This week a few things have popped up and surprised me. I’d tell you to stop snickering and get your mind out of the gutter; but you know me too well. So snicker away — I did.
It all started with a pop-up man…
(And now I want to write some flash fiction beginning with that line. That would be ‘flash fiction’ as in ‘an ultra-short story’, not as in ‘fiction about flashers’. And that’s not even a digression, because the pop-up man started with flashers.)
It was dusk. The lights were on in our house and the yard was cloaked in near-darkness. We live in the country so I don’t worry too much about privacy, but I do draw the blinds at night.
So I was heading for the window when I noticed a truck with its flashers on, backed into our driveway outside the gate. I wasn’t unduly surprised because sometimes people do pull into our driveway when they’re lost and need to check their GPS. (Which does them no good at all because we’re out in the middle of nowhere and our road isn’t on any GPS map; but anyway…)
I stood at the window watching the vehicle for a few moments. Then as I reached for the blind cord, a dark-clad man popped up out of the gloom, staring in at me.
He waved. His hand, fortunately.
I must have looked utterly dumbfounded. He gave me a conciliatory smile and waved again, pointing to his clipboard. Yep, the UPS guy had let himself in our gate and come to the front door (which we never use).
I felt more than a bit awkward as I opened the door and stammered a half-assed explanation as to why I’d apparently been standing there gawking brainlessly at him. He seemed happy enough to complete the transaction, but he probably went back to the depot and regaled everyone with the story of this weird creepy broad who stood there staring out at him instead of answering the door.
Next, we were digging the last of our carrots when this popped up:
Hubby speculated that the carrots were mutating into some sort of new ambulatory vegetable. Then we turned it around:
I think he’s happy to see me; in a twisted sort of way…
My last surprise was this guy (or gal — who can tell?):
S/He doesn’t look particularly happy to see me; but since I don’t think eagles are capable of looking pleased, I’m going to pretend s/he’s smiling.
I was sitting outside with my tea when this eagle flew by about ten feet away from me, and only a few feet off the ground. Wow, what a surprise! I’ve never been that close to a wild eagle before. (And after a glimpse of those vicious talons and beak, I don’t want to get much closer.)
Any surprises popped up in your world this week?
Book 15 update: An excellent plotting week! I have the story almost all mapped out now, and I’ve written up to Chapter 18. Aydan just got a big (and pleasant, for a change) surprise!
Author Diane Henders 
The poor guy is crooked…..wonder what the neighboring carrot thought of that??
I’m sure the look you had on your face was a warm and friendly look, not a “You staring at me? ” look…lol I think I would have screamed like a 9 year old girl…I don’t handle those type of surprises well…
And last but not least…the eagle…now that is a stunning capture and true to your word…it was up close and personal. Love it….
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Thanks! It would have been wonderful to have a really good telephoto lens for the eagle shot, but our middle-of-the-road digital camera did a pretty good job considering how far I had to zoom in.
And I’m not sure what the neighbouring carrots thought — they seemed to be averting their gazes… 😉
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Lol…..love It!
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Is there a vegetable pornography museum to which Mr. Carrot Pants can be sent?
Eagles are indeed majestic birds. We have eagles in our neighborhood and it is always a thrill to see one. Our state keeps track of their nesting sites and I keep hoping that I can find the nest and have it recorded. (No luck so far.)
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If a vegetable pornography museum doesn’t already exist, someone should start one. Now there’s an achievement for the ol’ resumé!
I’m pretty sure that “my” eagle is nesting (or thinking about it) nearby. There are some really big trees along the creek to the south of us, and s/he seems to make a commute there every morning. I haven’t spotted a nest yet, but it might be a bit too early — according to my reading they usually nest in January/February. I’ll keep my binoculars peeled! 🙂
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What a great picture of the eagle. You were certainly in the right place at the right time.
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Yes, I really enjoy bird-watching when all I have to do is sit in a chair with my cup of tea and let them come to me. 🙂
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Now that is an interesting looking carrot. The first view looked like a pair of orange pants. And, the backside (front side?), well that was a bit scary. But not as scary – or majestic -probably as that glorious eagle. What an amazing shot you took! I would be happy to see that. Happy plotting!
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Thanks! I was pleased with the plotting I did. For some reason I can only plot half a book at a time: I start off with a general idea of where I want to go, and start writing; and then around the 40-50,000 word mark I have to stop and figure out where the story is really going. And sometimes I have to stop again around 75,000 words to figure out how to tie it all together. Makes for interesting plot twists sometimes… 😉
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Only you would be able to grow such a ‘well endowed’ carrot.
The eagle encounter must have been astounding , if not a bit frightening. Amazing that he/she came so close.
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I guess eagles aren’t too worried about humans as predators. S/he probably compared my soft pink fingers to those talons and thought, “Huh. No threat there.”
And yes, the carrot was definitely an “only in my world” occurrence! 😉
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On Tuesday, a UPS truck delivered a package to my house. It wasn’t anything I ordered, had somebody’s else’s name and address on the label. My wife called UPS to get them to take it back (the address wasn’t even in the same zip code as my house) the asked for the tracking number and said, “Yes we delivered that package and now you have it” Took a bit of work to convince them that they delivered something to the wrong address.
