Worm Moon

The Full Worm Moon got its name because this is the time that temperatures begin warming, the ground begins to thaw and earthworm casts appear, heralding the return of the robins.

Other names: Full Crow Moon, Full Crust Moon, Full Sap Moon.

I often wonder what it'd be like if we had TWO moons orbiting earth... I think it'd be amazing and awesome if we looked up into the night sky and saw two bright discs shining down. Just me?

Distractions

I haven't written anything - new or otherwise - for the past several weeks (grocery lists don't count). I'm trying to not to worry, trying to just go with it, hoping the break will be a good thing. In thinking about it, I've determined there are a number of things distracting me (of course it might be that I'm easily distracted):

* New kittens: yes, they are adorable. But! Daisy is a female and this is important for two reasons: 1) I've never before had a female pet (well, except for a cat named Nancy - after Nancy Drew, of course - but I was only 8 so that doesn't count) and 2) females go into heat. Without warning. Geez, what a baptism. And talk about timing: Diesel was neutered just TWO days before Daisy went into heat.

* Rejections: they're rolling in right and left and while, theoretically, this should inspire me to get back to it, it's somehow not. At nearly 7500 words, my story is *very* long, but I was sure, optimistic, hopeful that the good feeling I had about one journal in particular would pan out. Not so.

* Garden: I've been thinking about planting a garden for a couple of years, about really committing to growing some vegetables, to giving my tomato plants a respectable place to thrive (instead of having to share space with the flowers), and I think this is the year. But it takes lots of work. And planning.

* Composting: also been thinking about composting, about creating my own "black gold." But where to put it?

* Ireland: my husband and I, along with his family, are going to Ireland in July. Lots to talk about, to plan. One of my assigned jobs: book the flights.

* Photography: we bought a really cool digital camera, a Nikon D80, 18 months ago. The problem is that I don't know how to use all the fancy buttons/features. The manual, you ask? Have you ever read one? So I took a class 3 weeks ago and it was the best $90 I spent. So now when it snows, or when the sun shines/sets, when the light falls just so, I'm outside experimenting with depth of field, bracketing, playing with the aperture and shutter settings.

I could go on, but you get the idea. These are all valid distractions, right? Examples of life getting in the way? Last month, over at JMWW, Dave Erlewine interviewed Michael Czyzniejewski and one topic discussed was writer's block. Michael's take on it was that writer's block doesn't exist, that it's just another name for being lazy or not caring or being frustrated. So maybe I need to take a forceful, disciplined approach: park my butt in a chair, pencil in hand, cup of tea at the ready, and... write.

Spring?

Two noteworthy things are happening simultaneously here in my neck of the woods: the weatherman has forecast sunny conditions for 4 - count 'em: one, two, three, four! - days in a row (today is day 3) AND the temperature is supposed to hit 60 degrees today.

First, the sun: For everyone living just about anywhere but here it seems, opening your drapes on any given morning and seeing the sun is a normal experience. Not so in sunless Wisconsin. A month or two ago, during the deep dark days of winter, I counted 3 days of sun in a 14-day period.

Second, the temperatures: Yesterday it was in the mid-50's; teenagers were wearing shorts and flip-flops. That might be pushing it, but 60 degrees in mid-March is a wonderful thing, especially given that the average around here is 44 degrees. With 4 days of sunshine and temps in the low 60's it's easy to think spring is here. But, really, this is Wisconsin. Who am I kidding?

Meet Daisy and Diesel

We have 2 new family members: Daisy and Diesel. They are brother and sister and are very, very cute. Daisy is the black one and is more reserved, cautious. Diesel runs full tilt. Truth be told, I wasn't quite ready for a new kitty (or 2!); it's only been 4 month's since Pudding's passing. But their story tugged at my heartstrings and I took a leap of faith. These are the only 2 surviving kittens from the litter: a fox or coyote got the others. The mama cat dragged them up to the porch of a nearby farmhouse in an attempt to keep them from harm. The farmhouse folks took them in, fed them, and kept them safe, and then found them a new home: ours.

