They’re Here!

About six weeks ago, I wrote about the huntsman spider guarding her egg sack in our rain gauge. Since then, we've been away, it's rained a little bit (not enough to endanger the egg sack), and every day I've been out to check if the babies had arrived. I'd actually come to the conclusion that it … Continue reading They’re Here!

The Resilience of People

We've just arrived home from a two week holiday in New Zealand. It's been a few years since we've been there, and this time we went back for a family wedding, and then took off in a camper van (Wilderness Motorhomes are the best!) for nine days. We headed off to Hanmer Springs, and then … Continue reading The Resilience of People

Drought and Spiders

Yesterday morning I got up and went outside to check the rain gauge. We'd had some rain forecast, and there had been a light sprinkle when we went to bed. It's been dry - really dry here. Total rain for 2018 - 120.8mm, compared to an average at this time of year of 395.6mm. Even … Continue reading Drought and Spiders

Asking the Big Questions

I'm currently doing a very hefty rewrite of the second book in a series. The first one will come out later this year, and I've seen some absolutely marvellous concept cover art from Jade at Steam Power Studios.  I really can't wait to see the finished thing, but back to what I was wrestling with … Continue reading Asking the Big Questions

Drought, Governments, and City-Centric Focus

I live in rural NSW. Although I'm not a farmer, I know quite a number who are, both in my personal life and my professional life. As a town dweller, I can bemoan how dry the countryside is, but it doesn't have quite the same impact on me that it does on my farmer contacts. … Continue reading Drought, Governments, and City-Centric Focus

New Book Coming This Year! And Other Stuff.

I think that recently, nearly all of my widely scattered blog posts have been about being busy, and as I sit here, cat parked upon me, I'm contemplating just how many evenings I'll have at home this week. That would be...one... And of course I have a new book coming out this year. That does … Continue reading New Book Coming This Year! And Other Stuff.

Comparisons

Over the last few weeks I've watched a number of movies and series. They include Jessica Jones (Netflix), Annihilation (Netflix), Red Sparrow (at the cinema), and Black Panther (at the cinema) I've been struck by the differences and similarities between them, and the way women are represented in each of them. The character of Jessica … Continue reading Comparisons

It’s Raining!

I'm sitting here listening to the rain. It's cool, and we've already had over 20mm. Why is this so significant? This is the driest February for many years, and it's been constantly hot and dry nearly all summer. We do expect to be hot, here in Australia, but in this region (The Upper Hunter) we … Continue reading It’s Raining!