Archive | March 2021

Great White Heron

Mar21

Great White Heron standing by the fountain at the Houston Zoo.

My son-in-law told me when I began taking pictures of the great white heron that he wasn’t part of the zoo. lol But he was by the fountain and it was a fun shot.

My daughter told me that I was supposed to take pictures of my granddaughter at the zoo. What??? And not the animals? I did take pictures of her, but I have to admit I was having lots of fun shooting the animals.

And some of them even turned out great!

Well, yesterday, I wrote another 3,000 words on the story. I’m having trouble with conflict in the story. That means I’m having my own internal conflict. It happens often. So whenever that happens, I pull up all the resources on conflict to try and center myself on the idea.

I love it when it comes to me, when I can come up with a plot and motivation and conflict and fly right through it. When I get back to writing on the Christmas wolf anthology story, I have it! But I want to get more of this book finished first. I’m at 30,000 words and have 50K left to reach minimum word count.

I managed to plant two of the ligustrum yesterday. I’ve been cutting back the milkweed, pulling weeds. The milkweed had been leafing out and died back with the ice age, so they’re coming back at the roots now. Seven more plants to plant. I hope to get some done today, and the rest done tomorrow.

It’s chilly this morning again. I should appreciate it since when it warms up in a few weeks it will stay hot forever, and then I’ll be wishing it was cooler. But it’s too cold for me right now. lol


Have a great day! Need to get mine started!

Terry

“Giving new meaning to the term alpha male where fantasy is reality.”
Connect with Terry Spear:
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Adorable Ostrich

Mar20

When I’m photographing an animal, I forget that what they’re seeing is not me looking at them, but a camera looking at them. So no eyeball contact. But isn’t he/she cute? After she/he quit picking on the young giraffe.

I managed 3,000 words yesterday and to get my car inspected and to get some sunshine ligustrum to replace my skyrocket holly that have died. I figure if one thing doesn’t work, I’m not planting the same thing in its place, especially when everything else seems to do well in that area. I also picked up phlox. When I lived in Oklahoma, I had redbud trees and phlox and the flowers were the same beautiful magenta. So the trees would be covered in the flowers that matched the ground cover in the flowerbeds and it looked so pretty–like I’d actually planned it that way. lol

I haven’t tried them here, and redbud trees are notorious for having weak limbs, so I won’t be planting those here, but I think the phlox will be pretty and hopefully, they will cover some of the area where I fight with weeds. Or the weeds will just grow up in among them anyway. But I keep on trying no matter what. That’s the key. If one thing doesn’t work, try something else.

Some think I have a green thumb, but in actuality, I just keep trying things until something takes hold and voila! A beautiful garden.

Well, I’m off to write today and I have 9 plants to dig holes for and plant.

I finally got the first vaccination yesterday afternoon for COVID–Pfitzer and the next one is April 9th. It was a massive car drive up for the event and I was glad they’re doing that because we have so many people in Houston and the surrounding cities and 5 of the more virulent strains of COVID also. Luckily, despite them opening up the state 100%, I’ve been proud of the Texans who still wear masks and the businesses that are requiring it. We only have 10% of the population vaccinated and that’s not enough.

3 lanes of cars headed for verification of appointment at St Lukes, and then we finally went single file, then double and split off to various tents where they did the paperwork first, and then drove off to more tents where the cars split off into maybe 25 more tents and were given shots, and then we parked in lanes for a time while we were timed to ensure we didn’t have a reaction to the vaccine.

I was talking to a woman as I was loading my plants into the car at Home Depot who said she was so glad to see people wearing masks. She had an 82 year old mother who had breast cancer and a mastectomy last week, but was running around, wearing her mask, still not vaccinated. I told her about St. Lukes, and she needed to sign up. It took me a week to get the email and I had worked like the devil to get one at CVS, but it wasn’t scheduled until the next day, and this one meant I would take my 2nd shot 2 days earlier. With my daughter’s baby due soon, I wanted to be fully vaccinated before he got here and I started taking care of him too. So I cancelled on CVS to give someone else a chance to get the vaccine.

Anyway, it’s back to the book and writing and hopefully, I can get another 3,000 done today. In any event, I need to get 2,000 and then I’m going to start digging holes for breaks.

Have a super lovely day!!!

Terry

“Giving new meaning to the term alpha male where fantasy is reality.”
Connect with Terry Spear:
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Ostrich on the Move–Photo Art

Mar19

At the Houston Zoo.

Have you ever seen an ostrich picking on a giraffe before? Pick on your own size, Ostrich! Maybe the ostrich was having a bad day. He/she chased two other ostriches around the enclosure, but also kept picking on a baby/juvenile giraffe. What was up with that?

