GLORIA ZACHGO

​I learned that joeys are only about as large as a jellybean when born. They crawl to Mama's pouch and attach themselves to a nipple until they are about 50 days old. Then when those inside sleeping arrangements get too crowded as the joeys grow, at 80 to 90 days, they hitch a ride on Mama's back. Mama not only has to still carry them, but she also must teach them how to find food and shelter. Since opossum's active hours are at night, this Mama must have been heading home, ready for a nice nap.

Hunting Vermin

​I was also pleased to read that opossums are supposed to be a good thing hanging around backyards. It is estimated they kill 5,000 ticks a season. Since I'd already separated several ticks from human flesh this spring, I welcome Mama and her babies to dine in our yard every night. They're also known for catching and eating cockroaches, rats, and mice. And my favorite reason for having them around is that opossums are resistant to snake venom and prey on them. I'm rooting for you, Mama Opossum! 

Other Critters

We've lived in our current home for a good seven years. It has an open lot on one side and a wooded area behind us. Except for an occasional frog or snake that has gotten into our window wells, we've felt fortunate to have other critters visit us. When we first moved in, we often saw deer nibbling on the trees behind our property. A few times, deer vaulted over our fence into our yard.
  Wild turkeys also roamed the neighborhood during the day and roosted in giant cottonwoods at night. And it wasn't unusual to hear the yipping of coyotes or sometimes the hoot of an owl when we were lying in bed. When Ron set up a trail camera, it recorded a fox that used the same path our opossum uses now.  
   However, now our area is more populated with human critters, so we don't see as much wildlife as we once did. Sometimes that's a good thing because one of our morning encounters was an unwelcome guest.
   Ron was having coffee on the patio. I had just stumbled out of bed, thrown on a robe, and went out to tell him good morning. As I turned to go back inside the house, I saw something stir behind a wicker patio chair I had just walked past. When I got a closer look, I panicked! There, a little black furry creature with a white stripe running down his back seemed unaware of our presence. But he was between me and the door I needed to return inside.  
   We debated the best course of action as Ron tried to keep me from further panic. He went first, gingerly stepping past our visitor without incident. When he was safely behind our glass patio door, he tried to coax me into joining him. It took a while, but I had no choice but to go on the same path. I was only two feet from Pepe Le Pew when Ron opened the sliding door, and I ran into the house. After I was safely inside, we realized if Pepe had seen us, he might have scurried inside with me.  
 
Birdsong

This spring, we've mostly been entertained by the many winged friends that whistle, trill, tweet, and sometimes jeer in the trees behind us. It often becomes a cacophony when their birdsongs combine. However, they are sometimes silenced quickly if a hawk crashes their party by sneaking up on them silently.
   
Ron and I are no longer farm kids. But when nature's critters visit us, it makes us feel we have found the perfect place for our home in the city.  
 
 
 
 

Never Waste Dreams

Last week I wrote about Carl Taylor, one of the characters in two of my novels. In the first scene of the book Never Waste Dreams, Carl finds an abandoned young boy wandering the open prairie.

Carl’s words:

Never Waste Dreams – page 1

    With only the early mornin’ light, I had to rub my eyes afore I could tell it was a two-             legged critter, not more than six or seven years of age. His clothes was nothin’ but rags       that hung on his skinny little frame. His long hair looked to be as matted and full of             cockleburs as Corky’s was the first time I laid eyes on him.
         He musta been sleepin’ when we come up on him. His eyes opened wide with fear of       the dog and grew even bigger when he seen me. He reached down where he’d piled up       some rocks, picked them up one at a time, and pelted me and Corky with a couple good       hits. When his ammunition run out, he took off.
                                                                ∻∻∻∻∻

Never Waste Dreams is the continuing saga of two young pioneer couples first introduced in my fictional historical novel, Never Waste Tears.

Goodreads Giveaway

I will be giving away 100 eBook copies of Never Waste Dreams from Tuesday, June 20, until Thursday, July 20. If you are a Goodreads member, all you have to do to enter is click the “enter giveaway” below.

If you are not a Goodreads member, check them out. It’s a connection with others who love to read and discuss books. You may even find other giveaways that you might want to enter.

​Good luck!

​​Introducing Carl
 
​Have you ever read a book and wanted to know more about the people in the book? In my book club, we often have unanswered questions about the characters we’ve read. So, as a writer, I thought it might be fun to share one of the character profiles I used when writing my two historical fiction books, Never Waste Tears and Never Waste Dreams.

