Related posts:

1. Creature Thoughts: July 2010
2. Creature Thoughts (May 2010)
3. Creature Thoughts, August 2009

Many years ago, two friends, with whom I was moderating another internet e-mail dog list, wanted to start one just for Juniors.  They asked me if I wanted to help.  Being a mom as well as a dog owner, I was glad to join them.  I love to see young people learning about animals.  I love to see kids who love animals doing things to strengthen their bond with them.  I love to think that our world will become a kinder place because youngsters are working and playing peacefully along side their fellow beings, human and non-human.

I think of getting to know an animal, in many ways, as learning a new language, a new culture.  As a person deeply respects an animal for who that animal truly is, they broaden their own view of the world, and begin to enjoy a new, more expansive, perspective. To me, Junior Showmanship is one way for young people to do just that.  In order to be a good dog handler, you must learn to live in the dog’s head.  You have to learn to read his body language, be observant of stress levels, and develop a means of communicating with your dog that is subtle and complete.  By starting out young, junior handlers literally grow up “bilingual”, and enter adulthood with a skilled and deep knowledge of what it is like to be a true friend and partner with another species.

To me, that’s pretty darned cool.

So, I said “yes”, and within a few months found myself the primary list owner of JrShow-L.  The list was very active initially, and I was inspired daily by the enthusiasm and love these kids had for their dogs and for the sport of dog shows.  That inspiration, to a writer, will inevitably find its way out in the form of words, and I began jotting down the first draft of The Corpse That Wasn’t There way back then.  It must have been the late 1990s.  Though I finished the draft, and brought it back out for various revisions, I didn’t seriously market it until years later.

My dream with the Junior Handlers Mystery Series is to continue to explore and encourage the bond between young people and animals.  I’ll be doing so in many forms, as I mingle that exploration into the threads of mystery.  The second book, which we hope to have ready for readers in 2011, weaves the theme of wildlife rehabilitation into the story.  While dog shows and Junior Showmanship are Ree, Jake and Stacy’s primary love in the animal world, we’ll be joining them as they learn about animals from many angles, and help to solve a variety of puzzles with the ever-puzzled Detective Aaron.

And through it all, of course, we’ll have good old Merlin — our psychic Saluki friend!

Related posts:

1. The Corpse That Wasn’t There — E-Book Available Now!
2. The Corpse That Wasn’t There, Coming Soon!
3. My Amazon Author Page

Amazon informed me this morning that my Author Page is online and accessible.

http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B003XJHLBG

Although the paperback version of The Corpse That Wasn’t There is not yet ready for purchase, there is a link to the Kindle version on that page.  In addition, if you go to the book’s Smashwords page, you can purchase it for any other eBook format.  I’m still waiting for word that it’s cleared the queue for Barnes and Noble, so I can purchase a direct copy for my nook.

My publisher tells me it’s only a matter of weeks before the paperback shipment comes in and they can mark it available on Amazon.com.  Once it’s “live”, you’ll be sure to hear about it (probably without me even having to write a post, LOL).

With each small step forward, I have to pinch myself, to try to register that this is for real.

To say that I’m excited about the publication of this book is a major understatement.  Though I have been a writer for decades, and have been published in short story and magazine format, this is my first novel-length book.  For many years, I had a wonderful agent who was circulating my novels amongst the major publishers, but it was at a time when “no one was buying fantasy”, and that was what I was writing … young adult fantasy.

It was shortly after I sort of left the writing arena, or at least the “desperate to market my writing arena”, that Harry Potter hit the shelves.

Timing was never my long suit.

This particular book has always been a labor of love.  Many years ago, with two friends who had already been running another list with me, I started an email discussion group for Junior Handlers, JrShow-L.  This was in the mid 1990s, and The Corpse That Wasn’t There was actually written, in first (second, third, fourth….) draft form during the heyday of that list, I believe around 1997 or ’8.  It sat quietly on my various hard drives for years, was moved from computer to computer as I upgraded, was revived briefly in a casual ebook form in ’03, and then went back into hibernation.

Then, when I was approached by two different people at the same time, saying that they were both starting independent publishing companies, one of those people…my dear, long-time friend (and, in the past, close writing comrade) Judy Simpson specifically asked about “my Junior Handler story”.

We were all set to fly with that, when dear Judy passed from this world, and Lost Bard Books folded.

In grief, I considered letting the idea fold with it.  However, remembering the other offer, I contacted them, knowing that Judy believed in this story.  For her, I took a chance.