There’s no call for bullying on the playground. Maybe it’s a natural thing for an ostrich to do. What do I know? But he/she would poke at the sandy soil, then lift her head and poke at the giraffe. And repeat, over and over again. The giraffe didn’t seem to mind at all. So maybe it wasn’t bullying really, but a strange friendship that I couldn’t decipher. It was odd. But then I have to wonder what the deeper motivation was. Did the ostrich just need attention? And the young giraffe was ignoring him?

This is a photo of the Ostrich pecking the young giraffe. Of course, I could make up another story. Ostrich is talking to Giraffe over some perceived slight and Giraffe doesn’t want to discuss it. So instead of tapping on Giraffe’s shoulder to get his attention with his wing, it’s much easier to get his attention using his beak. “Hey, pay attention, Giraffe!”

That’s my story and I’m sticking to it, unless I think of a better one. Motivation, conflict, got to have it. 

So the title for White Wolf Moon is going to be WHILE THE WOLF’S AWAY.  It’ll come out in 2022.

Okay, so it’s time to get back to the book!

Terry

“Giving new meaning to the term alpha male where fantasy is reality.”
Connect with Terry Spear:
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Spectacled Caiman with an Eye on YOU

Mar18

This spectacled caiman was watching me. The zoo had a little bridge where you could walk over the water where this crocodile was waiting for the unsuspecting. He blended in so well with the water, that I thought he was perfectly camouflaged, except for that pretty green eye that watched me, while he hoped I would join him in the pool of water for dinner. When I walked away, he might have even cried some real crocodile–well, spectacled caiman tears. I’ve mentioned them in my jaguar shifter books set in Belize.

It was a great photo spot though. Most of the time I have to look through foggy, smeared glass to get a picture of them, or in very dark surroundings where little spots of light show off glimpses of them in watery caves.

Well, I finally managed 2,000 words yesterday on Billionaire, but we were having the St Patrick’s Day dinner and then I was talking to my son for an hour or so in Omaha on the phone. So didn’t get much more done.

 He’s still working on his game that he plans to put out in the summer. I’m still working on a new story. I want to get about halfway done on Billionaire and then I need to also work on the Christmas story for the anthology for the end of the year. A wolf story.

The temperature dropped, wind is up, and they spotted pea-sized hail in areas surrounding me yesterday. It’s spring and unpredictable as always. But that can be fun too. Instead of just boring–the same old weather.

I planted some bell pepper seeds. Not sure if anything will come of it, but I had some bell pepper plants last year and that was fun.

I’m off to write! Hope you all have a lovely day!

Terry

“Giving new meaning to the term alpha male where fantasy is reality.”
Connect with Terry Spear:
Website: http://www.terryspear.com
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/421434.Terry_Spear
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Twitter: https://twitter.com/TerrySpear
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Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

Mar17

I’m fixing corned beef, cabbage, Hawaiian rolls, and chocolate mint chip ice cream for a St. Patrick’s Day dinner. We haven’t done it in a long time so I thought it would be fun.

Is anyone else having a St. Patrick’s Day dinner? We have the Welsh family who were Irish, though they were probably Welsh and married into an Irish family named Kelly. My Hawthornes also were born and raised in Ireland until they ended up in Scotland, one born on the Irish Sea. They all ended up in Canada.

I managed to finish up another 2700 words on Billionaire. I had hoped to reach 3K, but just couldn’t think of anything.

I’m off to the grocery store bright and early this morning before the thunderstorms hit to grab the rest of our St. Patrick’s day meal. And then I’m off to write and wearing something green!

Happy St. Patrick’s Day! May you find the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow!

Terry

“Giving new meaning to the term alpha male where fantasy is reality.”
Connect with Terry Spear:
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Chilling Chimpanzee Photo Art

Mar16

Sometimes a model comes over to pose for pictures for me. Rarely. But when it happens, it’s just like a magical moment. This little chimpanzee was so cute, came over and sat on the ribbon of canvas hammock and posed just for me. Often, I get animal’s backsides, so this was really fun. He even looked at me for the camera and gave me a stoic expression, trying to appear poised, maybe there’s even a hint of a smile. It’s amazing how easily they balance themselves. I’ve seen three bear cubs in a video trying to climb onto a hammock and how funny that was, up and over, flipped, but they never gave up until the momma bear made them. Even humans can be pretty unbalanced when trying to sit on a hammock in an elegant way. 

We have rain all day today, and a lot of tomorrow. I love the rain. I see a lot of greenery where things had died back. But I think the beautiful impatients my daughter got me for mother’s day a couple of years ago are dead. Though I keep watching to see if they’ll come back to life. They were so pretty all through the winters, managed the droughts, the heat, but that Arctic freeze really did a job on them.

