This week's assignment: Starts with R, Favorite, and Rough.
Starts with R: A RUDE ROBIN.
Favorite: I'm happy to be able to post all birds this week. This is a Red-winged Blackbird. Posing like a nice bird.
Rough: This is a Northern Rough-winged Swallow sitting on a wire over the highway. This was a stop fast and hope for one good shot kind of picture. Not great, but at least he is visible.
Linking to Weekend Roundup
Four boys. Bare feet. Endless curiosity. And one secret code that refuses to stay buried.
When the Dirt Foot Gang discovers mysterious chalk symbols along an abandoned rail spur, they are pulled into a thrilling hunt for a long-lost treasure tied to the hobo trails of the Great Depression. With their loyal dog Angus leading the way, Logan, Pudge, Will, and Cotton follow the clues through hidden caves, haunted forests, roaring fairs, and forgotten lumber camps—only to realize someone else is chasing the same prize.
Packed with heart, humor, friendship, and nonstop adventure, this nostalgic middle-grade mystery celebrates courage, loyalty, and the wild freedom of childhood. Perfect for readers who love classic coming-of-age adventures with a touch of danger and a lot of fun.
As of March 20th, it's spring!
I hope everyone had a beautiful Easter, filled with time, laughter, and love shared with family and friends. My grandchildren are all grown, but I remember the excitement of watching the littles color eggs and then scramble to find the hidden ones.
Between the excitement of Artemis II preparing to take us a little farther into the unknown, and the ever-looming tax deadline tomorrow, life feels like it’s balancing wonder and responsibility in equal measure.
Meanwhile, spring is quietly working its magic—flowers blooming, trees budding, birds singing, the world softening and waking up again. Of course, if you are a birder like me, this is the time to get outside to find and identify new birds migrating through the area. This is my favorite time of the year. It’s hard not to feel a sense of renewal in the air.
And since it’s National Letter Writing Month, maybe this is the perfect time to slow down and put pen to paper. Send a note, tell a story, or say something you’ve been meaning to say.
Here’s to new beginnings, small moments, and the stories waiting to be written.
This week's assignment: Starts with O, Favorite, and Over.
Starts with O: This OWL let me get close enough to take this pic. He didn't fly, just stared.
This week's assignment: Starts with H, Favorite, and Hope.
Starts with H: Feels like a HERON kind of day and HERON does start with H. This is a Great Blue Heron hanging out at the beach in Florida.
Favorite: My favorite kind of HERON is the Green HERON.
Linking to Weekend Roundup
This week's assignment: Starts with G, Favorite, and Giant.
Starts with G: GATE starts with G. This one belonged to the late great Dallas Cowboy, Walt GARRISON.
Giant: Dignity outside of Chamberlain, South Dakota is a GIANT.
This week's assignment: Starts with F, Favorite, and Flight.
Starts with F: FOG begins with F. Took this two years ago from the front door of our house in Oklahoma.
Flight: An osprey with a FISH.
Linking to Weekend Roundup
This week's assignment: Starts with E, Favorite, and Enjoy
Starts with E: How about EYES? These are mine.
Favorite: EAGLES are my favorite bird. I look for them on our backroad rambles.
ENJOY: I believe this lady is getting ready to ENJOY a pizza.
Linking to: Weekend Roundup
This week's assignment: Starts with D, Favorite, and Doll.
Starts with D: DUCK starts with D. This mallard allowed me to take several pictures before he flew away to parts unknown.
This morning, I woke up convinced that the apocalypse had arrived—except instead of zombies or asteroids, it was a brutal 5-degree freeze that turned my bedroom into a meat locker. As a certified coffee addict, my first bleary-eyed move was to stumble toward the kitchen for my sacred morning brew. But oh no, the coffee maker—my loyal companion of five faithful years—decided this was the perfect day to stage its dramatic exit. It gurgled once, like a dying walrus, then went silent. Betrayal! No hot java to thaw my soul? Unacceptable.
So there I was, bundled up like a deranged Michelin Man in every layer I owned, trudging out to Walmart in subzero hell. The wind slapped me like an angry ex, my nose turned into an icicle, and I swear my eyelashes froze mid-blink. By the time I snatched a new coffee maker off the shelf (victory!), I was a human popsicle dreaming of tropical beaches. Moral of the story: Never trust appliances in winter—they're clearly in cahoots with Mother Nature to make us suffer. But hey, the new one's brewing perfection now, and I'm finally defrosting. Coffee: 1, Cold: 0.
This Week's Assignment: Starts with C, Favorite, Carousel.
Starts with C: How about a CAR CAUGHT out in the COLD.
Carousel: This isn't exactly a CAROUSEL, but it's the closest I could find. Not many around in icy weather.
Today's assignment: Starts with B, Favorite, and Ball.
Starts with B: BIRD and BLUEBIRD starts with B. This one is having a BATH.
Ball: Wanna play BALL?
Linking to Weekend Roundup
My latest book is a tween novella titled The Dirt Foot Gang and the first in a series to come.
In the summer of 1950s Williamsport, Pennsylvania, thirteen-year-old Logan Trent and his barefoot buddies—fast-talking Pudge, quiet Cotton, and brainy Will—call themselves the Dirt Foot Gang. No shoes, no rules, just endless adventure.
What starts as a daring train-hop for Logan’s birthday thrill, turns into the ride of their lives. When Cotton tumbles into the raging river and Logan dives after him, the gang splits: two boys lost in the wild with only a clever stray dog named Angus and Grandpa’s survival tricks to guide them home ... while the others dodge railway bulls in a bustling yard, learning secret hobo codes from a rambling legend.
From tornado chases and fear of bears to mulligan stew feasts and unbreakable oaths, the Dirt Foot Gang discovers real adventure isn’t about the rails—it’s about loyalty, courage, and the friends who stick closer than mud on bare toes.
A heart-pounding, laugh-out-loud tale of friendship and freedom for every kid who's ever dreamed of running wild. All for one—and one wild ride for all!
