Our Magpie Condo Expansion

 Our Magpie Condo Expansion

Last year we had a smaller magpie nest in one tree and a larger one in another. This year, the small nest seems to be gone and the big nest seems larger (Helena calls that one "the condo"). The logical inference is that the magpies disassembled the small nest to expand the large one (perhaps to better defend against squirrel incursions).

Do magpies nest in the same place every year?

Both Black-billed and Eurasian magpies often reuse nests, or nest in the same territory. Some 30% to 40% of magpie nests in the USA are reused and upgraded.

In Europe, Eurasian magpies either return to the same territory to nest or reuse last year’s nest. Most magpies are sedentary and remain in their breeding territories throughout much of the year.

https://birdfact.com/articles/magpie-nesting

People worry that magpies eat the songbird eggs, but according to the link, this is not necessarily true. They might actually help the songbird populations. In my area, there seems to be plenty of small birds, though I don’t hear as many chickadees as I used to. But, there has been a lot of infill housing, and thus a reduction in large trees, which probably hurts the populations of some birds.

Magpies are opportunistic omnivores and occasionally feed upon songbird eggs and nestlings. This is not as common as many people seem to think, and either way, it’s the natural behaviour of an opportunistic omnivore. Magpies and other corvids generally don’t affect populations of songbirds.

Paradoxically, some studies even find a correlation between increased corvid numbers and increased songbird numbers. Perhaps the corvids scare away predators that are more troublesome to the songbirds than themselves.

 

And here's a hiking book.  I can't recall if there are any magpies in it, but there are some amusing bird encounters.

Hiking the Wild North Shore of Lake Superior

The north shore of Lake Superior is wild and beautiful. It is also quite sparsely populated, so a hiking trip (or other adventure) will truly give you chance to get away from it all, and back to nature in its full glory.

Lake Superior is big – it is the largest of the North American Great Lakes, and one of the largest freshwater lakes in the world. One could spend years exploring the area, and still have barely touched the possibilities.

This account focuses on a multi-day backpacking trip in Pukaskwa National Park, some light canoeing in White Lake Provincial Park, and some day-hiking in the Thunder Bay area.

What follows is a journal of some of the highlights of a trip to Northern Ontario in the summer of 1998. That gives the trip a bit of a historical flavor, but things don’t change very quickly in the wild country of the true north, so it will also give the reader a good idea of what to expect during their own exploration of the north shore.

You can purchase it for 99 cents U.S., equivalent price in other currencies.  Alternatively, keep your eyes open for a free promotions, which occur periodically. Or, get it with Kindle Unlimited.

U.S.:  https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07F9TV4C8
U.K.:  https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07F9TV4C8 
Germany:  https://www.amazon.de/dp/B07F9TV4C8

France: https://www.amazon.fr/dp/B07F9TV4C8

Italy: https://www.amazon.it/dp/B074LZDQ9F

Spain: https://www.amazon.es/dp/B074LZDQ9F

Netherlands: https://www.amazon.nl/dp/B074LZDQ9F

Mexico: https://www.amazon.com.mx/dp/B074LZDQ9F

Brazil: https://www.amazon.com.br/dp/B074LZDQ9F
Japan: https://www.amazon.co.jp/dp/B07F9TV4C8  
Canada: https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B07F9TV4C8
Australia:  https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B07F9TV4C8
India:  https://www.amazon.in/dp/B07F9TV4C8

The Magnetic Anomaly – A Science Fiction Novel (now available on Amazon)

The Magnetic Anomaly – A Science Fiction Novel

The novel version of The Magnetic Anomaly is now available on Amazon (ebook, print version to come soon, also audible version).

This novel began life as a short story, with a similar name, though not exactly the same:  The Magnetic Anomaly – A Science Fiction Story (note “the novel” vs “story”). Some reviewers were interested to know where the short story would go, if it was expanded into a novel. 

To be honest, I didn’t know myself, until I started writing it. But often the process of writing takes on a life of its own. I think it turned out quite nicely, in my humble but obviously not disinterested opinion. Fortunately, my beta readers agreed with that assessment. I hope other readers agree as well.

Summary

Below is an excerpt from the short story, which is also the first chapter of the novel:

“A geophysical crew went into the Canadian north. There were some regrettable accidents among a few ex-military who had become geophysical contractors after their service in the forces. A young man and young woman went temporarily mad from the stress of seeing that. They imagined things, terrible things. But both are known to have vivid imaginations; we have childhood records to verify that. It was all very sad. That’s the official story.”

As the summary above indicates, the main characters, geophysicist Alex and geologist Mary, survived their ordeal in the northern exploration camp. However, there was much more involved, behind the scenes, than they could imagine at the time.

The novel version of the story expands greatly on this.