I noticed the crepe myrtle that was leafing out before the awful freeze has leafed out again. I seriously need to weed though. I think the Ice Age encouraged weed growth! Actually, I think everything encourages weed growth. I’ve been working at it daily, but it’s not enough. I try to just pull weeds and not use any weed killer. I’m afraid if I use weed killer, I’ll just manage to kill off the good stuff.

Well, I’m a bit stuck on Billionaire. *sigh* Hate when that happens! I’m stuck on You Had Me at Cougar too. Sometimes I’ll alternate between books to get an idea for the other one. Watching TV. Doing research. None of it helps. Anyway, like my friend says, it will come to me if I don’t try to force it. It doesn’t mean I can sit back and wait for an idea to move me though. I could sit here for years doing nothing. lol

I will be glad when things get back to normal. Or back to more normal. It was such a horrible year last year and this year is different for all of us too. I kept trying to get scheduled for the vaccine and finally managed this morning after trying late into the night. The 2nd dose will be close to when my daughter has her baby, so hoping that it all works out one way or another. I spent a lot of yesterday trying to get scheduled for the vaccine and making tons of calls about other stuff, so I think that’s why I was having so much difficulty trying to concentrate on the book.

I was going to make an appointment to drop off my tax work to be finalized and I had to shove it under the door of the office. See when I say that I will be glad when things are more normal?

I feel like Scarlet O’Hara in Gone with the Wind–I will put it off until tomorrow, when I’m not usually that way. Well, about dusting, yes, but about important stuff, I try to do it early. But because of current circumstances, I’m putting off something I planned to try and get done this week to May. I have the best of reasons, though I would love to just get it over with. Still, it’s nice putting it off too. lol

The problem with putting things off is that other stuff starts to stack on top of it. I’ve got to approve the cover for one of my upcoming releases today. That’s an easy thing! And otherwise, it’s time to really start writing a bunch of words on a couple of books. Yay! The fun stuff!

Hope you all have great day! Mine will be great! It’s already great! Be safe!

Terry

Giving new meaning to the term alpha male where fantasy is reality.”
Connect with Terry Spear:
Website: http://www.terryspear.com
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/421434.Terry_Spear
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Big Cat Photo Art

Mar15

I think this is an ocelot, but not sure. They had a lot of pens for ocelots, but this one looked so big it didn’t seem like it was one.

Okay, I figure if I can keep on track, I’ll have 80K on Billionaire by the end of April. We’ll see. A lot has to do with if I don’t get stuck on what to write. I have 15K so far.

It was rainy yesterday, but I didn’t hear any real thunder like I thought we would have.  Now it looks like we’re going to have rain for the next couple of days. When it rains, I don’t feel guilty about not getting out and weeding.

I was watching a healing series–and it’s funny. I watch different things to see what might help with my writing, and sometimes they give me an idea–it’s funny because the healers are having issues with each other like the people who need to be healed, when they’re supposed to have it all together and help heal those who need healing.

There’s a wife who can’t decide if she wants to stay with her husband. The husband couldn’t join her and all of a sudden, he shows up. I mean is all this staged or what? So then they’ve got a bunch of gossips in the group, the biggest, a mother and daughter team who don’t get along. Lots of extra drama, right?

So one of the healers said that men should be allowed to melt into real men. lol So just remember that.

They say they have opened up the COVID vaccination for 50-64 year olds today, but they haven’t. Maybe I should just go back to bed and start all over. lol

Anyway, today, is a madhouse day. I’ve got a lot of  stuff to do, but I still need to write. So I’m  off to do it. Though I’m going to think about men melting into real men too.

Hope you all have a lovely day! 

Terry

Giving new meaning to the term alpha male where fantasy is reality.”
Connect with Terry Spear:
Website: http://www.terryspear.com
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Orange Orangutan Photo Art

Mar14

I was super lucky when I went to take pictures at the zoo the other day. The two orangutans were on the move and then this one climbed up onto the tree branches and posed for me. Just beautiful! Sometimes I get lucky! Rarely, but sometimes.
Woohoo, turned in White Wolf Moon, worked on more of Billionaire and I was working on the dreaded taxes. And finished them yesterday too! 

Then my dogs were chasing another dog on the other side of the fence, and they got their paws all muddy yesterday. So I scooped them both up, and took them to the bathroom and gave them both a bath in the tub. Then they got to go to bed to dry off after I towel dried them. They won’t let me hair blow their hair. Too noisy. And I don’t blame them. So once they had lunch, I took them outside and miracle of miracles, they both behaved themselves.

No even looking for the other dogs when they went out. Yay! In fact, while I was cutting back dead fern fronds, they were staying close to me and just chilling. Maybe I cured them of racing to the fence and then barking at the other dog, running the length of it. I just need to take them inside if they do it again, and give them a bath. lol Well, we’ll see how long that works. I suspect, not long, unless I repeat it several times and they finally get a clue.

