A strawberry in the sky, by J.C. Kavanagh

 

To purchase this award-winning series, click here: 

https://www.bookswelove.net/kavanagh-j-c/

There's blood moons, there's blue moons, and yes, there's strawberry moons. 

Why call it 'strawberry' moon? The name stems from our Indigenous people - traditionally named for the time of year (June) when strawberries are ripe for the picking. Though the moon is not typically reddish in colour during a 'strawberry' moon, it certainly was this year in Ontario, Canada, thanks to the ash particulates in the air from wildfires in Saskatchewan, Alberta and northern Ontario.

Photo credit to Liza Symonenko, June 10, 2025

This year, the strawberry moon coincided with the celestial event referred to as a 'major lunar standstill,' one that occurs every 18.6 years. A major lunar standstill means the moon's orbit will be at the steepest angle in the sky compared to the earth's equator. This phenomenon won't occur again until 2043. A 'minor lunar standstill' occurs every 9.3 years, where the moon's orbit will be at the shallowest angle to the earth's equator. To better describe this phenomenon, I've copied the Wikipedia explanation.

Detailed explanation of a lunar standstill

[EXCERPT AND DIAGRAM FROM WIKIPEDIA]

Apparent paths of the Sun and Moon on the celestial sphere (angles exaggerated for clarity)

A more detailed explanation is best considered in terms of the paths of the Sun and Moon on the celestial sphere, as shown in the first diagram (right). This shows the abstract sphere surrounding the Earth at the center. The Earth is oriented so that its axis is vertical.

The Sun is, by definition, always seen on the ecliptic (the Sun's apparent path across the sky) while Earth is tilted at an angle of e = 23.5° to the plane of that path and completes one orbit around the Sun in 365.25636 days, slightly longer than one year due to precession altering the direction of Earth's inclination.

 The Moon's orbit around Earth (shown dotted) is inclined at an angle of i = 5.14° relative to the ecliptic. The Moon completes one orbit around the Earth in 27.32166 days. The two points at which the Moon crosses the ecliptic are known as its orbital nodes, shown as "N1" and "N2" (ascending node and descending node, respectively), and the line connecting them is known as the line of nodes. Due to precession of the Moon's orbital plane, these crossing points, and the positions of eclipses, gradually shift around the ecliptic in a period of 18.6 years.

Thanks Wikipedia. I think (?) that helped.

In my Twisted Climb series, the full moon plays an integral part in the night-time adventures for the characters in the Dream World and the un-World. There, the moon is always stationary - angled high above - yet the milky white, puffy clouds shift over and around it. There, Connor, Jayden and Max experience moonlit clarity as the moon beams down on them in a shifting frame of brightness. Does that pique your interest? If so, you'll love the adventures, action, suspense and drama in this award-winning series. If you're looking for a summer-time read, The Twisted Climb series is it. And please, leave a review in Amazon or Good Reads or Indigo, or any site that promotes authors and their books. Enjoy!

Stay safe and don't forget to tell the ones you love that you love them :)

J.C. Kavanagh, author of
The Twisted Climb - A Bright Darkness (Book 3) Best YA Book FINALIST at Critters Readers Poll 2022
AND
The Twisted Climb - Darkness Descends (Book 2) voted BEST Young Adult Book 2018, Critters Readers Poll and Best YA Book FINALIST at The Word Guild, Canada
AND
The Twisted Climb,
voted BEST Young Adult Book 2016, P&E Readers Poll
Voted Best Local Author, Simcoe County, Ontario, 2021
Novels for teens, young adults and adults young-at-heart
Email: author.j.c.kavanagh@gmail.com
www.facebook.com/J.C.Kavanagh
www.amazon.com/author/jckavanagh
Instagram @authorjckavanagh

Creative Collecting

 

                                                  my publisher's website

Do you like to collect? Author Paula Chaffee Scardamalia, (Divine Musings)  recent excellent newsletter delt with the subject. It got me thinking about links from our world of collecting to our creative lives. 

I fully admit to being a collector. Living in an old house with a big attic has made it easy for me to say "yes" to a neighbor who was in the process of moving and would I find a good home for her now excess flower pots, side table, mystery collection? 

My attic seemed to expand to provide!

Do you go antiquing? Attend estate sales? It's a good way to discover what colors, textures art styles appeal to you. How you decorate your home shows your own aesthetic, your own style.

Paula suggests that "collecting first of all stimulates the brain, especially through the senses.. Look at any collection of items you have and see which of your senses respond to those items."

Here's something else I hadn't realized about collecting...

"Beyond that sensory effect, collecting while traveling anchors memories of new experiences, new understandings and insights."

Haven't we all looked at a piece of blown glass, a travel brochure, an old long-out-of-print cookbook and remember what adventure we were on when we discovered our treasure? I still lovingly iron a now well-worn embroidered blouse I bought from a vendor in the shadow of a Mayan pyramid, and I think with wonder and gratitude that I was able to experience that moment in my travels.

One of my favorite collections is fellow writer friends, old and new, that I've made over the years. We even get to see each other while on book tours and conferences. Here are my friend Liz and David at a memorable moment... We like collecting those book awards, too!