It has been absolutely wonderful working with Fehrman Books … almost as good as it was with Judy.  I feel like I’m still working with Judy, in fact, as I talk to her, tell her aloud and in my heart about each step of progress, and I have dedicated the book to her memory, and to her friendship.  Cherie, the key editor and one of the senior publishing partners, is also a friend, and shares my love of animals.  The chance to open this story up to young readers, in the hopes that it will help to encourage the bond between kids and animals in some way, has been a great blessing. The fact that Fehrman Books donates a portion of all proceeds to animal welfare causes is just the icing on the cake.

Now, we’ve got a book!  So far, it’s an eBook, but very soon, I’ll hold the bound paperback in my hands.  When I do, I’ll raise it to the heavens and shout from the mountainside (I really do live on a mountainside, by the way) … “Judy!  This one’s for YOU!”

Related posts:

1. The Corpse That Wasn’t There — E-Book Available Now!
2. Lost Bard Books and My Novel
3. A Little Background on ‘Corpse’

Completed Aviary

Although the door no longer sports the historical “Chicken Little Lanai” sign, said sign is actually mounted on the side of the aviary, and the restoration work is done.  Note the inventive sliding glass door … an old window my husband found in the shed and recycled.  The entire inside of the aviary is secured with 1/4″ hardware cloth, bungee cords and branches are strung and scattered about for perches, a neat table/shelf is set up for food and water dishes, and the Starlings and Grackle have taken up residence.

The birds have been outside for about a week now, and are doing extremely well.  Birdies and home have stood up nicely to several rather raucous thunder storms without any problems.  In fact, one storm hit in the middle of the night, and I stood for some time, with rain pouring down and lightning flashing around me, under the car port in my jammies just making sure the birds were safe.

They slept through the storm.

At first, we tried putting the three little House Finches in with the others.  However, after an hour or so, one Finch had lost several tail feathers to the naughty Starlings.  I sent my six-foot-three inch son, who despite the added height still bends better than his old mother does, in to rescue the little ones.  The Finches are now spending days in their reptarium out on our front deck under the shade awning, and I’m searching for additional ideas for a safe release for them.  Fortunately, we have House Finches coming to the feeders out front, so they’re becoming acquainted with others of their species.

Several of the Starlings

The six Starlings are overjoyed by their new location.  They have lots of room to stretch their wings, and took right away to the feeding station and perches.  There are ledges, front and back, up under the roof where it’s most sheltered, and they seem to like to roost there at night, while the Grackle takes the x-shaped bungee cord perch in the enclosed corner of the cage.

Today, for the first time that I was able to observe, I sat for a while beside the aviary and watched the Starlings drop to the floor of the cage.  They were wandering about in shavings, prying with their beaks as “real Starlings” do in the grass, cleaning up cat food crumbles and dried mealworms that had been dropped from the feeding station.  I even watched one find himself a real live beetle of some sort, beat it against the floor, and then manage to lose it again before he ate it.  He’ll learn, though.  They’re really coming along beautifully!

Kelly, the federal migratory bird rescuer whom I apprentice with, stopped by (with a baby Eastern Phoebe, who is still in my laundry room with the Barn Swallow who came for a visit last month and stayed) the day I’d put the birds outside.  She said they all looked very happy, and I must agree.  They’d truly outgrown the indoor quarters, and they really are enjoying the chance to be birds in a safe environment, learning the ins and outs of being, well, out instead of in!

My Grackle Friend

The Grackle is also doing very well.  I was a wee bit concerned about him, actually, as he is a strange little fellow who seemed alternately to hate me and depend on me.  However, he’s taken to the outdoor digs in a great way, holds his own against those rowdy Starlings, and seems to be having a grand old time.  Four times a day, when I bring out fresh food and water, he is the first to hit the dishes and fill up on mealworms, sift through his favorite seed mix for peanuts, and drink the fresh, clean water before the Starlings have a chance to bathe in it.  He’s such a funny bird, curious and comical, and I enjoy watching his antics as he explores perches, sifts through the cat food looking for mealworms, and stands with his head upside down to get a better view of the surface of the water in the big dish.

Although it took a while, and I got the birds outdoors much later than I’d hoped to do, they’ve adjusted just fine.  I don’t think they’ll have any problem at all when time comes to release them.  I’ll be setting up feeding stations outside the cage before that happens, in addition to the ones out front that are already frequented by the wild birds.  The rescues will have a continual supply of fresh water, and all the foods they’re used to eating, as they spread their wings and learn to find goodies in the wild.  I’m seeing wild Grackles, Starlings and House Finches all over the area, so I don’t think they’ll have any problem at all locating their own kind, and integrating.

