Tag Archive | cardinal

Bird Watching & Human Watching & More Giveaways!

sparrows 2 (640x427)

Baby sparrows have been sitting on my windowsill and they peer in the kitchen window at me when I grab some more green tea. Normally, the sparrows take flight if they see me.  But I had just put out seed, and a bunch of birds were feeding. The cardinal always captures my interest.

cardinal feeding (2) (640x601)

But then all of a sudden, the birds all flew off. I thought I had spooked them, as often I do. But it wasn’t me this time, because the birds all landed on the shrubs, or at least the younger sparrows, and I took pictures.

This was what spooked them.

bunnies eating seeds (640x427)

And so I was able to take a lot of pictures of the sparrows sitting atop the hedge right outside my window. Even the cardinal drew closer and was sitting atop a chair. But unfortunately, my focus ended up being on something else, and he’s all blurred. Which was a disappointment because he was so close, and watching me.

cardinal upclose (640x427)

sparrows up close (640x427)

And so that’s my moment of getting a cup of green tea while the world around me is alive and well.
sparrow on hedge (640x588)

Now, for more prizes in honor of our upcoming release in 4 days!!!!

In the paranormal box set, we have lots of fun reads about everything paranormal under the sun. I have vampires in this one. Have you read any of my vampire books? Deadly Liaisons? Forbidden Love? Huntress for Hire? Killing the Bloodlust? The Collection of Vampire Shorts?

Or a young adult? Kiss of the Vampire? The Vampire…In My Dreams?

vampire collection with moon copy (430x640)Forbidden Love 1650 (525x800)

Huntress for Hire

She has her sights set on the worst vampire of them all…

Killing the Bloodlust

What happens when a huntress can’t hunt?

46f34-kissvampirecover1

Huntress for Hire is in the box set.  But I’ll give away an ebook copy of Forbidden Love to a reader who tells me why you love my vamps, or why you just HAVE to read one?

We need 50 reviews, I’m told on the box set. So if everyone that reads it can give us a review on Amazon or Barnes and Nobles, Goodreads, etc, we will be thrilled. Thanks!!!

TallDarkAndParanormal2D_1400px

TallDarkAndParanormal3DBundle_800px

Only 99 cents! Limited time offer!

Preorders Available from Amazon Now:

http://www.amazon.com/Tall-Dark-Paranormal-Thrilling-Tales-ebook/dp/B00N55HGOA

Kobo:

http://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/ebook/tall-dark-and-paranormal

Smashwords:

https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/471539

ITunes:

https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/tall-dark-paranormal-10-thrilling/id915571414?mt=11

All Romance Ebooks:

https://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-talldarkandparanormal10thrillingtalesofsexyalphabadboys-1611082-166.html

Barnes and Noble:

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/tall-dark-and-paranormal-opal-carew/1120323237

And a lovely review for Her Highland Hero!

Description:

Lady Isobel is a Norman laird’s daughter, living near the Scots border where her father, Lord Pembroke, is trying to keep the peace. But her mother was a Highlander and the man Isobel loves most of all is Laird Marcus McEwan, who has been bringing news of her mother’s people for years. But now Isobel’s father wishes her wed to an English nobleman, who will carry on his title. Isobel will wed no other man but her heart’s desire—and that is one braw Highlander from her mother’s homeland.
Laird Marcus McEwan has loved the feisty lass forever. For years, Marcus has tried to convince Lord Pembroke to allow him to wed his daughter. But the Norman lord will not allow it. Then ambushes and murders make it too dangerous for Marcus to reach a peaceful resolution.
Nothing goes as planned and keeping the lass for his own is fraught with danger, as they try to determine who was behind the killings. Isobel and Marcus will do everything in their power to ensure they are together as they have always vowed they would be.

My Thoughts:
Marcus and Isobel want to be together, but there are many forces keeping them apart. Isobel’s father wants to marry someone else, Marcus is nearly murdered, and there are dangerous secrets. I enjoyed this story, especially the relationship between Marcus and Isobel. Marcus will do anything to keep his Isobel safe. I recommend this for anyone who likes their romance with a good dose of Highlander.

