a castle of your own

i always find castles inspiring. since everyone has their own taste in castles, i thought i'd post a few that i'd found.

and then there's the castle i use for my novels-- Conwy Castle in the town of Conwy, Aberconwy & Colwyn, north Wales... (which is ironic because when i first made a map of my fictional country Teleria, i based it off of Wales. i didn't pick the castle until later, and i didn't know it was a Welsh castle until much later.)

once upon a tree

randomness

-- my driveway goes between these two huge Douglas Fir trees. i love it. just 6 or 7 more months and i'll get to live there.

-- wind really does make a difference in temperature. 30 degrees and wind is worse than 20 degrees with no wind.

-- i never thought i'd see icicles on my car.

-- or on my mailbox.

-- for the first time, i'm enjoying editing. at least this week.

-- reading great fiction usually makes me go, "my story is garbage." this time it inspired me to do better. and edit.

-- you can't have too many fleece blankets when you live in Montana. even in summer.

-- facebook makes the world smaller. i've been chatting with a new friend from Italy. what fun.

between a rock and a...hoodoo

this is a collapsed hoodoo (a rock formation caused by differential resistance to erosion, meaning that the top part of the hoodoo is harder than the bottom, so the bottom erodes faster). my husband and i call them mushroom rocks. this one is along Highway 89A, leading to the north rim of the Grand Canyon. to give you perspective, the larger boulder was about three times my height. 


here's one that hasn't eroded yet.



 i'm not sure how inspiring these are, but i might use them for another setting in my book. (still debating.)

out for a walk

where do you suppose these trails go?

a place to explore

i took both of these pictures when i was at the Glen Eyrie Writer's retreat in 2010.

go climb a tree

another interesting setting i'm using.

Mesa Verde

i found this for a scene in my sequel, Black Heart

mirror, mirror