Life’s good, when you’re a bird at the top of Gridley Hill.

Related posts:

1. Baby Bird Season, ’010 (And Then There Were Ten)
2. Baby Birds Grow So Fast!
3. It’s Baby Bird Season

Exciting News!

My mid-grade novel, the first book in the Junior Handlers Mystery Series, is now available as an e-book! Very soon, readers will also be able to purchase paperback copies as well, through FehrmanBooks.com and Amazon.com.
For now, visit the ebook download page for The Corpse That Wasn’t There:

http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/18463

Where you can download samples for free, and purchase the book in various electronic formats.

If you prefer to read your books in paperback format, the wait will be over soon!

About The Corpse That Wasn’t There:

Kids, dogs, and special dog show classes just for youngsters: what could be more fun? Try adding a psychic Saluki hound with a nose for trouble, a mysterious body that appears and disappears, a dark, spooky museum, and an exciting police chase through the night! Ages 8-12 ; kids have fun while learning about dog shows.

Related posts:

1. Lost Bard Books and My Novel
2. The Corpse That Wasn’t There, Coming Soon!
3. A Little Background on ‘Corpse’

Keeping in touch with the animals…

…and the people who love them

… are they a’changin’?

This month’s newsletter is going to be more of a newsy issue, and a reflection on some proposed changes, than the usual animal-oriented type.

I am considering a bit of a change in the services I offer. I haven’t actually made a decision yet, but to see how people feel about it, I’ve updated the poll on gazehound.com and would love for everyone to pay the site a visit and express their opinion of the matter. It’s located in the left hand menu column, and should prove a very quick-click visit.

In the past couple of months, I have had a number of my clients, people who are in no way connected to one another, ask me the same question: “Do you also do people readings?” My answer to date has been to say no, and to relay how, although my training actually began in the “regular” psychic development field, I decided after some time to specialize in animal readings. I find it very interesting that, in the last ten or so years, that question had not come up more than once or twice. Now, in a couple months’ time, I’ve had four or five requests for the same thing. After, once again, someone posed the question, I chuckled and made a comment along the lines of, “You’re the fifth person to ask me that same thing lately,” and the person replied, “Don’t you think the Universe is trying to tell you something?”

Then, in late June, I had the privilege of doing readings at our local psychic fair at the Native American Spiritualist Community Chapel. Though I was booked primarily as an animal communicator, only two people requested animal readings … the rest of my guests were all “regular people readings”. It felt good to help the lovely folks who came to my table in that way. On the way home, while looking back on the day, I again couldn’t help wondering if the Universe was knocking at my door.

One of the options on the poll is “need more information”, so I thought I’d use this issue of the newsletter to provide that.

Should I begin to take on “people readings”, I would always be primarily an animal communicator. Nothing would change there, my heart has always been to strengthen the bond between people and their animal companions. “People readings” would follow the same pattern of prices, guarantees, discounts and disclaimers as the animal readings. Of course all regular readings would also come with the added standard disclaimer that they are “for entertainment purposes only”, which is required in most states, as psychics are most often not trained counselors. I would probably not broadly advertise these readings, simply accept those that fate sends my way. As to the format of the readings, I would try to fit them into the same format(s) my animal communication clients are familiar with, with the addition that I may ask if the person minds if, should I be so inspired, I occasionally pull a tarot card or use other tools that help my focus my intuition. In addition, if the person making the request is someone I know too well, and I feel I may not be able to get a clean reading for them, I may refer them to someone else whose talents I trust. That said, the process may adapt as time goes on and the need arises. And, of course, your thoughts and suggestions will always be welcome.

So please visit the website, and cast your vote. The desires of my animal friends’ favorite humans are going to be the main deciding factor in whether my services change in the near future.

And Another Change…?

In addition to the above, I have recently been experimenting with a method of recording “phone” sessions. I’m only able to do this using my computer as the “phone”, so some changes in the way these sessions, which would be optional, would progress would be necessary. I would call the client via my computer, should they opt to receive this extra service. As said, the process is still in the experimental stages … but I hope to make the choice available in the near future. There will probably be a small extra charge to cover expenses should the plan work out. So, as they say, “watch this space….”