My Rating: ****
Steam Factor: !!!!

Where to get it:

Amazon • Nook • Kobo • Add to Goodreads

Where to find the author:
Website • Blog • Twitter • Facebook • Goodreads

 

 

I absolutely can’t believe it’s already Friday! How in the world did that happen? Still working on 10 bears. It went up one. and Call of the Cougar. But today, I’m re-reading A Silver Wolf Christmas to see if it’s ready. 🙂

And errands. Hate errands. They take so much of the day. And we had RAIN! And lots of it. We really desperately needed it. More today and the next few days. Yes!

Happy TGIF!!!

Terry

“Giving new meaning to the term alpha male where fantasy is reality.”
www.terryspear.com
Connect with Terry Spear:
Website:
www.terryspear.com
Goodreads:
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/421434.Terry_Spear
Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/TerrySpearParanormalRomantics
Twitter:
https://twitter.com/TerrySpear

Wilde & Woolly Bears

http://www.celticbears.com

New is NOT Always Better!

Have you ever thought that? You get used to doing something a certain way, perfectly content with the way that you were doing it and without your permission, someone changes it??? (Oh and by the way, you had to learn this way in the first place and that took some time to figure out?)

Sometimes, the powers to be are good about it–they ASK you if you want to update. Sometimes they don’t. And they just DO it. Sometimes you think, sure, it’s new and improved right? And you soon learn it’s a nightmare to handle.

That happened on my email program. Change to this cool background. Okay, click of a button. But after that, there was no going back. My emails nested. I couldn’t write in response to emails sent to me right on the email, which really helps when I’m commenting point by point without copying and pasting their whole message to my email. Finally, there was a way to UNnest the emails so I didn’t have this problem. But there were complaints all over the boards about it. The problem is if you’re in groups where you talk about stuff, you’re supposed to trim messages. With this new and IMPROVED email version, we couldn’t do it.

Anyway, WordPress changed something for the better, and I don’t know if I agreed to it and forgot, or they just changed it, but I didn’t like it and they gave me the option to go back to the old way of doing things.

Sometimes the old way is the best way. Sometimes I can’t wrap my brain around a new way, since I’m always learning new ways to do a million different things, and I just don’t need one more new way to do something that is working well for me.

Do you ever feel that way?

hot labor day (640x427) 2

Here are some pictures of my hot Labor Day. Isn’t this beautiful?

I’m surrounded by cornfields that look like these on three sides. The one in front of me has been cut, but guess what my neighbors were doing for Labor Day. Shooting off fireworks.

Shaking head.

dragonfly, sunflower (640x427)

Why did the dragonfly have to be sitting on top of a cornstalk that was right in front of a telephone pole? I couldn’t move to take the picture because he flew off as soon as I did. But I still thought it was a cool picture, him pausing on the tip of a cornstalk. Next time maybe my model will stay put so I can move around and get a better background. Or, I can show it as just a slice of life–telephone pole and all.

scissortail and sparrows (640x427)stretch

Do you see the scissor-tail flycatcher on the lower right? The sparrows are on the upper left. I’m not usually able to capture one in a picture.

cardinal in piracantha (640x450)

Here is a cardinal in the piracantha. I was watering the new shrubs and that always makes the birds jittery, particularly since my neighbor was also shooting off firecrackers.

But what I had seen that was so cool were four sparrows clinging to the cornstalks. I wanted a picture of them. But when I ran back to get my camera and returned, they were gone. It was the first time I had seen them actually doing that. The rest of the time, I’d just see them fly off.

So instead, while I was watering, with camera in hand, I got pictures of the dragonfly, the beauty of the sky and the cornfields, the scissor-tail and the cardinal.

dove piracantha (640x526)

Oh, and a dove in the piracantha. It’s a wickedly thorny shrub, but the birds love it. Nice and protective

Well, I’m back to word count, caught up on student lessons, and I’m still keeping up on word count, behind on bears. 🙂 <3 But I did cut out two more last night. 🙂  I have 6 bears ready, just need to embroider their paws. 🙂  But that takes time too.  And somehow, I’m always running out of it.

