Beady Eyes in the Trees:
what the fuck is that?
So, the other night, my wife and I were taking the dogs out and I had on my headlamp, as usual
I always look around first, just in case. Not only have there been reports of coyotes trotting down our street, but we have all kinds of critters in the area, because we are surrounded by wooded areas– Possums, raccoons, foxes, armadillos….and I’m just cautious that way. I don’t like walking into a dark area, or having the dogs do that, without knowing what’s out there.
Anyhoo….I was waiting, and sweeping my light around the trees, and noticed some beady eyes looking back at me.
I kept staring.
Yes. Those were eyes. They blinked at me, and they moved around.
“Hey baby,” I said. “There’s something up there in that tree.” I watched closely and it moved a little, but I couldn’t make out what it was. “Probably a squirrel.” I went inside to fetch my camera, because I hoped the zoom would help out and I could get a photo of this critter.
I kept taking shots and kept getting either blurry photos (because it was hard to look straight up and hold the camera still on zoom) and weird shapes. At first, I thought it was a bat. But the color was all wrong, unless we had albino bats.
As I checked the camera screen for the first clear photo, I said, “What the fuck is that?”
She came over to look. “Weird.”
Then, I thought maybe a baby possum. But that seemed wrong too. “It really looks most like a hamster.”
Melissa laughed.
“What? Haven’t you ever heard of a tree hamster?” (I’ve come up with weirder things. In my book, Quintessence, I mention a Tree Squid.)
We both took turns taking shots and resting our necks, and finally, we got a much better angle and a clear picture, and said, “It looks like a flying squirrel.”
Sure enough. That’s what it was.
I’ve never seen a flying squirrel in person–only in pictures. And I never thought we had them around here.
I hope he stays. I’d love to see him spread his skin flaps and soar past my window while I’m writing.
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Just finished Apolcaliptic Women (sorry about the spelling). You had me at the edge of my seat. I had to lay it down a few times due to the fact that I have PTSD from the service and other sources. I am glad that the finish was a happy one for your characters in the story. I hear you love to hate the Orange man. So do I. I predicted as such to other folks that he was going to take the country 60 years in the past, if not more. Kee[ up the writing, i love it.
From a cranky old guy, Jacques
Jacques, thank you so much for your comment! It’s always a treat to hear directly from my readers.
I am a veteran, too, and also battle PTSD from various sources. I’ve found that writing is a way for me to work through a lot of that. That’s why the good gal always wins in my books. 🙂 My PTSD is not as severe as some, but it does tend to show up in sneaky ways. My triggers are not gunshots or other battle-related things, but more situations and the way people treat me, but it can make me very introverted. I’m sorry if anything in the book triggered you, but I applaud you for continuing. My endings are always like that. It’s a commitment i make to my readers. There are enough scary, disturbing, sad, and depressing things in the world, especially now, so i want my stories to elevate people and show their strengths against the odds.
And yes, i abhor what trump and the GOP has done to this country. I even had one reviewer give me a lesser rating on the book, because they said i portrayed southern men unfairly. Myopic opinion at best. I’ve lived in the south most of my life, and there are indeed confederates here who behave that way. But you just can’t educate some people! lol.
But we will rise. We just have to keep our feet planted and keep speaking truth to power.
Thanks again, and I’m sure I have other books that you’ll enjoy.
Be well,
Kelli Jae Baeli