Cheryl Grey Bostrom's Blog

Friends,

Snow’s forecast—then wind and bitter cold.

The swans wintering here know.

Last night, instead of their usual dusk flight to watery roosts . . .

Trumpeters lingered in nearby feeding fields, mining soil and and grass, tugging cornstalks left for their gleaning.

While they could.

I heard them calling long after dark.

In coming days, when ice locks ponds and earth around here, they’ll fly to sheltered fields farther south.

For the storm’s duration.

“And God said . . . let birds fly above the earth across the vault of the sky.”

—Genesis 1:20

*******

The metaphor’s a loose one, but I’ll be doing the same for a while—only I’m flying into a flurry of ideas for this new novel.

Scenes are swirling thick, and since I want to catch them before they pile and drift, I won’t be writing you as often.

Watch for my Saturday Letters monthly, not weekly . . . for now.

°°°°°

  Meanwhile, from my BOOKERY, another WINNER!

Congratulations, TERRI SWEETLAND! You’ve won a copy of The Widow’s Voice. Please reply with your mailing address, and I’ll send the book right off to you.

My NEW GIVEAWAY, which subscribers can enter anytime in the month of February, is for a HARDCOVER copy of my award-winning novel LEANING ON AIR!

Reply with the book’s title in your subject line, and I’ll enter you in the drawing. I’ll announce the winner on March 1.

*******

BTW. . . . Watch the ice out there. I slipped while getting rosemary for some sourdough bread I was baking and face-planted in my herbs. (Does that make me a seasoned baker?)

Love,

Cheryl

Watching Nature, Seeing Life

Friends,

You and I both know that my publisher will likely change my working title before novel #4 goes to press, so I played with a few more options this week—and changed The Boat to Snow (meh) to . . .

The Beloved Foxes of Allis Hoot.

For now. The names and adjectives are up for grabs. And at seventeen, Allis is nothing short of . . . well, you’ll see. She may spit that title—and even her own name—right out.

Names aside, I love this stage of book planning. Everywhere I go, characters I’ve chosen for my cast show up with their backstories. Walk-ons trail them, begging for cameos.

I do mean everywhere. Scrolling through my photos this week, I came across this creature in a sideways pond shot. Many more in the tree pics below her.

#1

See her? What’s she like? What happened to her recently? What’s she thinking about? Where’s she from?

I’d love to hear.

And what do you spot in the trees below? If you ID the photos by number when you tell me, I won’t get confused.

*****

#2

My heart clenches on this one. WHO??? WHAT??? WHY???

*****

#3

For me, there’s a menagerie in this one. See any of them? Did someone gather them? WHY? What do they need?

*******

#4

A gentle . . . ??? Or do you see it differently?

*****

#5

This one morphs before my eyes, with a gamut of emotions in every view.

For you, too? See something else?

*****

“O LORD, what a variety of things you have made! In wisdom you have made them all. The earth is full of your creatures.” —Psalm 104:24

But . . .

“No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love him.” —1 Corinthians 2:9

Fun to imagine, though.

Now, from my BOOKERY—a new giveaway for you who subscribe!

It’s a copy of my friend Dr. Kara K. Smith’s debutThe Widow’s Voice: Walking Beside the Widow in Your Faith Community! (Check out her thoughtful Substack HERE.)

Here’s this little gem’s gist:

When a friend or acquaintance loses a spouse, it’s natural to want to come alongside in a compassionate and helpful way. Yet, it can also feel awkward and uncomfortable in knowing how to do so. This book is here to help.

Five widows share their stories, insights, and the practical ways you can walk beside a friend in their grief journey and the adjustment to life without their loved one.

Each chapter includes questions for reflection and a call to action, providing ideas for you and perhaps a small circle of friends to come alongside a widowed friend in community, remembrance, purpose and faith.

*****

Interested? Reply by next Friday, January 31, with the word BESIDE in your subject line, and I’ll add your name to the drawing.

*****

Finally, I’m delighted and honored to share that my 2024 novel Leaning on Air has moved from the longlist . . . to the shortlist . . . to the semi-finals . . . and into the FINALS for 2024 Somerset Book Awards. That means it’s in the running for FIRST PLACE and GRAND PRIZE in the Contemporary and Literary Fiction category!