Who knew naming pets was so hard? We've had several pets over the years and I don't remember it being so difficult for everyone to agree on a name. Maybe it's because we have to agree on TWO names. Here's a sampling of the names we've considered (some of which were briefly adopted) and discarded:

* Sookie and Bill - I just couldn't call a cat Bill even though everyone came up with funny nicknames like Pecos Bill, Wild Bill, Bodacious Bill.
* Dr. Quinn (Medicine Woman) and Walker Texas Ranger - Quinn actually stuck for a while but Walker didn't feel right.
* Oprah and Dr. Phil - this was just plain funny

For him:
* Toro (as in the lawnmower because he purrs so loud)
* Bruno
* Brutus
* Rocky
* Duke
* Felix (this one stuck for a couple of days)

For her:
* Lexie (I really liked this and campaigned hard for it)

Great reads:

Keeping up with online journals can be tricky.

With printed journals the latest issue appears in my mailbox, signaling Hey! Read Me! I eagerly rip the packaging off and am left holding evidence: a shiny cover with, more likely than not, a cool graphic of some sort; pages that are sometimes creamy colored, sometimes stark white. And the smell! Paper, ink. Glorious! I guess I'm a bit old fashioned in that regard.

I need to find a better system to keep up with online journals. What they lack in real, hold-in-your-hands evidence, they make up for in instant gratification. I can navigate to their site and wham! just like that I can read a story. Or two. Or five. No waiting for the mailman. No garbage to dispose of. No adding to stacks of journals that threaten to topple over with a gust of wind. Something to be said for that.

Here are some great stories to check out, online:

At Night Train: Tattoos Alive by Lydia Ship. I read this almost 2 weeks ago and it has stayed with me. Such creativity!

At Night Train: Watching Stanley Kowalski in the TV Room of Belle Haven by Jeanne Holtzman. Wonderful voice.

At Staccato Fiction: Almost Shaped by David Erlewine. This was published a few months ago but I just stumbled across it recently. Wonderful, tender story. So much is said in such a small space.

At Smokelong Quarterly: What Passes for Normal by Michelle Reale. There's a sad, haunting quality to this story that has stayed with me.

Go on... check them out!

Supernova, Red Giant

I watched a show on the National Geographic channel last night about the Hubble telescope and, man, the pictures it's sending back are awesome. And the things I learned! I know I've heard all this before but, for some reason, it didn't stick. Until now. What I learned:

* The Crab Nebula (who hasn't heard of this, right?) is the result of a supernova that occurred in 1054.
* The stuff flung out into space as the result of a supernova contains the building blocks of new stars, new planets, new galaxies.
* Supernovas occur when a star (like our own sun) runs out of fuel and explodes.
* Estimates are that our sun will run out of fuel in about 5 billion years. Seems we ought to have figured out how to hop a spaceship to another galaxy by then!
*Our sun won't explode, though, because it's too small (supernovas result from stars that are - at a minimum - 4 times larger than our sun). Instead, our sun will turn into a Red Giant: it will heat up and expand outward, causing temperatures on Earth to reach 1000 degrees. As it continues to expand, it will incinerate the planets, one by one, until it engulfs the entire solar system.

I know this stuff isn't for everyone (my husband walked out of the room after watching just 5 minutes!), but it flips my trigger as they say. The possibilities! The things we don't yet know! The things we can't yet see: dark matter (the stuff that holds galaxies and universes together), dark energy (the stuff that's causing the universe to expand). Maybe I should have been a scientist.

Winter

Two days ago I was in the family room watching TV. I happened to look out the window and saw a daffodil shoot poking through the soil. I was thrilled for surely that meant spring was coming. Do you hear that loud, obnoxious laughing? Do not be alarmed... it's only Mother Nature. It snowed yesterday for nearly 24 hours straight, dumping 12 or 14 inches of snow (I lost count but, really, does another couple of inches matter at this point?) on us. We had to shovel the driveway 3 separate times. THREE!! My poor little daffodil.




Last year's hydrangea bloom still hanging on...