Betty Adams's Blog, page 105

Cones in the Sun

Last year's cones contrast beautifully with the burnt out husks of trees. This can offer wonderful photographic opportunities, if not much in the way of writing inspiration. Maybe it will inspire someone else? 

Chocolate Lilly

One wonders why things get their names. This perfectly respectable flower that looks like the peel of an aging banana is named the Chocolate Lilly (Fritillaria biflora). It neither looks nor smells like chocolate. 
What do you think it should be named? 

Interesting Fact

Some pinecones have prickles that poke you when you pick them up. So you should be careful when make forest centerpieces. 

Animal Conversations - Or Monologue

Hey! Human with the camera! Is it spring yet? Give a pocket gopher a break here!

Human observer: "They are just as cute as their name would suggest!" 

Word of the Day - Composite

Composite: noun   A substance made of two or more materials
 
In science fiction composite are the materials of the future. Nothing says ‘advanced alien species’ like the human scientist saying in awed confusion – “It is some sort of composite of completely unknown materials.” 

Humans are Weird - IRL

Humans are Weird – IRL


“Hey!” I shout across the road at the tight cluster of my coworkers, brilliant and reflective in their hi-vis vests.
Three university graduates kneel on the roadside, uniforms crisp and heads bent seriously over very important work. They are communing with nature at the same time that they summon the combined power of the space and information ages. Thus do they gather scientific data points that will flow together with thousands of others in a river of information that may well alter the course of nations. Very Important Work. I can tell the watching tourists are duly impressed by how they stand in hushed attention. My coworkers look up at my shout, crisply professional, instantly alert to any critical information I might add to the situation.
“You all look like Technicolor prairie dogs!” I shout loud enough for the tourists to hear.
Instantly, and as one, they straighten their backs and stick out their front teeth. Their hands come up like little paws in front of their yellow and orange chests and their heads swivel to catch sight of imaginary predators, faces tense with comical alertness. The tourists howl with laughter and I drive away my work done. Very Important Work indeed. 

Patterns

There are beautiful patterns all through nature. When writing a setting it is a good idea to find a location as near as possible to the one you are writing and just immersing yourself in it. What does the air smell like? What patterns does the detritus form on the ground? How does the light play over the surfaces? 
Pay attention. 

When the Day Job Calls

Ask not for whom the day job calls, it calls for thee.
Just a few hours in the morning. We promise. 

Pretty Picture - Author is Ill

Uggh, how come I never find out that something is "going around" until it comes around? 

Humans are Weird - Can't Sit Still

Can’t Sit Still

​
“Okay,” Quilx’tch said, angling his eyes to stare at the human who was crouched in the corner bent over his computer. Bill was wrapped in a blanket and his entire body was making a series of small sustained jerking moments. “Bill is ill. But why isn’t he resting in bed?”
“Eh,” the healthy human continued to boil the ‘chicken soup’ on the small camp stove. “Bill just is one of those humans who can’t sit still.”
“But sitting still is how you conserve energy to heal,” Quilx’tch said slowly, trying to find the point in this conversation that was keeping him from understanding the situation.
“Soup’s ready,” the cook said cheerfully. “Ready to take your sample?”
“Indeed,” Quilx’tch held up the sample container in his foremost legs. “And this ‘chicken soup’ has healing properties?”
“Maybe,” the cook shrugged. “It will make him feel better.”
Quilx’tch filed that thought away and skittered back to his lab. He had learned that sick humans didn’t always like company and he did not know Bill well enough to confidently offer it. He would do his own job in analyzing this foodstuff and would pass on this strange counterproductive behavior to the behavioral anthropologists.