Soli Deo gloria.

The novel is a most unusual love story about marriage and autism, miscarriage and misplaced affections, family and farming, wild hawks and physics and the redemption and restoration of land and hearts.

And the story unfolds in the magnificent Palouse hills of SE Washington State.

Your Valentine may like it.

Oh, and over coffee last week: “Puns kill,” I told a punny friend.

“Yes, I have that,” she said.

Took me a minute.

(I wish I could claim that one, but I found it somewhere (???) online, years ago.)

Love,

Cheryl

Word Count: Still 0. Lots of research to do yet.

Watching Nature, Seeing Life: Through His Creation, God Speaks.

Friends,

If your world caught fire,

and you had but a blink to choose,

for whom would your reach?

What would you save?

Who would you be when the ashes cooled?

Maybe it already has, one way or another.

How did you answer?

Can you tell me yet?

Sometimes the sky helps one sort all that,

shows the Artist’s knowing of your fire.

The meaning in it.

“I have refined you, but not as silver is refined. Rather, I have refined you in the furnace of suffering.” —Isaiah 48:10

Then, after the forge . . .

“Your sun will never set again, and your moon will wane no more; the LORD will be your everlasting light, and your days of sorrow will end.” —Isaiah 60:20

******

For you, beloveds,

whatever your Californias.

******

Bookish Stuff:

For one more day you can get Leaning on Air ‘ s ebook for only $2.99 HERE . . . or at any major ebook retailer. (Check out reviews on GoodReads!)

Meanwhile, my research this week for novel #4 was delicious.

I chased down references to stories jotted on my grandfather’s navigational charts. Since he died, I’ve stored a dozen or so of the San Juan and Gulf Islands we boated together.

Too, I traced and remembered the Inside Passage to Alaska I sailed a couple of times with him and my grandmother. Plowed through ships’ logs in my grandmother’s hand. Waded in data on Fresnel lenses and fog bells in the 1890s.

By yesterday, my characters had histories and faces, emotions and needs I’m beginning to understand. I’ve also written a three-page synopsis of their story arcs.

Two women, two timelines, three generations.

Islands and earthquakes, wildlife and leprosy and love.

Before long, they’ll start talking.

My working title, for now? The Boat to Snow.

Speaking of wildlife, I heard that one bird can’t make a pun.

But toucan.

Love,

Cheryl

Manuscript Word Count: Still 0

P.S. If you subscribe, be sure to check your spam box if my Saturday Letters aren’t reaching you. SARAH GRAHAM and KELLY ERWIN . . . I have giveaway books for you! Maybe my filter swallowed YOUR replies? Please write me again with your mailing addresses and I’ll send the books right off to you!

Friends,

Years ago, I titled this poem “After Christmas,” but since time has expanded my goodbyes—as it has so many of yours—I’ve retitled it and made a couple of edits.

Hope it soothes you.

Hold the Promise, dear ones.

Ache,
your velocity
rises with the drop
in my heart’s barometer.
No windbreaks here, you grow
to a howl in my mown
inner fields—low pressure zones,
short of breath because
those I love have
flown home,
crossed state lines, and
my arms are empty.

Ache,
you swirl memory through
this hollowed home like snow,
proffer wintry options to
busy me in this
lonely weather.
You’d like to numb me, to use time to ice their stay here,
to dessicate our togetherness.

Blow past me, will you?
You and those evasions?
I’ll wait.
For Love will breathe
his holy Zephyr,
inflate the void,
resuscitate me with
positive pressure,
indwelling, warm,
as only He can do.

***

Adding these pics to your heart may help, too:

Limited visibility.

“What do you want me to do for you?” Jesus asked him. “Teacher,” the blind man answered, “I want to see again.” —Mark 10:51

*******

When you’re spent.

“But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength.” —Isaiah 40:31

*******

Dendrites.

“Say to those with fearful hearts, ‘Be strong, do not fear; your God will come . . .'”