Free Help For Our Animal Friends at NELR

Northeast Llama Rescue and Barnyard Sanctuary and New York Wildlife Rescue (an IRS 501(c)(3) charity) accept Paypal donations through their website at http://www.redmaplefarm.net. In addition, we have a totally painless (and free) way for anyone to support the care of the animals we rescue. If you sign up to shop online through iGive.com, at no cost to you, every purchase you make through the iGive gateway will earn a donation for the animals.
To sign up to shop through iGive for NYWRC:

http://www.igive.com/NYWildlifeRescueCenter

And even if you don’t sign up (but why would anyone not sign up since it’s free and painless?), you can still earn money with each internet search you do simply by logging in to the iGive search engine rather than Google or whichever other search engine you normally use:

http://www.isearchigive.com/NYWildlifeRescueCenter

================================

Gayle Nastasi (of Gazehound’s Animal Communication) is a professional animal communication consultant and writer, who hopes her connection to the animal world can serve as a way to help her fellow humans enrich their relationships with their animal companions. By better knowing our non-human friends, we ensure a kinder future for our world and we learn what it means to be a unique and essential part of all that is. Permission is given to forward this article to anyone you feel might enjoy it, as long as it is understood that copyrights are held by Gayle Nastasi, and the author’s name, and links to her website(s) are left intact. If this publication has been forwarded to you and you would like to subscribe to Gazehound’s free monthly e-newsletter, “Creature Thoughts”, just visit the newsletter link below.

Related posts:

1. Creature Thoughts August 2010
2. Creature Thoughts: July 2009
3. Creature Thoughts (May 2010)

It’s a good bird, a nice bird.  Strangely enough, a relatively quiet bird (compared to the starlings).  I know most people’s experience with Common Grackles would not include the word “quiet” in the description, but in this case it applies.  I like the bird.

I like it better now that it is finally, after weeks and weeks–weeks long beyond the time that its parents would have left it behind–eating on its own.  I’m not totally sure yet that it’s eating enough to sustain, so I’m still spoon feeding a couple times a day just to supplement.  However, it seems to be doing well.  It does like to float food in its water dish rather than eat it, which is a Grackle Thing.  It would much rather eat junk food (dehydrated mealworms) than its balanced diet.  But at least it’s eating.

Still, I can’t wait to get the Grackle, those three nice little House Finches, and that sixpack of Starlings outside into the soft-release cage.

Ah, yes, the cage.  It’ll be great when it’s finished, but “finished” may be a long way off.  Did I tell you all about the cage?  Thanks to Wes and NY Wildlife Rescue Center, I now have, sitting in my back yard, a nice little piece of history.  Those readers who grew up in and around New York state may recognize it, in fact.  One friend even told me she’s pretty sure she has a photo somewhere of herself as a child standing in front of the thing.

The Catskill Game Farm was, for generations, a stand-out vacation spot for New York families.  I spent many hours there, and there are reams of old slides in this house to preserve the memories.  Several years ago, the farm closed down, and the owners auctioned off all of the equipment, rides, cages, and even the animals.  The Catskill Game Farm is no more.  However, Wes managed to get ahold of two of the poultry cages.  This one was the better preserved of the two.

That makes me wonder what the other one looks like.  The more we look at this cage as we attempt repairs, the more we realize needs to be done.  Last night, between jobs, my hubby spent an hour or so replacing several of the bottom support boards.  He’ll be building that up so that it’s level and putting in a new floor over the one that’s there.  The problem turns out to be that much of the wood is so rotted, it will not hold the new hardware cloth we’ll have to install to make the cage safe for songbirds.  The door will also need to be replaced, as it’s rotted at the corners to a point that little birds like my finches will easily be able to either escape or hang themselves trying.  The door issue can be temporarily remedied by hanging raptor netting inside the opening, which would have to be done anyway to prevent escapes while feeding and watering, but it’s not really the most secure solution.

Initially, we’d thought that just coating the wire on the inside with 3 or 4 gauge (1/3″ or 1/4″ gauge) hardware cloth would be all it needed to make it into a songbird release cage.  Not so.

We’re picking up supplies as needed, though having a time finding the smaller gauge hardware cloth.  Many stores have half-inch.  However, in the past, I’ve seen a goldfinch strangle itself on half-inch wire; their little heads are tinier than they look under those pretty feathers.  I’d definitely prefer not to re-build the entire cage with what’s readily available only to have to re-do the whole thing after losing a bird because I rushed the repairs.

