Squats. Scat. Owl Pellets. Newsletters … Of Course

Winter Fitness Class. (I never made it back to the gym after Covid shut down)

AM Class: Squats to put snowshoes on. Snowshoe Raven the dog up through new snow into the woods for dog business and sniffing of fresh animal tracks. Return to see busy plow. Keep snowshoes on; clear off car. Squats to remove snowshoes; add boots. Drive car away to await plow job. Return and shovel out doorway and access to woodshed with large push shovel (saves my back). Change into ice cleat boots: more squats. The driveway ice was exposed by the plow. Sand a path to the car and to the woodshed. Load the wheelbarrow with two separate loads of wood and deliver each to the woodstove. Remove cleat shoes (final squat). Squats rather than bending protect my arthritic back. Stare at computer and think, “Yaaa, right. Got energy for that.”

PM Class: At 3:00 Raven will demand—with nose nudges —a more vigorous outing. That would be skis, I think. More boots and the head lamp. Hahaha…

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NEWS & NEWSLETTERS: All the advice says “yes” send one but give readers something brief and useful. Folks are divided about how often an author should land in the inbox of fans, supporters, and/or relatives, but this site is helpful.

In my last ‘letter’ I shared that I was hoping to do more than one or two a year and a few folks emailed back and said that was just about the right amount. Good to know.

I do think I will crank it up to about three a year; 2023’s got delayed by a bout of rugged Covid. I will stick with my repeating theme and headline, “Let’s Get Out There.”  Here’s an early example.

It’s important to give readers (quickly) something of value. I include at least one give-away opportunity, quick links to cool or surprising outdoor locations, events, guides, books, or ways to easily (and cheaply) support conservation and citizen science, and of course, author news …and where to find my books and presentations.

To sign up for my ‘letter,’ please go to my website.

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Here’s draft content for my first 2024 newsletter:

The Giveaway Contest: The first three folks to email me a request for “Scat Finder,” will get a copy. Like Miller’s other fabulous pocket guides, it will fit into your pocket. (I always have it with me when out with my granddaughters. Kids seem to love scat; take baggies and some medical gloves. Hahaha.)

If you’re curious about which critters are crossing your path or are in your backyard, then Scat Finder by Dorcas S. Miller is just what you need. It includes

Key to mammal scat: cords, pellets, splats, and tubesTips on where to find scat and what its color and shape can tell youClues for distinguishing between scat from similar species (e.g., within the same family)The author’s professional drawings of the animals and their scat

PS: If you’d like a guided tour of bear scat, here ya go.

Books! This is an amazing book list.. Mystery Fanfare: EARTH DAY: Environmental/Ecological Mysteries 2022 (mysteryreadersinc.blogspot.com) I’m hoping to be on Janet’s next list. If you think I belong there, please email her and ask that she add my two environmentally-themed novels. Thanks! janet@mysteryreaders.org.

Citizen Science: Easy, cheap stuff you can do: – The Maine Owl Pellet Project (une.edu) Regular people can help biologists understand the diet of Maine’s owls and the distribution and composition of the small mammal community on which they prey. “We are proud to partner on this project with the University of New England, United States Fish and Wildlife Service, and members of the public, like you, who are passionate about Maine’s wildlife. The project is funded by a grant from the Maine Outdoor Heritage Fund.”

Pellets aren’t scat. But on the other hand … If this is not for you, maybe just buy a few Heritage Fund tickets where lottery tickets are sold. The proceeds fund so many great wildlife projects.

Environmental journalist Ben Goldfarb says cars and roads do more than kill all kinds of animals (large and small). Highways cut off them off from their food sources and migration paths. His new book about road ecology is “Crossings.” Listen to his Fresh Air interview for his new book, “Crossings.” https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/fresh-air/id214089682?i=1000629231551

Check out all the creative ways people are helping animals deal with roads.

AUTHOR NEWS

Michael leading a group in Acadia National Park

Coming to Your Library With Something New In January I was at the Jessup Library in Bar Harbor with a different kind of author presentation, “Live Birds and Deadly Forces.” I team up with birding guide Michael Good, his PowerPoint of birds and habitat at risk, a reading from my most recent novel (“Deadly Turn”) and a drawing for a free copy of it, and plenty of time for comments and questions. Maybe share this idea and presentation link with your own library so we might visit? Thank you!

The Next “Mystery in Maine (#3) Yes, the third novel is coming; it’s just taking forever. I think I tend to disappear down fascinating research avenues (wildlife trafficking was a deep dive) or just head out the door to be outside.

Here’s a teaser. Cassandra Patton Conover, weak from a six-month recuperation in Portland, arrives home at her woods cabin only to fall through melting spring ice with her dog Pock. Life gets complicated when her snowshoes snag a body under the water, she finds her backyard woods littered with No Trespassing signs and surveillance cameras, and bewildered wildlife seeks safety near her camp. Helped by the mystery of the body in the lake (someone you met in book #1, “Deadly Trespass), she plots a cure against impossible odds of rampant development that’s also mixed up with illegal wildlife trafficking. With her badly-behaved dog, wild creatures of all sizes, and a game warden who cannot turn away from Patton or the looming loss of his ancestral tribal lands, she …  ( It is a teaser.)

they say, “butt in chair” is the only way

I am still working on a salamander cover that doesn’t look too huge and prehistoric: bit of a challenge.

In your next “Let’s Get Out There” Big Night is Coming!

Sandy’s debut novel, “Deadly Trespass, A Mystery in Maine” won a national Mystery Writers of America award, was a finalist in the Women’s Fiction Writers Association “Rising Star” contest, and was a finalist for a Maine Literary Award. The second Mystery in Maine, “Deadly Turn,” was published in 2021. Her third “Deadly” is due out in 2024. Find her novels at all Shermans Books (Maine) and on Amazon. Find more info on Sandy’s website.