—Isaiah 35:4

*******

If fisticuffs were vapor.

“In this world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.” —John 16:33

*******

Hummingbird nest from our north woods.

“Ponder anew

what the Almighty can do . . .”

(From the hymn by Joachim Neander translated by Catherine Winkworth and inspired by Psalms 103 and 150.)

*******

And in BOOKISH STUFF:

IMPORTANT!! CHECK YOUR JUNK MAILBOX ROUTINELY!!

I’ve been a astonished lately at all the letters that have ended up in mine—from friends with whom I’ve corresponded REGULARLY! Right now I have a GIVEAWAY BOOK UNCLAIMED, and I’m guessing her overzealous spam filter sideswiped my email.

I check my junk email every day now.

A NEW WINNER, this time of Lucinda Secret McDowell’s 52 Prayers of Blessing for Women is GAIL HOLLINGSWORTH!

Congratulations, Gail! Please send me your mailing address, and I’ll ship the book right off to you.

***

NEW NOVEL UPDATE:

As I always do, when I began shaping this new story for novel #4, I called my sister in Virginia to run ideas by her. We brainstormed for an hour or so.

I tell you, friends, she asks the best questions, offers the best “what-ifs.” Once again, by the time I hung up, I’d ruled out a variety of plot trails. Brought a few others out of the fog. Raced to research details for scenes set in Washington’s San Juan Islands and SE Alaska, where members of my family settled in the late 1800s, and where this dual-timeline story will take place.

I’m already fascinated. Cannot WAIT to begin writing it.

But I will. There’s much to prepare first.

My goals this coming week? Lord willing, I’ll finish shaping the plot arc and will write a rough synopsis. Friday, I’ll talk with my agent about all that. Then, I’ll dive into additional research, in-depth character sketches, and storyline fine-tuning. By the time February arrives, I’ll be inhabiting two centuries, I hope—and committing this fascinating tale to the page.

Meanwhile, I just read a children’s story about two snails racing each other. When one fell behind, he ditched his shell, but doing so only made him sluggish.

Love,

Cheryl

Manuscript Word Count: 0

Watching Nature, Seeing Life: Through His Creation, God Speaks.

*******

P.S Looking for a MOST UNUSUAL LOVE STORY for someone you love this Valentine’s Day?

The LEANING ON AIR paperback is on sale right now at Amazon for $12.52—26% off!

Get it HERE!

Friends,

2024 bred clutter.

For you, too?

I deleted twenty padded lines from this post, right along with other stuff I’ve tossed in recent weeks.

Files shredded.

Things donated.

Holdings stripped, time reclaimed, space found.

Feels good.

Now my mind’s scrubbed,

my heart pliable as dough.

Barefoot on steep shingles mossed and slick with rain,

I’m about to leap.

There’s an untold story down there.

***

If you’ve made the jump with me before, you know how this works:

You’re invited along as I write this new novel. Some Saturdays I’ll hoot about progress. Others, I just may wail. Fun regardless, I hope!

Always, I’ll update you on my word count—as I aim for eighty-five or ninety thousand words.

Too, I’ll bring you beauty in pics of PNW wilds and wildlife; publishing updates (What the River Keeps releases August 12); book reviews and giveaways, insider nuggets and early reader opportunities.

If you haven’t already, will you subscribe? Take the plunge with me?

*****

Now, from my archives . . . for you.

Winter fringe. (On Jake’s Pond: this spot was the inspiration for my opening scene in Leaning on Air.)

“True, the grass withers and the wildflowers fade, but our God’s Word stands firm and forever.” –Isaiah 40:8 MSG

*****

Gambrel.

(Walking Barnhart Road with dogs a while back, during a break in the storm.)

“Consider the ravens, for they neither sow nor reap; they have no storeroom nor barn, and yet God feeds them.”—Luke 12:24

******

When you dot your eyes.

“Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. —Ephesians 5:15-16

******

Exposed.

“He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of the heart.” —1 Corinthians 4:5

*******

Finally,

FROM MY BOOKERY . . . a new GIVEAWAY:

Begin the year with this: 52 Prayers of Blessing for Women—Lucinda Secrest McDowell’s final gift, released last fall, a while after she flew to heaven.