Do you ever find that too?

Okay, back to writing!

Terry

“Giving new meaning to the term alpha male where fantasy is reality.”
www.terryspear.com
Connect with Terry Spear:
Website:
www.terryspear.com
Goodreads:
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/421434.Terry_Spear
Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/TerrySpearParanormalRomantics
Twitter:
https://twitter.com/TerrySpear

Wilde & Woolly Bears

http://www.celticbears.com

 

A Bird’s Home

IMG_5831 (640x427)

Before and after pictures of a bird’s home. First, it’s the nest without the bird and I thought it was a dove’s nest as I kept seeing a dove fly out of that tree. But then a couple of days later, I saw a red beak and knew I had mistaken the bird that lived there.

 

cardinal in her nest (640x547)

The cardinal and she just watched me as I drew close enough to take a picture, but tried not to scare her off. I think she’s sitting on her eggs, protecting them from the Easter bunny.

Hope you have a lovely Monday and had a grand Easter weekend!

Terry

www.terryspear.com

Visit to Spring, Texas Arboretum, More Blog Tour Stops, and Video Book Trailers!

Aren’t they pretty? I didn’t think the flowers would be in bloom much. Some weren’t, but many were.   
Plus, the bees were out and my daughter’s deathly afraid of them, having been stung ten times by them when we were on a Girl Scout trip to a zoo once and it made her ill.    
To my surprise, we also saw two snakes, though they had signs all over, warning about them.
And a cardinal also.
Off to a book signing and shopping today. But I wanted to share the links of the places I’m at for the blog tour also!
Okay, off to get ready!!!




SILENCE OF THE WOLF BY TERRY SPEAR – IN STORES MARCH 2014

Life For the Silver Pack Just Got Wilder…
Elizabeth Wildwood has been a longer all her life, ostracized because of her “mixed” half-wolf, half-coyote blood. When she ventures into gray wolf territory on a dangerous quest of her own and his thrown together with the sexiest shifter she’s ever met she begins to wish for the first time that she could be part of a family.
When this unusual shifter female comes into his pack’s territory, it’s Tom Silver’s job to protect her—if only she would let him.
Praise for Silence of the Wolf:
“The outstanding and gripping plot of Spear’s latest installment in the Heart of the Wolf series will appeal to paranormal fans, and romance junkies will take delight in the red-hot love story embedded within.” —RT Book Reviews, 4 Stars

Hawk Fae already out.
)

Jaguar Hunt coming in June.
)

A Hero of a Highland Wolf coming in August.
)
Happy hump day!

 Terry
“Giving new meaning to the term alpha male!”
www.terryspear.com

The Dangers of Yard Work

cardinal side 003

Do you see the elusive cardinal?

Okay, so yesterday was a glorious summery day, wind blowing, warm, beautiful, and I went out to rake. I startled a bunny from the jasmine ground cover as I raked the leaves from it and I swear it looked like a jack rabbit. But it moved so quickly before I had even spied it tear off, that it probably was only a bunny. Jack rabbits have really long ears and legs, and this one looked like one, but I would have had to have really seen more of it to be sure. However, with a road runner here too, it could have been.

So with the eau de skunk permeating the air, I was out raking. The one rake fell apart in my hands. The second worked, but it wasn’t broad enough for me as many leaves as I had to move, and so I went to the third rake, and it blistered my hand.

cardinal side 005

There you have it. I can fight mountain lions, battle snakes, fight for my life in the jungle, or against Highland warriors of old. But go rake some leaves and I’m wounded.

Now, if you read Jaguar Fever, I have where we have a wounded hero and the heroine has to get him some bandages, but all she has are animal bandages. You think I make all this stuff up, right?

So here I am looking for a bandage and what do I find? Toothy shark bandages as they’re ready to take a bite. LOL

Yep, so I now have a blue shark bandage on my hand as I type away. Where I got them from or when, I haven’t a clue.

