsummer, and Barnevelder.

From the start, chicks need to be kept warm, at up to one-hundred degrees. One year we kept them in the garage under a heat lamp, but when the weather turned cold they nearly died. After that, we tried several places in the house and this year we decided on the guest bathroom. They’re all in a box, but we try to warn guests before they enter.

I told several of my friends about keeping chicks in the bathroom and they considered it rather routine. One of them said, “Let me tell you about the time I had a calf in my bathroom.”

Maybe I’m not such a hick.

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Click on the following links to read my author bio, or read more about my life on the farm.

A bestseller since its release!

This 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.

Amazon list of March 16, 2019. Click to enlarge.

The next morning I checked again and discovered it had reached the number one position on the science fiction list and the number ten spot on the literature and fiction list. I’m writing this blogpost on Sunday and the story is still in the number three position.

All I can say is thank you, my readers!   

In this story, University of Washington students Ryan Palmer and Amy decide to bugout of Seattle when international tensions threaten to boil over into a world war. In normal times their journey to Ryan’s childhood home in rural Idaho would take less than a day. But these aren’t normal times. As they travel supplies become scarce, gasoline becomes impossible to buy, people panic and nuclear war erupts. Together they must confront their worst fears as they fight to reach home and refuge.

Click on the following links to read my author bio, or read more about current writing projects.

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