Here’s the gist:

In 52 Prayers of Blessing for Women, Lucinda Secrest McDowell offers words of strength and comfort to inspire a closer connection to God. These beautifully written prayers provide a weekly blessing to celebrate God’s love and presence in your life. This book will encourage women of all ages and spark prayers of blessing for others as well.

The prayer book is more than merely a collection of prayers; it is a treasure trove of blessings for all circumstances. Each daily entry features several Scripture verses followed by a blessing.

Lucinda Secrest McDowell (1953-2023) was passionate about embracing life—both through deep soul care in Christ and living courageously to touch a needy world. A storyteller who engaged both heart and mind, she was passionate about helping others choose a life of serenity and strength. Lucinda graduated from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary and is the award-winning author of 15 books.

The 52 Prayers of Blessing for Women is perfect for women who pray Scripture as a blessing over others. Entries will delight the prayer warrior in your circle and equip her with the words to bless those she prays for.

*****

If you’d like to win a copy, plant the word BLESSING somewhere in your reply by Friday, January 10. I’ll announce the winner in my next Saturday Letter.

*****

Hope 2025’s off to a good start for you.

Can’t say that’s true for our neighbors. They began the new year sparring AGAIN about the clothes she’ll wear in their garden.

Every spring she digs in her heels.

Love,

Cheryl

Watching Nature, Seeing Life: Through His Creation, God Speaks.

Friends,

It’s first on the list. Down the road a few miles from our place, the farm’s the most requested place to visit when the grands come.

And so we go—to mingle with Ashton and Ryan, their children, and Beanblossom Acres’ hundreds of goats.

This time, the day was PNW November dreary, the air chill. But inside the barn?

Goat happiness.

Where the welcome’s real.

and so warm-hearted.

From people and creatures alike.

Where the grands can help milk.

And where the billy pees on his beard to attract the ladies.

Makes you laugh just to think about all that.

And laugh at ourselves, equally absurd.

But oh, so loved.

And named.

Goat names aren’t quite the same as the new names God gives us, but the grands offered suggestions for the coming season’s new kids, growing in pens . . .

and wombs.

While milkers stood in the stanchions, Ashton spread a belly with goo, pressed an ultrasound wand, and showed our kids’ kids the infant kids, growing in their short-bred mamas, their baby hearts beating in those caprines within weeks of breeding.

Holy. Holy. Fall to your knees at the wonder.

Then . . . before we drove off . . . a barn cat sendoff.

Until next time.

***

Love you all, dear friends. God’s sweet blessing on your Christmas. Whether you’re surrounded by people, or alone with our Lord, may your hearts be full and hopeful because He lives.

I’ll be back with you on January 4 with news on an embryonic NIP (novel-in-progress), and we’ll begin the year together as another sort of kidding begins around here in earnest.

***

Before I go, a GIVEAWAY winner!

Congratulations, SARAH GRAHAM! Please send me your mailing address, and I’ll ship Rachel Adams’ Everyday Prayers for Love right off to you!

***

Meanwhile, please forgive any strange typos in this letter. My spell-checker makes me say things I didn’t Nintendo.

So warmly,

Cheryl

Watching Nature, Seeing Life: Through His Creation, God Speaks.

P.S. If you’re still shopping, my award-winning novels Sugar Birds and Leaning on Air may belong right there under your tree . Read reader reviews at the links above.

(What the River Keeps won’t be here ‘til August.)

Friends,

Somewhere between our last storm and now, Bone Season arrived.

The naked season, when trees stripped bare

tell

tell

tell

how they lived

before their leaves flew.

Evidence . . . in trunks, limbs, spindly branches,

in the bones of those uncloaked trees.

Stories for all to see.

Of growth habits:

some tangled,

some straight and strong.

Stories of the company they kept,

for good . . .

or ill.

And of whether there’s soundness or rot

in their heartwood.

It’s a season that compels me to shed my own leaves

and take a look.

You, too?