And that’s my story, and I’m sticking to it.

What are the most fun bandages you’ve ever had? Or do you get those sheer ones so that no one knows you have a boo-boo?

If you want to know if I’m for hire for raking leaves? No. I’ve decided I have a princess’s delicate skin and photography is more my style. Oh, and writing about all this stuff. 🙂

Terry
“Giving new meaning to the term alpha male!”
www.terryspear.com

Is Your World Upside Down?

female cardinal 008 (640x427)

It was a gorgeous day outside and so I sat out on the patio and wrote some, hoping to catch a picture of the birds, but the only one that came close was the female cardinal, usually the most skittish of birds and she sat in a shrub right next to me, but the pictures still didn’t turn out. A big bird, not Big Bird, but some big bird, I figured was a predatory kind, landed in the leafless maple tree. I saw its white breast feathers, that it was big, and then it moved somewhere too high that I couldn’t see it through the trellis, though he continued to yell at me. I was dying to get a shot of it, to see what it was.

The cardinal was on the shrub next to me, watching him, and watching me. She was in between us. But I think she was more worried about the big bird. It was probably a hawk. I see them a lot, but I hadn’t see one in the tree before, just on our electric wires sometimes. Usually they’re quiet. Unless they’re flying around. So I’m still curious.

Here’s the picture that did not turn out of the cardinal. 🙁

female cardinal 001 (640x427)

The top picture is of my upside down world. While I was waiting for a bird to come around so I could take a picture, which of course they wouldn’t, I looked around to see what else I could get a shot of that looked interesting. A reflection of the bird feeders and side of the barn in a puddle of water. It’s like looking into another dimension. Too cool for words, right?

And I’m back to writing on Cougar’s Mate.  I’m at 48,000 and that means only 32,000 to go! See how easy that was? 🙂

Terry

Multi-Tasking

Are you the type of person who has to finish a project from beginning to end? A linear type of person?

When I was playing RPGs, role-playing games, I hated the ones that were super linear. My mind doesn’t work that way. If I get stuck, I’d want to be able to either figure out a different way to solve a puzzle, or be able to solve another and then go back to that one.

That’s how I am with everything. I have a ton of things I’m working on at any given time. I love it when I accomplish something, but I always have several more things take its place.

cardinal eating soggy seeds 014

So the day before yesterday, I worked on The Viking’s Highland Lass and added another 4,000 to it. And yesterday, I made edit changes to Cougar’s Mate, and I just went to town on it. So I ended up writing 6,000 words on it.  This is the story that I threw out 20,000 words of the 30,000 word beginning of the story. 🙂 I saved the “cut outs” because I will be using some of it. But I needed to start over and write it differently. Now it’s working. I do that every once in a while. Write 1/3 to a 1/2 of a book, and then decide I need to go in a different direction. It’s not action packed enough, not enough of a mystery, whatever. 🙂

Sometimes when something isn’t working, and I mean with anything, I take a break and work on something else. Like I took pictures of all the birds in the bird feeders. Yes, I know that one isn’t a bird feeder, but the birds don’t know that, so we’re good.

I would have written more on Cougar’s Mate, but I needed to take a break, so I worked on two bears for a bear order.

Now it’s time to read the last of the Rita books I’m judging.

So do you ever do something different so that you can come back to it and then all of a sudden it all falls into place?

Is it really Tuesday already?

I need more hours in a day.

Terry
“Giving new meaning to the term alpha male!”
www.terryspear.com

 

Bears and Birds and Yes, Books!

Purple Sweater Bear 001 (640x549)

Okay, another bear order, and two more for clan bears. I’ve run out of made up bears and have to start from scratch again!

But I was excited to see the female cardinal finally was eating at one of the feeders. I’m sure that she wouldn’t have liked it if she had known I took a picture of her with her mouth, well, technically beak, full.  cardinal eating on feeder

I’m off to now work on books! 🙂  But the bears are ready to ship to Australia and Kansas!

Have a super great Thursday!

Terry
“Giving new meaning to the term alpha male!”
www.terryspear.com