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​The character profiles I develop are usually for my eyes only. They are notes that help me get to know my characters better. However, not all their details are revealed in my books. They are simply an aide to help me know how characters would react to the story as it develops.
 The character preview below is everything I know about Carl William Taylor. Those who have read his stories might recognize some of his features.
                                         ∻∻∻∻∻​                        

​Carl William Taylor
 
b.  5-12-1839             m.  3-10-1861 to Hannah Jane Lucas Taylor 22 yrs. old
 
Father – Anton Taylor
Mother – Viola Taylor - 9 children (6 brothers – 2 sisters)
Brothers – Jacob *(1942) Robert * both killed in war -- Theodor *   Philipp * joined the South (never heard from again) -- Evert * returned from war a little before Carl (never talked about war – married Esther) -- Levi * youngest brother stayed on farm w/parents                          
Sisters -- Cora * Elizabeth (married local farmers who survived the war)       
Born and raised in Illinois on the farm
Tall – 6’ 1” light colored brown - starting to bald on top – walks   as though he unfolds himself with each step – robin-egg blue eyes – a long but very pleasant face
 
Carl and Hannah married shortly before the war.  Carl was a strong believer that all men and women were created equal.  He did not believe that a man should beat his wife or own another man.  He was 22 years old when the Civil War started and went willingly to fight for the freedom of all men. He had nightmares after the war and found peace in Kansas when he went to visit the mother of a soldier who died in his arms. He killed the man who killed the soldier, and hates any killing. After the war, he and Hannah stayed in Illinois for two and one-half years.  Carl wanted to make a claim for free land in Kansas and while Hannah didn’t want to leave her family, she supported him and left willingly.
 
Carl – hard working – honest – has a great understanding of animals and nature
He chews on grass when thinking – likes to have a smoke --
 Dog – Corky
Horses – Bill & Barney
Cow – Bossy (calved June 1869)
 
Carl’s Voice:
 “Maybe that’s for the best – knock on my noggin’ – hiself – yearned for – ever’thing – betwixt – men-folk – ever’body – ’round – gonna be – I didn’t understand it all – my Daddy always had a sayin’ maybe it’s for the best – givin’ it much consideration – the land was thirsty for rain – tinderbox – let’s have a smoke for the day – git for home – I think that’s a fine thing to do -” took it all in
 
Carl William Taylor (May 8, 1868) filed for a homestead claim in Junction City, KS. Traveled by train from Ellsworth, KS – He chose to NOT use his special compensation for his service years so that he wouldn’t have to pay  taxes on the land for several years (# 161 NWT)
 Civil War – April 12, 1861, to April 9, 1865 (last shot fired June 22, 1865)

                                                                         ∻∻∻∻∻
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​For those of you who have not read Carl’s story in Never Waste Dreams, I will have a Goodreads giveaway starting on Tuesday, June 20, and finishing on Thursday, July 20.  

This morning I was stumped with one of the word puzzles I do on my phone every day. When I finally had to give up and ask Ron if he’d solved it, he admitted he had guessed it.  The word consisted of four different groups of letters that made up an 11-letter word, with the clue: utter nonsense. The answer was flumadiddle.
 
  I never did find anything close to the word flumadiddle in my old-fashioned dictionary. So, I Googled it. I found it with several variants: flumaddidle, flumdiddle, flummerdiddle, flummydiddle, and fumaddidle. Wow! Who knew?

   My source of information considers flumadiddle a noun with slightly varied meanings, such as utter nonsense, trash, foolish, worthless, bauble, and frill.

   Since I’m often obsessed with a word,  I thought I would share this one with others. So, I tried to make some voice notes on my phone. In doing so, I fully understood this word and its meaning.

   When I dictated the word flumadiddle, my phone translated it as dental flow model. I tried again. The second translation was phlegm and dental. And trying one more time, my cellphone heard Darrel and something, before it quickly erased that translation to phlegm and ditto. Now that is utter nonsense.

   However, I think maybe it is the perfect word to describe how I feel about so many things happening in our world today. Information, whether correct or not, is instantly at my fingertips. Opinions are abundant on mainstream media or social media, and facts are often overlooked. How is anyone to know for sure what is true and what is bogus? Maybe it is all just flumadiddle.​  

 I’ve been utterly nonsensical to share this worthless frill today. Yet, I’ve had fun writing about a new word I found. I like it, and since I never found the right title for this painting I did some time ago, I think I’ll name it Flumadiddle.      



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