It will be worth the effort, though, and it feels really nice to have a piece of history–a piece of my own childhood–sitting in my yard.  I’ll definitely be adding to the sanctuary, creating larger aviaries in addition to this one, but it’ll be a nice start once it’s bird-worthy.

For the future, I rather like the portable cage plans found on StFrancisWildlife.org.  I can see my yard housing several of these nice aviaries, large enough for even the bigger songbirds.  They seem simple enough to build (once again, if one can locate a supply of quarter-inch hardware cloth), and very serviceable.  They can easily be adapted for other animals, as well.  They would make great squirrel cages.  Not that I’d be rehabbing squirrels (see my recent post on the subject, ::smiles::).

By the time it’s finally done, perhaps the Grackle will be wholly self-feeding.

Would you like to help get things up and running?  Wes and NY Wildlife Rescue Center have been a godsend to my birdie hopes.  It was he who showed up with the Game Farm cage, they who made sure we had a safe dog yard when we moved into this house recently, and they always seem to come through with support, work efforts and funds when needs arise.  Please visit their website and leave a donation.  If you like, you can let them know it’s a ‘thank you’ for helping out with the songbirds.

In addition, if you know of a good hardware cloth supplier in the general area of Schoharie County, NY, please let me know. Tractor Supply Co. and Agway are local sellers of bird supplies, and both offer gift cards (the former can be purchased online), as well.  Both NY Wildlife and I do a lot of our shopping for the birds and wildlife in those locations.

Also, by shopping Duncraft, a fantastic supplier of goodies for wild bird enthusiasts, through the ads on this website, small donations will gradually accrue and all of those funds will be used to support our wild songbird rescue program.

Related posts:

1. Baby Birds Grow So Fast!
2. Birdie Updates and an Occupied Aviary
3. Baby Bird Season, ’010 (And Then There Were Ten)

One of Darcy's rescues, "Chipper"

My friend Darcy rescues squirrels.  She takes them in as little orphans, raises them lovingly, prepares them for the wild, and then releases them so they can be “real squirrels” again.  Unlike her husband Wes, who does not name wildlife (this has sort of become a running joke, perpetuated by the likes of “Oscar”, “Deja Vu”, “One-Eyed Susie”, etc), she gives each squirrel a name…and it amazes me that Darcy can actually tell them apart.

My thoughts on squirrels?  “Better her than me”.

Oh, they’re cute.  They’re energetic, lively, resilient, funny little beings.  They have unbounded energy, and one can’t help but respect their enthusiasm for life.  However, I have a bone to pick with squirrels.

You see, my rescue love, wildlife-style, anyway, is baby songbirds.  In order to release them properly, I need to keep secure feeding stations filled, so that the little ones can have plenty of sustenance available as they learn to find their wild foods in the area.

This has been made more of a challenge than necessary…thanks to squirrels.

Every morning, I take two one pound coffee cans full of seed out to my front feeders–the good stuff, too.  It’s the kind with less waste, that includes goodies like dried cherries and peanuts and raisins.  It’s the expensive stuff, as I want to make sure my birdies have a wide variety of good things to eat.  I fill those front yard feeders, and an hour later…they’re empty.

I run back and forth, scolding and chasing, but the little beasties just keep coming.  Although I probably have more than just the three, and some of what I’m seeing may of course be different squirrels, the ones I’ve spoken to, anyway, appear to be a pair of red squirrels and a single very large and extremely fluffy gray.

You know, if the squirrels were actually eating the food, I don’t think I’d mind it as much.  They’re not, though.  They’re hoarding it.  I mean, come on, three squirrels can’t possibly eat, or even remotely require, two one pound cans full of bird seed every morning.  The red squirrels tell me they have babies (oh that’s just wonderful, more squirrels to feed) but heck, they could be feeding their babies, their siblings, their first, second and third cousins, and their late Uncle Pete’s third wife’s sister in law’s entire extended family–and still have three fourths of that seed left over every day.

Even hoarding that much seed is useless.  It would rot months before they got to eat it all, and probably long before they’ll even need to tap into their stores this coming winter.

Now, you know me.  You know I’d never hurt an animal.  You know I love all wild creatures.  But I have to confess, these squirrels are pretty darned frustrating.  The red squirrels insist they need the food for the babies.  When I try to convince the gray squirrel he’s taking more than he needs, he simply cannot wrap his mind around the thought that there is such a thing as “more than he needs”.   He just brushes me off and goes on his little obsessive-compulsive pathological hoarder’s way.  I recall, when studying Native American philosophy, lessons about the wild brethren and how they take only what they need and do not waste the earth’s resources.