Oh, I did do a map search on the address and best I can tell, that address doesn’t exist in my city. Closes street with that name is a city 10 miles away from where it was dropped off. I guess I could have kept the package, but I really could figure out what I’d do with a hood for a stove.
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Darn, too bad it wasn’t something useful! They don’t seem to admit their mistakes very readily, do they?
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They don’t.
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That carrot needs some serious surgery to have a happy love life 😀
Eagles are truly majestic; I know that’s a cliche but they are so much bigger and flap their wings so much more slowly than lesser birds, it’s amazing to watch them power through the sky. I can easily imagine pterosaurs when I see an eagle flying.
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Yes! Are you a fan of prehistoric critters? I just looked up pterosaurs and discovered to my dismay that they aren’t considered dinosaurs. So much for what I “knew” about pterodactyls. 🙂
The carrot did actually receive some fairly radical surgery; but I’m afraid its love life has been permanently… *ahem* … let’s just say, ‘cut short’.
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So, not commenting about carrots, having raised a few really odd mutants myself.
The bald eagle was wonderful. We helped out at a wildlife rehab centre. It’s hard to grasp just how massive these birds are… until you help feed 12 to 15 of them in an outdoor cage the size of a barn. We were inside with the eagles, with them warily and intensely watching us fill their food troughs and giving them fresh water in their ‘pond’. The females grow to be 35″ to 37″ tall, with wingspans of 72″ to 90″ and males are slightly smaller at 30″ to 34″ tall, wingspans of 72″ to 90″. I’m 5’5″ and they were literally up to my waist. And ‘eagle eye’ is a very accurate term when they are all staring very intently at the humans working in their space. (I was concerned they were sizing us up for dinner!) I’m pretty sure they NEVER smile.
Being with them was amazing, and scary!
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That’s 72 to 85″ wingspan for the males.
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When I hold my arms out to the sides, my ‘wingspan’ is about 72″. Those birds are bigger than me! Mind: BOGGLED! And those cold eyes surmounted by that frowning brow ridge… *shudders* You’re very brave to have gone into a cage with a dozen of them!
(By the way, those ‘eagle eyes’ were the inspiration for bad-guy Nicholas Parr in Books 7 and 8!) 🙂
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Oh, now I have to go back & read 7+8 again to get the full picture of Nicholas!
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Carrots (and other fruit and vegies) doing their own thing don’t ever make it to supermarket shelves. Another joy that city children (and those with child-like minds) miss out on.
Our delivery people are mostly pretty good. When they arrive they frequently spook the birds at our feeders and most of them apologise profusely.
Seeing an eagle would make my day. From a suitably awed safe distance.
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It made my day, too! The eagle flew by almost close enough to touch, and then obligingly perched on a nearby tree for nearly ten minutes so I could take his picture. (Rather like a movie star tolerating paparazzi.)
And wouldn’t it be fun if the supermarkets started carrying freakish veggies? It might even make kids more excited about eating healthily. Or it might traumatize them for life. Could go either way… 😉
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I suspect that many (small boys in particular) would develop a new found love of veggies.
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That carrot is….ummm…interesting to say the least! I guess it’s no worse than when my better half asks me to buy her a cucumber from the fruit market, and she has to endure my asking what she intends on using it for. (Get your mind out of the gutter here…I’m thinking snack vs. salad. Need oil with that? 😁)
Our favorite zoo has some foster eagles they rescued with injuries, and they appear to be permanent residents. That is about the closest I’ve seen them. Where I live, we’re squarely in suburbia, yet I still see a few rarities. We once had a red-tailed hawk perched up on the utility wires for a half hour, staring into our backyards. It later occurred to me that the hawk probably saw one of the rats, and hung around for a snack. The neighbor next door also told me she caught a blue heron raiding their fish pond in the backyard. We are only a mile from a major lake (Lake St. Clair), and not too far away, we have a large metropark that is known to be in the migratory path of many bird species, and there are certain weeks out of the year that they can be spotted.
All we wish here is for Canada to take back all of these geese… 😕
Enjoy the mutant carrot!
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The mutant carrot was very tasty. *insert dirty joke here* 🙂 And your comment about the cucumber made me laugh! (Oil, please.)
Sorry about the geese — they’re not exactly our ideal ambassadors. We have a lot of them around here, too; and we also have quite a few blue herons. Mostly they hang out at the ocean shore, but we had one here a couple of months ago scoping out our new pond. I guess there weren’t enough tasty critters in it yet, because the heron moved on. Maybe next year; although I’m not sure I want that big pointy beak jabbing at our rubber pond liner!
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I figure it is always a good thing to be friends, or at least on good terms, with your delivery people. That way they tend to not leave your packages in the mud, etc.
I used to rehab eagles and other raptors and can say from personal experience that you do not want the beak or especially the talons to come in contact with your soft, puncturable flesh. The talons won’t stop until they hit bone or come out the other side. It hurts either way.
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Brrr! Nope, I didn’t have ANY desire to have that eagle come and perch on my arm.
I was actually quite impressed that the UPS guy came all the way up to the house. Usually they just dump packages on the driveway; and if they’re feeling particularly generous they’ll give the package a kick so it scoots under the gate and ends up on our side. But this guy was motivated: The package was C.O.D. 😉
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