***

“For there is nothing hidden that will not be disclosed, and nothing concealed that will not be known or brought out into the open.” —Luke 8:17

***

“Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.” —Psalm 139:23-24

Watching Nature, Seeing Life: Through His Creation, God Speaks.

***

BOOKISH STUFF:

The winner of Janet Holm McHenry’s new devotional LOOKING UP?

KELLY ERWIN!

Congratulations, Kelly! Please reply with your postal address, and I’ll mail your book to you early next week!

***

In this week’s drawing, I’m delighted to offer another NEW RELEASE!

If you subscribe to these Saturday Letters, reply with the word PRAYERS to enter for Rachael Adams’ insightful devotional Everyday Prayers for Love.

On its pages, you’ll find the same beautiful voice that has blessed so many of you in her widely-engaged blog and podcast.

Here’s the gist:

In Everyday Prayers for Love: Learning to Love God, Others, and Even Yourself, Rachael extends the tender invitation from a loving God to His beloved. She explores the concept of biblical love and then guides readers through practical ways to live out love for others.

In this thirty-one-day devotional and reflective journal for women, you will:

• Realize that God is love
• Understand the characteristics of biblical love
• Grasp how much God truly loves you
• Learn how to love yourself
• Live out love through your actions toward others
• Experience fulfillment through living out your purpose to love
• Develop a deeper prayer life

Everyday Prayers for Love will help you discover who God is leading you to love in a tangible way—and motivate you to impact others with the gift of love.

***

I’ll announce the winner in my next Saturday Letter— on December 14. If you don’t see it, please check your spam box.

***

Still looking for GIFTS?

You can get SUGAR BIRDS and LEANING ON AIR in audiobook, ebook, paperback and hard cover formats. Wrap and share them with readers you love!

Read what others have said about these multiple award-winning novels at the links above.

BTW . . . Our neighbor plans to give algebra textbooks to everyone on her list.

I told her there may be an aftermath.

Love,

Cheryl

Friends,

Some of us will catch air, you know . . . on that Best of All Days, when we land in the Best of All Places.

Think of it! Creation restored. Beloveds healed and whole. Forever Love with our Maker.

But this letter isn’t about the destination. It’s about the sendoff. And the trip.

While none of us can predict the when, as I read the plan, it seems to me that the Rapture will unfold partly within chronological time. An hour, perhaps?

I love to imagine that day.

How Christ may first rally the clouds.

And how creation will reply.

How warm-on-my-skin wind—Ruah, Pneuma, holy Breath—will lift and blow my hair in a gale of love.

How, above the wind, we’ll hear music . . . from trumpets and stones, angels and swans.

From those of us He’s gathering.

I imagine my own hitched breath at the fanfare.

My awe at His lightning and Light.

I imagine how rainbows could merge around Him into a glorious circle— straight from the throne of God.

And how I’ll drop to my knees slack-mouthed.

Then . . .

What if we get to watch as the dead in Christ fly first—

their atoms rising as multi-colored auroras?

What if God reassembles them before our very eyes?

What if they wave hello as they ascend, their new bodies glowy?

What if we can hear them singing, singing?

And when our turn comes,

Will we leap toward Jesus, our legs pedaling air?

Will we paddle like swimmers through the clouds to reach Him?

Or will joy rocket us,

ushered by angels

to His shoulders

as He carries us home?

*******

“When everything is ready, I will come and get you . . .” —John 14:3

***

“For the Lord himself will come down from heaven with a commanding shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet call of God. First, the believers who have died will rise from their graves. Then, together with them, we who are still alive and remain on the earth will be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. Then we will be with the Lord forever. ” —1 Thess 4:16-17

***

“And the one who sat there had the appearance of jasper and ruby. A rainbow that shone like an emerald encircled the throne.” —Rev 4:3

***

“Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed—in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed.” — Cor 15:51-52

***

“ . . . And they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And he will send out his angels with the mighty blast of a trumpet, and they will gather his chosen ones from all over the world—from the farthest ends of the earth and heaven.” —Matt 24: 30-31

***

“The hair on his head was white like wool, as white as snow, and his eyes were like blazing fire. His feet were like bronze glowing in a furnace . . . .”—Rev 1:14-15

***

“However, no one knows the day or hour when these things will happen, not even the angels in heaven or the Son himself. Only the Father knows.” —Matt 24: 36

***

“He will take our weak mortal bodies and change them into glorious bodies like his own, using the same power with which he will bring everything under his control.” —Phil 3:20-21

***

“Yet what we suffer now is nothing compared to the glory he will reveal to us later.” —Ro 8:18

***

Amen.

