beetle update

Beetle update: For four days, I went out and was catching between a dozen and two dozen beetles. Today the number dropped down to six. The heat wave is here so I'm not sure if that is because the temperature change affected the insects, or if I finally got to the point where I've gotten most of them, and I'll only find the newly hatched ones from here on out. Or, maybe it was just an off day and tomorrow might spike up again.

I also saw the first Japanese beetle today. Those always go to devour my yellow roses. So, I'll be out policing both my asparagus patch and my yellow rose plant now.

vocabulary quiz

An interesting vocabulary quiz is here:

http://my.vocabularysize.com/

I know my fellow writers are always thinking about words and using words, and exploring language, so it might be something of interest, and it only takes a few minutes.

Honorable Mention!

The story I submitted for the Impact Anthology-- "Low Tech Impact" -- made Honorable Mention! This makes me feel pretty incredible. :)

Link: https://www.facebook.com/groups/qsfdiscussions/permalink/919242298222715/

beetle battles continues

I was out again finding beetles on my asparagus. I've made a good bit of progress, but this is going to be something that won't end for a long, long time. Of course, while I was fighting the good fight, a mosquito found my ankle and now I have a very itchy bite. The bug world, man, they always get the upper hand, don't they?

beetles!

Yesterday I discovered to my great dismay that two different kinds of asparagus beetles have invaded my small asparagus patch. There were really disgusting larvae all over the ferns. I've been out dealing with them most of today and a good bit of yesterday. Here's a quick page on what they look like:
https://www.extension.umn.edu/garden/insects/find/asparagus-beetles/

I've got both beetles in my garden this year. Last year, no beetles whatsoever! (That I noticed.)

So gross.

It takes 3 years at least to get an asparagus bed established. I really hope this doesn't mean that I won't get anything from my bed next spring. There's really nothing quite like super fresh asparagus.

Damn you, Beetles!

fic: Better Business Culture

Wow, tonight I actually get a breather from all the To-Dos that I have on a list. I thought since I had a few minutes, that it was time I shared the other ficlet I wrote for the Queer Sci-Fi flash fic contest, but ultimately decided wasn't quite strong enough to be the one submitted. (Since the one I did submit got accepted, I feel I chose well!)

Here's the original info for the contest: https://queerscifi.com/flash-contest-rules/

This is still just roughed out. There's a core idea, but I didn't do the heavy editing where I agonize over each word. Enjoy!

Better Business Culture

"Remember what it was like before?" Maxine nodded toward the buzzing area of activity.

Her employees bowed their heads in front of computer screens, some creating code, while others brainstormed ideas in pod-areas, their ideas taking shape in the air, formed by their words and a text-to-laser graphic app. She couldn't hear the main office since her windows were thick sound-proof glass, but she could watch while she had the glass-tint lowered. It let everyone know she was available, if needed.

"Before we got rid of Gwen?" Carla thumbed through a file. "Positively dispirited."

"Odd how it wasn't the main bosses, but one high level analyst that set the tone." Maxine thought back on their take-over. They'd charged up through the ranks, biding time until they could implement their ideas and change the stagnant, antediluvian culture.

"With her gone, people came out of their shells. Not afraid to make suggestions, offer opinions, be creative."

"Jamal and Eric started dating a week after she left. Amber put up photos of her wife and kids."

"Pat stopped hiding zir nature and dressed the way ze wanted."

"And we made 150% profit two years out, from the energy and drive they put in."

"Don't forget the overtime. Suddenly they all didn't hate being here."

"Just goes to show, sometimes a rotten apple does spoil the bunch."

"First get rid of all the haters."

Maxine rubbed her hands together and activated the widow-tint completely. "Now it's time for the next item on our impact list."

Queer Sci Fi: Impact (I made the list!)

https://www.facebook.com/groups/qsfdiscussions/permalink/903386176474994/

Check out the link to see the official post, with all the many stories that made it into the new flash fiction anthology that Queer SciFi is doing this year.

My flash fiction made the list this year!

The title is "Low Tech Impact" -- and I'm really happy about this. I've had a busy year with things that have taken me away from writing (as evidenced by my drift away from social media for a little bit) and finding the time to write the flash fiction was a small struggle at the time, and now I'm so glad that I made the extra effort. It feels really, really good to be included with so many other spectacular writers. It keeps me *feeling* like a writer. And I know that soon I will be getting back to writing more often, just as soon as the pesky stuff in life is dealt with.