I hope what you collect inspires your life and fuels your creativity!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Garage Sale Season

                                                 Please click this link to learn about A Killer Whisky

My project this winter was to declutter the Calgary home I've lived in for twenty-nine years. My husband Will and I loaded fifteen boxes of books into our car to donate to charity book sale. Will sold our old foosball table and other items of some value on Kijiji. We filled an old suitcase with items to bring to our son in Ottawa for him to keep or sell in his neighbourhood garage sale. 

The Great Glebe Garage Sale takes place annually in Ottawa the fourth Saturday in May. About a third of the homes in the Glebe neighbourhood participate. Shoppers come from all over the city and make the event into a festival. People line the sidewalks, food trucks set up on main streets, and flea market vendors rent spots in the high school yard. 

This year, our spring visit to Ottawa corresponded with Great Garage Sale. Will and I helped sell items to the thousand or so people who browsed the goods that lined our son's driveway. Our old suitcase sold for $10. A woman paid $25 for a dilapidated rocking chair that had belonged to my grandparents. She plans to refurbish it into a cherished antique. 

Two weeks after The Glebe, my Calgary neighbourhood hosted a Parade of Garage Sales. Will and I were inspired to give it a try. From the Parade organizers and our son, we picked up a few garage sale tips.

• Painter's tape is good for price stickers since it peels off easily and cleanly
• Elevate items as much as possible, using TV tables and boxes in addition to regular tables
• Organize items by categories and prices
• Wear a fanny pack for holding coins and bills
• Have lots of coins and small bills on hand to make change
• Offer deals: 2-for-1bundles, or "fill a bag" for $5

As it turned out, we didn't need the change since almost everyone paid with coins or small bills, and the deals didn't entice people to add to their own clutter, although our neighbour bought our whole box of fridge magnets for one dollar.

We generally priced our goods lower than our son did his because our prime goal was to get rid of stuff and we knew our shoppers would be a fraction of the Great Glebe's. Our first buyer arrived a half hour before the official start and got first dibs on our vintage board games and other items. We heard the word "vintage" several times that day, which was nicer than saying "junk." People enjoyed nostalgic moments at the sight of toys they recalled playing with as children. A woman reminded me that I'd bought my abacus in Hong Kong 50 years ago. 

Another woman fell in love with a heavy mirror in a carved wood frame that had been on my father's wall. She bought it for five dollars. My father liked garage sales and collecting "vintage" goods. He'd be happy the mirror went to this woman rather than remain stashed in my basement corner. 

It was great to see bulky items go to people who'd appreciate them. My old guitar with broken strings, a folding lawn chair that we'd found uncomfortable, a bean bag game we hadn't played in years. 

A lot of stuff was left over at the end, including a ping pong table. But the table's large surface was so handy for displaying items like board games that we don't mind storing it disassembled in the garage for a future garage sale.

Yes, we'll probably do it again. Garage sales seem to run in my family blood and one of these years I'll convince Will to sell his "vintage" childhood wagon that a few of our buyers spotted in our garage. 

Now our task is to throw out the real junk, pack up China and household items for Goodwill donation, and return a few unsold things to our house to keep until next year. I'll return my abacus to the wall unit as a source of Hong Kong memories instead of a piece of clutter. 

The sale has also inspired our next project -- to clean up and organize the garage. It will be a pleasure to drive inside, when there's finally room again for the car.       

                   

Flowers of the Sea by Karla Stover

 

https://bookswelove.net/stover-karla/

I was at a big junk hunt last month and saw a small dress made from cloth flour sacks. My Aunt Doris was raised during the Depression and for Christmas she often gave me flour sack kitchen towels which she’d embroidered. They’re very large and don’t dry well but it’s a good sturdy cloth and I wouldn’t get rid of them for the world. And one still has a flour odor imbedded in the fibers. I didn’t buy it; what I came home with was two antique handbags to add to my collection and an old lantern. The handbags I frame and hang on the bedroom wall and we have been Hanging old lanterns on the patio roof beams. Over the years, I’ve bought old hatpins, old books, a very peculiar hat, a necklace containing braided human hair, and this year an alabaster elephant. Having said this, what I’d really like to have but they’re way out of my budget is a Victorian seaweed album.

I only just learned about this supposedly popular occupation for young ladies, described as “a romantic and safely-domesticated way for them to explore the natural world” because they certainly weren’t expected to study science for science’s sake. Of course, being women creating a well-thought-out album was merely an artistic accomplishment. 

Victorians were fascinated by all-things-nature. What do General George Armstrong Custer, President Theodore Roosevelt, and Queen Victoria have in common? A love of taxidermy. The general tried his hand at it; the president had the animals he killed stuffed, and the queen collected stuffed birds. My Aunt Doris shot and tanned a ring-necked pheasant and gifted the skin to my husband.

The Victorians also created a language of flowers and sent messages using only floral pictures, and developed a love of terrariums. However, along about the same time they began collecting seaweed.