Bookish Stuff

LEANING, you wrote, and I dropped each of your names in my green hat. Now two of you have won!

CONGRATULATIONS, Karen Rochon and Kim Allen!

Reply with your snail mail addresses, and I’ll send Leaning on Air right off to you.

****

This NEXT GIVEAWAY dovetails beautifully with thoughts of heaven. Reply with LOOKING UP by December 6, and I’ll enter you in a drawing for bestselling author Janet Holm McHenry’s new book. Looking Up: Finding Joy as You Read and Pray through the Bible.

Author Janet McHenry is warm-hearted, funny, and wise—and has led thousands of us through the entire Bible for years. Now she’s offering that same rich guidance in Looking Up—a collection of 365 short devotional essays to guide us through the God’s complete Word in as many days. Each entry’s a gift.

And this book will be a wonderful one for those you love.

Here’s the gist from the book’s cover:

Jump joyfully into your daily time with God!  
 
Become more intentional with your time spent in God’s Word and dive deeper into your relationship with Him with overwhelming joy, boldness, and thanksgiving. Through 365 daily devotions that lead you from Genesis to Revelation, well-known author and speaker Janet Holm McHenry shares the truths she’s learned about God, His promises to those who love Him, and the joy you too can find in your salvation. 
 
Having read through the entire Bible each year for more than 20 years, Janet’s wise insights invite you to step confidently in your faith as you dedicate a part of each day to studying the Word. Each devotion includes a focus verse, Scripture-based prayer, and an optional read-through-the-Bible-in-a-year plan to help you jumpstart your time with the Lord. 

*******

With family coming for Thanksgiving, I won’t be writing you next week, so check my December 7 letter for the winner. If you don’t see something from me that day, please dig in your filter box. Mama Spam throws letters out with bathwater.

BTW, shopping for the holiday, I stopped at the bakery for some shortbread.

They told me they don’t make it any longer.

Hope your Thanksgiving’s memorable, friends—in the best of ways. Write me about it? I’d love to hear.

Warmly,

Cheryl

Friends,

They snatch salmon from fishing lines. Tangle and shred gillnets.

The bane of fisheries, they pester marinas up and down our Pacific coast.

And man oh man they’re loud. The grunts and barks of some of these pinnipeds keep people up at night . . . and awaken them way, way too early.

And you can smell them for miles.

But are they ever entertaining.

California and Steller sea lions. Harbor and elephant seals. Though they’re often lumped together, from their ranges and socialization habits to their ears and flippers, each is quite distinct.

Sometimes, however, they lump themselves together.

We discovered this gregarious mixed colony on the Oregon coast, where we plugged our noses and laughed.

(You have any sea lion or seal stories? I’d love to hear.)

Can you tell who’s who?

How good and pleasant it is when brothers live together in harmony!

—Psalm 133:1

******

Meanwhile, Bookish News!

CONGRATULATIONS to the winners of last week’s Reader’s Wonderland Giveaway! This was a big one. Prizes included books from 24 of us authors, and $400 in Amazon gift cards.

The winners?

Kyla L. – Book Bundle #1

Yolanda W. – Book Bundle #2

Kari B. – $200 Amazon Gift Card

Donna B. -$200 Amazon Gift Card

So happy for all of you!

***

In this week’s GIVEAWAY, I’ll draw TWO winners, and will send you each a signed copy of my latest novel Leaning on Air! Reply by Friday, November 22 with the word LEANING, and I’ll drop your name in the hat.

It’s a celebration, too—since the book recently added three 1st place GOLDs in American Bookfest’s 2024 Best Book Awards competition (General Fiction, Romance Fiction, and Cross-Genre fiction)—adding to the novel’s 2024 American Fiction, International Book, and Reader’s Favorite wins.