We have thunderstorms coming in this afternoon and the temperature dropped to 49. That looks like the lowest we’re going to have from now on. Which means, maybe I can get some flowers. Things are slowly starting come back. But I suspect the palm trees people had are not going to come back. And the oleanders might not either, unless they come up from the roots.

I need to cut my dead ornamental grass back too before all the new green sprouts come out. Usually none of this stuff dies in winter. Even the ferns would remain green. But I see life everywhere. And I even saw an early yellow swallowtail flying around the other day when there are hardly any flowers out, poor little butterfly. Normally we would have tons out already.

I worked on edits again on Billionaire yesterday, need to plan my word goals to reach to get this book done by July 1st.

They’ve expanded vaccinations to more of the population starting Monday, so I’m going to try and get one scheduled. And have a ton of other things I need to do on Monday. My list is growing, but I’m also determined to write a lot.  I’ll also be alternating between that one and You Had Me at Cougar, when I get stuck on Billionaire.

And I guess that’s it!

Have a super, beautiful day! I’m looking forward to the rain, just hope the electricity doesn’t go out. I have too much to do!

Terry

Giving new meaning to the term alpha male where fantasy is reality.”
Connect with Terry Spear:
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Little Feet and Big Feet

Mar12

The gorilla’s paw print and a nearly 4 year old’s feet.

We had a great time at the zoo for my granddaughter’s birthday. People wore masks, and it wasn’t crowded. They sell only so many tickets for the hour, and we went when it first opened. We ate lunch at eleven before the crowds really hit. They had sanitizer everywhere and we used it. Some of the exhibits aren’t open until we have normalcy again.  Like the butterfly exhibit. They also weren’t doing any of the shows they normally do, like working with the seals, because they don’t want to draw packed crowds. I’m glad for it. No visits to the bird sanctuary either, which is fun to do. I’ll be so glad when we can do things like that again!

We had a lovely day. It was warm, then hot–82 later in the afternoon, but no rain.  And it was cloudy to begin with, so really a perfect day.  It was windy to begin with, which was really nice. I had dressed much warmer, thinking it would be cooler in the morning, but then realized it was too warm for that and changed, thankfully. Just perfect.

So I didn’t get any writing done today, they’ve gone home after the birthday party and I downloaded 825 pictures from the zoo, which is small for me. But no bears, well, one way off in the distance that you could barely see, and the spectacled bear exhibit was closed for renovations. The cougar exhibit was being cleaned, no jaguar either. They had some of the smaller cats–ocelots, and another cat like animal, can’t remember what it was called. So I’m looking forward to playing with them. I’ll have to remove some fences from them. Lots of monkeys, gorillas, elephants, giraffes and an ostrich that was pecking at a baby giraffe, who paid no attention to him. That was the oddest thing ever. lol I’ve never seen anything like it. And then at one point, the 3 ostriches chased each other around the yard.

I love the African horned cows, I think they are. They look so majestic, and one was mooing just as we were coming up, but I think I missed the shot.

And they had boar living in the gorilla pen. That was interesting. I’ve never seen them pair any other animals with them before.

So it was a fun day for all. Little one had a nap on the car ride home, I think the rest of us were ready to take one. lol

While waiting for them to pick up the cupcakes and balloons, I downloaded pictures and last night I managed to get to chapter 12 on White Wolf Moon.

Today, I’ve got to finish White Wolf Moon, if I can. That’s another 16 chapters. Then I’m proofing Saving the White Cougar, then back to Billionaire.

I keep feeling like I’m forgetting something. I sure hope not!  Have a super lovely day!

Terry

Giving new meaning to the term alpha male where fantasy is reality.”
Connect with Terry Spear:
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Jaguar Photo Art

Mar11

I took the photo of the jaguar at the Cameron Park Zoo, Waco, Texas. It was a job removing the fence, but well worth it to create the fun photo art.

Well, we did it all yesterday. We made the unicorn puppet, and the veggie bugs (they were delicious and made of sparkle tomatoes–I think they’re really called midgets, and black olives, cucumbers, and whipped cream cheese, with chives from the garden), and walked, and had a great time. First thing this morning is a trip to the zoo, then a birthday party. We have a wild day ahead of us.

May be an image of fruit and indoor
As to the veggie bugs and unicorn puppet, I will stick to my regular day job. I’m not a food artist or a great arts and crafts person! lol

I actually managed to get to 10K on the Billionaire book, yay! After our wild day, I’ll be photographing everything, I hope to get back to work on proofing White Wolf and working on more word count for Billionaire.

But we’re off super early this morning, so have a great day!!!

Giving new meaning to the term alpha male where fantasy is reality.”
Connect with Terry Spear:
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