All respect intended, but I have a feeling the teacher who penned that lesson never met a squirrel.

I’m paying through the nose for really good, expensive bird seed…and the darned squirrels are stuffing their cheeks, over and over again, and throwing it away!

I’ve tried various deterrents.  So far the squirrels have figured them all out.  They get around the barriers–and those squirrel proof bird feeders that close the ports when the squirrel steps on the bar?  Those only work for gray squirrels to start with, as if you set them sensitive enough for red squirrels they also close on the blue jays and cardinals and doves.  As to the gray squirrels, the feeders only work until the squirrel figures out all he has to do is sit on the roof of the feeder and hold on to the edge.  Then he can lean over and snick the seeds through the ports.

I’ve tried feeding “squirrel foods” of various kinds.  They like the expensive bird seed mix better (who wouldn’t? With all those cherries and peanuts, it smells good enough for me to eat!)

For a while, I was refilling feeders in the afternoons, but that just gave the squirrels twice as much food to waste.  When I release my rescue babies, I’ll be setting up more feeders in the back yard as well…no doubt the squirrels will enjoy that tremendously.

Before starting this post, I had just loaded up my container of seed, and gone out to fill the feeders for the day.  As I stepped out onto the front deck, a blur of fur ducked under the big spruce trees near the feeders:  a gray squirrel, two red squirrels…and a pair of chipmunks.

Great.  Just bleepin’ great.  They’ve invited the neighbors.

Related posts:

1. Baby Bird Season, ’010 (And Then There Were Ten)
2. Baby Birds Grow So Fast!
3. Birds and Bird Sanctuaries

cover art by Jen Hawkyard

There isn’t much in this world more exciting to a writer than seeing that first novel in print.  Well, maybe giving birth to a new child, or a long-awaited litter of puppies or kittens or a foal, or winning the lottery….

Nah, not even winning the lottery would be more exciting.

I was chatting with my publisher today, after looking over the final pre-publication documents for The Corpse That Wasn’t There, the first novel in the Junior Handlers Mystery Series.  The final documents look great, and the book will be heading right to the printer.  I’m told we should see proofs in about 6 weeks, and will probably be looking at a publication date early in the fall.

I guess “I can’t wait” would be redundant, wouldn’t it?

Feel free to click the cover image to visit the website of the talented illustrator behind the art, and to follow this link to visit Fehrman Books.

I’ll be posting updates as the publication date draws near, and you can be assured that there will be links to the book made available once it’s been released!

Related posts:

1. The Corpse That Wasn’t There — E-Book Available Now!
2. A Little Background on ‘Corpse’
3. Lost Bard Books and My Novel

Serenity

Silence
A peace within
Without
Soft sighs that stir the air

Breeze
Gentle wind ruffles my hair
Scents of dew on the grass
A rustle, a movement
Tiny bird in the branches
Of a twisted cedar

Sunshine
Warms my back
Soaks into my skin
My face I raise
In praise

Song
Lilting robin whistles
Grackle chucks
A trill of thrush
Mockingbird mimics
In time with the breeze

Ripples
Stream’s music
Down the hillside
It dances, races
The stones it caresses
Build a song
That echoes through me

Green
Of emerald of lime
Of chartreuse and pine
Leaves, grass
The subtle shade of the horizon
As dusk grows near

Circle
A shield of peace
Surrounds, enfolds
Outside chaos
Inside control
Where no pain may touch
My heart.  Safe.

In serenity.

===========

The RAOKA mission seeks to remind us that Random Acts of Kick Arse happen all around us. The concept was begun by Sami, of Life, Laughs and Lemmings. Each month, a member of Sami’s RAOKA groupies picks a new theme to focus our attention on something positive and good in this world.

On the first Wednesday of the month (or Thursday for you folks living on the other half of this world) we all post about what we’ve observed.

May’s theme for RAOKA will be “Serenity”, chosen by Zeenat of Positive Provocations!

Please visit the other RAOKA members and enjoy their thoughts on the theme of the month:
Lance at Jungle of Life
Lori at Jane Be Nimble
Zeenat at Positive Provocations

[logo designed by Melissa at Operation Nice]

Related posts:

1. RAOKA for April: Family
2. RAOKA for January: Gratitude
3. RAOKA for March: Laughter