To God’s beautiful glory.

Awards . . . I’m sheepish telling you about them, dodgy of the attention, but I do hope they prompt you to choose Leaning on Air and/or its award-winning companion novel Sugar Birds for Christmas gifts! I’m getting lots of enthusiastic letters about the books from both men and women—especially those seasoned by . . . life.

My coming-of-age novel Sugar Birds is also a bullseye gift for teen readers. They may not grasp all the layers, but the story will sow good seeds.

‘Nuff said.

BTW, all this talk about sea lions prompted me to plan an outing with my grands over Christmas. When I dialed the aquarium, they told me my call would be recorded for training porpoises.

So glad you’re here.

Love,

Cheryl

Watching Nature, Seeing Life: Through His Creation, God Speaks

Friends,

Come hungrier days, there’ll be war around here, as bald eagles attack ducks and geese in the air, on ponds, and in fields around our place.

They’ll strike swans, too. Though harder to take down than smaller waterfowl, a thirty pound trumpeter makes a mighty fine meal.

Plenty of them will compete. An army of the apex predators has flown in from Canada and Alaska to join our year-round population of baldies.

The newcomers are noisier than the locals. Yesterday I heard the raptors’ distinctive cries, grabbed my camera, and located two pairs in adjacent trees. In one fir, a showy female perched up top. Her smaller mate, a few branches down.

A hundred yards away, two more.

Both skittish, despite my distance and long lens.

Meanwhile, trumpeter swans—and their music—headed our way.

In tight, talkative families.

Whether eagles or swans, they’re all snowbirds, wintering here, where the water isn’t always frozen, and where farmers leave gleanings in their fields for carnivores and herbivores alike. (Ask me about that next time you’re over.)

Because they do, we occasionally see instincts defied . . .

and a verse, played out in soggy pasture:

“If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.” —Ro 12:18

Fifty eagles in that field, at least . . . and probably a hundred swans,

lolling like Alaskans on Kauai.

While wind blew sleet on my camera optics.

Oh, for a beanie and gloves.

*******

“No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love him.” —1 Cor 2:9

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And some BOOKISH STUFF:

If you have booklovers in your circle, you can land their Christmas gifts in one fell swoop . . .

If you win.

It’s the last call for the GIVEAWAY I told you about last week. It ends two days from now, on November 11.

Click the image below to enter for one of 4 prizes:

Here’s the gist again:

All you have to do is enter your email for a chance to win! That’s it!

** ENTERING THE GIVEAWAY IS SIMPLE – Sign up with your email for a chance to win one of FOUR prizes:

Prize #1: Wonderland Book Bundle #1  including 13 fiction and nonfiction books (worth $250+)!

Prize #2 Wonderland Book Bundle #2  including 13 fiction and nonfiction books (worth $250+)!

Prize #3: $200 Amazon Gift Card

Prize #4: $200 Amazon Gift Card

ENTER THE GIVEAWAY HERE:   https://kingsumo.com/g/3z9qzem/a-readers-wonderland-giveaway —or click the image below.

** Want to increase your chances of winning??  For additional entries, return to the link anytime before NOVEMBER 11 to FOLLOW, LIKE AND SUBSCRIBE TO the participating authors. You’ll see the list when you enter.

IMPORTANT! The Reader’s Wonderland Giveaway runs 11/4-11/11. Random winners will be selected via KingSumo on 11/12 and notified within 48 hours. This giveaway is not sponsored or endorsed by anyone but the bunch of us. By entering the giveaway you agree to receive emails from the contributing authors as part of their email list, but feel free to unsubscribe at any time. All winners must confirm their emails via KingSumo’s confirmation email. We reserve the right to make sure each winner’s email address is valid. No purchase necessary. Void where prohibited. US Residents only. Must be 21+ years of age to participate.
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I’ll announce the winners here, too. . . and so hope they include YOU!

BTW, my bedside light turned into a moth this morning. No more larva lamps for me.

Love,

Cheryl

Watching Nature, Seeing Life: Through His Creation, God Speaks