In 1863, a children’s book author names Margaret Gatty wrote British Sea-weeds, a handbook for amateurs. The book introduced readers to some of the species’ varieties, and offered suggestions for the proper attire when collecting (no petticoats below the ankle) and she strongly suggested taking along a male companion. Her illustrations showing some of the different varieties were to help with the correct identification of samples obtained.

Eighteen years later, a man named Alpheus Baker Hervey wrote the book, Sea Mosses: a collector’s guide, and an introduction to the study of marine algae. The tools he suggested were a pair of pliers to handle the specimens, scissors to cut away what he called “superfluous branches,” a stick with a needle on the end to be used to move the seaweed around so as to reveal its finer points, at least two wash bowls to clean it, paper such as a botanist’s drying paper or blotting paper using multiple sheets to dry it between, cotton cloth, and cards on which to mount the specimens.

I googled looking for the numbers of seaweed a.k.a algae, available for an album and it ranges between seven and twelve thousand types, generally comes in red, green or brown, and ranges in appearance from delicate, lacy fronds to leafy blades to the enormous growths in a kelp forest.

May, 2, 2025 The News Tribune

In late April, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife Police announced that they had issued a citation to a group for harvesting seaweed near Sekiu on the Olympic Peninsula.

              I grew up on Commencement Bay and things have really changed. The beaches are no longer covered in shells. My mom, Aunt Elizabeth and I used to collect tiny shells which may or may not have been screw shells. We dug geoducks; mussels clung to every piling. We had as many oysters as we wanted and Mom once found a pearl. Now, when I want their shell remains, the beaches are bare. And we have two new food sources, squid and seaweed. In summer we’ve seen members of our Asian population raking in seaweed from the bay and draping it over driftwood to dry.  In mid-winter, they jig for squid off the peers. With so many people wanting to supplement their food supplies, the state had to create strict laws and require licenses. Bur, I digress.

              I almost never meet a hobby I don’t like. My latest are making pine needle baskets and creating little pictures with sea glass, also very hard to find. I’m not sure if I want to try a seaweed album, though. But if I do, one thing is for sure; it will certainly wig-out my poor husband.

Fallacies and Facts about Ticks – by Barbara Baker

 

‘Tis the season for ticks - those tiny ground-dwelling bugs who hang out in the grass so they can attach themselves to a host, hitchhike a ride and … suck your blood. Why I’ve never related them to Dracula and vampires I’ll never know. 

Growing up in the Rocky Mountains around Banff, I thought I knew all the facts about ticks. Boy, was I wrong.

Google was quick to point out that my youthful tick knowledge was based on hearsay, fallacies and a healthy dose of imagination. For instance, I was sure a tick could bury its entire body under my skin. Wrong. Only their head goes in. I also believed if a tick was stuck under my skin, I should find someone (preferably a smoker with a steady hand) to burn it’s sticking-out-butt with a hot match head or lit cigarette and the tick would back out slowly. Also wrong. Not only is this dangerous but it's ineffective. Did you know tick’s nostrils aren’t in their butt? I was positive I learned that in science class. Anyways, it's not true so putting nail polish remover or Vaseline on their backside to suffocate them is pointless. Ticks don’t jump and they seldom drop from tree branches. Since when?

Now that my grandkids are old enough to go hiking, I figured it’s time I get the facts straight for the health and safety of all concerned.

Here we go:

• Ticks are arachnids and have been around for 100 million years.

   

tick                                   spider

• Once on its host, a tick searches for a warm, dark and moist place such as behind ears, under armpits, navel, the groin area, in your hair and behind the knees. Behind the knees baffles me. I checked - it’s not dark or moist behind my knees.

  

• There’s a substance in their saliva which they inject when they bite. It helps to numb the area and prevents the host from realizing they’ve been bitten. How clever and sneaky.

• They have small openings on their sides called spiracles which they breathe through. Ticks also have an alternate respirator system called a plastron. It allows them to survive underwater for extended periods because they absorb oxygen from the water. That's sure to impress the grandkids.

• Ticks breathe a few times every hour and live for two years.

• To remove a tick use tweezers, grab the tick as close to the skin as possible and gently pull it straight out. Do not squeeze their body.

• Canada’s Public Health Agency works with provincial programs to collect and analyze ticks because they can transmit Lyme disease and Rocky Mountain spotted fever to humans. Can you imagine coming to work each day to find your desk lined with vials of ticks?

A neat trick I heard about on a hiking Facebook post is to tuck your pant legs into your socks when you go hiking. Then wrap duct tape, sticky side out, at the sock/pant margin. A dorkish look, yes. But it has a purpose. This keeps the ticks from crawling up your legs into your nether regions or behind your knees. The added sticky-side-out method allows you to catch any tick hitchhikers. Or you could just spray your ankles with bug repellant. Also effective and not as dorky looking.

I will have to admit, youthful knowledge based on hearsay, fallacies and creative imagination is fun and funnier than reality at times

Here's one last detail:

•      Ticks need to have a blood meal to reproduce. After they feast the female can lay from 1,500 to 5,000 eggs.

Are you itchy yet?

To wrap it up, here’s a country song that might make you smile while you itch – Brad Paisley - Ticks (Live)

 

 

Baker, Barbara - BWL Publishing Inc. (bookswelove.net)