Welcome to my blog Upstate Girl, (a.k.a Follow Your Bliss Part II), I am an independently published author. This blog is all about writing and the stuff that inspires me to write, the joys and obstacles that come along with the writer's life, and my fascination with the psychology of people and what makes them tick...the human condition, as is...and my love for words, playing with them and making sense of them...and I throw in a few photos from my acre of the world just to make things pretty...sometimes there are things I have no words for, only pictures will do.

*Copyright notice* All photos, writing, and artwork are mine (
© Laura J. Wellner), unless otherwise noted, please be a peach, if you'd like to use my work for a project or you just love it and must have it, message me and we'll work out the details...it's simple...JUST ASK, please.
Showing posts with label crows photography. Show all posts
Showing posts with label crows photography. Show all posts

Sunday, December 19, 2010

Winter Solstice time...

Crow tracks
Crow in Snow

A snowy crow
The old maple tree in winter
It's a funny time of year, moody and emotional, sentimental, the darkness, the blowing snow, the persistent gray, the slant of the sun when it is out, the shadows are different now...its' the first we've seen a great deal of sunshine in a couple of weeks, so we're all bleary-eyed and squinting in the daylight...I feel like a mole on these rare sunny days...oh, but it's pretty out there this morning...8 degrees this morning, a paw lifter for Max...all that clear sky with moonshine and starlight last night made the temps drop, but with the sun out, it's quite pleasant, not so bitter, a relief from the cabin fever, which has come early this year because of the storms...normally that doesn't set in until later in January or early February.

I was out and about with my son doing the final shop...I never was a fan of shop 'til you drop, and I dislike the crowds, so we set out early with the goal to be off Erie Blvd by noon...last stop B&N...that place was delightfully packed! I didn't see any indication that the book in the form of paper is on life support, people were clutching plenty of them in their hands in the long line at the front registers...but there were the curiosity seekers lingering around the NOOK display...and I was one of them, listening to the inquiries, the "ooo's" and "ahhh's", the "oh, really? Well, that's neat." One fellow did ask if I needed any help or had any questions, and I just told him I thought it was an interesting little thing. But he lost interest in me quick because there was another customer with potential to buy (there was quite a swarm, and I had no problem with being left alone to play). He did come back to check on me, but I only smiled and said, "I think my son or my husband might buy me one." (I don't have it on my wish list at all.) Although I do have my little ghost story published for the Nook, I only have the Nook app on my laptop, so I haven't seen it on the actual device, seeing the gadget in person and seeing that it's so bitty is a fun feeling. So, naturally, I played with it! My son and I huddled around it. It didn't take long to figure it out, tho' my fingers are being a bit funky lately with tingly-numbness, I'm not so nibble anymore. I found my way through Google to my blog, clicked the icon that I have set up for the Nook store, and once I saw my little book cover, after that, I walked away. Someone stepped up and started looking at the device right away, I don't know if she was looking at my book, or if she explored something else, but it was a guilty pleasure... because of my lingering over the Nook, we didn't leave Erie Blvd until 12:17, but that was fine. I needed to satisfy that little craving.

I nearly adopted a cat yesterday during our travels... a 2 year old tabby, Wandering Paws had their Saturday adoption hopefuls set up at PETCO, the little sweetie named Emmi started chirping to us and was very engaging, she could've passed for Charlie's sister, a big girl too (big like Charlie).

Yes, this is Charlie...Mr. Mischief Mittens himself.

Well, I left that store with all the treats and goodies for my cats and Max feeling so sad and choked up that I couldn't justify opening our home to one more...it was all I could do not to tell my son, "Turn around, we're going back!" Self-control for sure...at this point I'm not sure if I want to deal with the hissing and bushy tails. So we hugged them all when we got home, and told them they are so lucky to have a home when there are so many who do not. All of ours were stray once, drop-offs, or the offspring of feral barn cats...they look at us with those cat eyes with no memory of the time before this moment. Happy purrs all around!

The Three Wise Cats having a snuggle-fest, flannel blankets, Max's toys for pillows, and warm sunshine, the best!

Thursday, December 31, 2009

New Years Eve


Crows in a snowstorm, 12/28/2009...imagine my surprise to see that mob outside my window! My goodness...I think our crow friend "Baby" brought everyone he knew over for breakfast (usually it's the four family members who come around)...and I slept late...what a rowdy bunch, turning the snow upside-down looking for eats...they heard about the popcorn and peanuts...cracked corn and sunflower seeds...apples and bread...and the occasional stale corn chips...yes, my acre has become the popular yard to visit...(the stalks in the foreground are mullein, the little finches and chickadees have been eating the seeds, they're about picked clean by now.) Being home all week from work has allowed me to see what goes on during the daylight hours...

It's been a long year...lots of living done...good days and bad days...I take 'em as they come.

The biggest thing was publishing my book, Dusty Waters: A Ghost Story, and I've been happy with how it is being received by readers so far, and it's pretty cool that I've sent it as far away as Australia...I'm glad that my Fred and I decided to form Field Stone Press and do it ourselves, it just seemed to be the right thing to do. Am I kicking myself for waiting so long to do it? No. I took the time and extra effort to make it right, I didn't dive in willy-nilly. How many copies have I sold so far? Well, let's just say...I gave away quite a few. Do I know what I'm doing? Yes...and I continue to learn how to do better. The beauty of it is it's mine...it's never going to go out of print, ever. I'll keep plugging along, networking, doing whatever I gotta do to get it into hands of readers. I feel content about it, there's still the self-doubts involved (is it good enough?) I'm planning to set up a "shop" soon to sell signed copies (since there's been a recent interest from a few people), I'm exploring possibilities, asking questions and such...I'm open to suggestions.

I'm working on the next book, The Fractured Hues of White Light, getting her ready to go to print soon...I'm taking one more look through the proof that my Fred made for me, checking for any problems, wrong word disasters, crazy exclamation points, extra spaces...it's so far pretty clean. I'm feeling relaxed about the whole thing, no rush, no panic, the story will get told. It's been an experience writing these stories down...many of them started with a few lines in a notebook in 2000-2001, some maybe even sooner than that...so it's been a long process getting to where I am now, and the year 2009 has been a fulfillment of a dream...there's no big publisher, no big advance, no book tour, no hype, no fuss, but that's all right, I don't want fuss...I want my book to get into the hands of readers who want to read a book, not to be part of the frenzy around a product...a franchise...maybe I'm just old fashioned. I love the written word, I still prefer to hold a book in my hand while sipping from a cup of hot tea...or a tall glass of Guinness. It's a beautiful thing reading...it's magical...and I'm afraid too many people miss out on that magic, the gift that a book gives to a reader.

I raise my glass to the written word...

Happy New Year.
This little kitty got started early...


This little kitty will not make a good candidate for a designated driver...

Be careful out there...

Sunday, January 25, 2009

Crows





My photo study of crows continues...I'm enjoying the black and white more than color, but here's one of them flying with the moon at twilight...there was a bit of snow in the air that night too...