Alex and Mary get caught up in a vast conflict and exciting adventure, one of literally cosmic proportions. During this time, they encounter a variety of enigmatic persons, as well as other entities, all of whom are also engaged in this struggle. With some of them they end up allying; with others, they contend in deadly conflict. The struggle takes them around the world, and eventually to the far reaches of the solar system.

During this time their relationship continues to evolve and deepen. Circumstances demand that they grow in courage and confidence, though within the scope of (mostly) normal people, as has been the case for countless people throughout history.

The story also showcases some historical events, relating to different versions of what went on in Antarctica, shortly after World War 2. Several versions of these events, official history and unofficial UFO lore are given. This becomes a springboard to much of the action. Some philosophical and scientific ideas are also explored, though not in such a way as to get in the way of the action, at least not for long.

Below is a Table of Contents, to give some hints of where the story goes.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1 – The Magnetic Anomaly

Chapter 2 – The Radioactive Anomaly

Chapter 3 – The Battle of the Tableland

Chapter 4 – Fight and Flight In the Alien Tunnels

Chapter 5 – Special Ops

Chapter 6 – Jack and the Underground Base

Chapter 7 – Debriefing

Chapter 8 – Flight from the Base

Chapter 9 – Evasive Manoeuvres

Chapter 10 – Orbital Mechanics

Chapter 11 – Crash Dive

Chapter 12 – A Walk in the Snow

Chapter 13 – Phillipe

Chapter 14 – Operation High Jump, the Official Story

Chapter 15 – Operation High Jump, the Unofficial Story

Chapter 16 – Operation Tabarin, the Secret SAS Mission

Chapter 17 – Treason and Murder

Chapter 18 – A Cold Goodbye

Chapter 19 – The Surprise

Chapter 20 – The New Base

Chapter 21 – Preparations

Chapter 22 – Another Debriefing

Chapter 23 – Phillipe’s Dossier: The Threat from Below

Chapter 24 – Are we being Followed?

Chapter 25 – Locating the AI Base

Chapter 26 – Into the Adit

Chapter 27 – Planning to Take Out the Trigger Weapon

Chapter 28 – Connections and Mergers

Chapter 29 – Descent

Chapter 30 – Prodding a Magnetic Mine Field

Chapter 31 – Aftermath

Chapter 32 – Respite on a South Pacific Island

Chapter 33 – The Threat from Above

Chapter 34 – Preparing to Embark on an Interplanetary Mission

Chapter 35 – On the Theory of Diverting An Asteroid

Chapter 36 – An Encounter with a Beast and a Shepherd

Chapter 37 – The Ultimate Kill Shot

Chapter 38 – A Visitor, then Home

A Note on Sources for The Magnetic Anomaly

Amazon:

U.S.: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0F9J3HHFW

UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0F9J3HHFW

Canada: https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B0F9J3HHFW

France: https://www.amazon.fr/dp/B0F9J3HHFW

Italy: https://www.amazon.it/dp/B0F9J3HHFW

Netherlands: https://www.amazon.nl/dp/B0F9J3HHFW

Spain: https://www.amazon.es/dp/B0F9J3HHFW

Japan: https://www.amazon.co.jp/dp/B0F9J3HHFW

Mexico: https://www.amazon.com.mx/dp/B0F9J3HHFW

Australia: https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B0F9J3HHFW

Germany: https://www.amazon.de/dp/B0F9J3HHFW

India:  https://www.amazon.in/dp/B0F9J3HHFW

Brazil: https://www.amazon.com.br/dp/B0F9J3HHFW

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The Magnetic Anomaly, The Novel: Some Covers and Illustrations

And lastly, here are a few alternative covers that I played around with (based on different chapters of the book):

The Devil Rides a Dark Horse (short story), now on Audiobook (Amazon)

A Gothic tale to listen to during a long drive. Or maybe just at home, when you want a bit of mystery and possibly a bit of a supernatural scare.

The Devil Rides a Dark Horse

In “A Dark Horse”, a gambler’s desire to hit a big win seems to lead him to make a Faustian bargain with a supernatural evil.  Or is it all just a string of unnaturally good luck?

The story is just $0.99 U.S. (equivalent in other currencies) and about 8000 words. It is also available on Kindle Unlimited and is occasionally on free promotion.

U.S.: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01M9BS3Y5

U.K.: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B01M9BS3Y5

Germany: https://www.amazon.de/dp/B01M9BS3Y5

France: https://www.amazon.fr/dp/B01M9BS3Y5

Italy: https://www.amazon.it/dp/B01M9BS3Y5

Netherlands: https://www.amazon.nl/dp/B01M9BS3Y5

Spain:https://www.amazon.es/dp/B01M9BS3Y5

Japan: https://www.amazon.co.jp/dp/B01M9BS3Y5

India: https://www.amazon.in/dp/B01M9BS3Y5

Mexico: https://www.amazon.com.mx/dp/B01M9BS3Y5

Brazil: https://www.amazon.com.br/dp/B01M9BS3Y5

Canada: https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B01MDMY2BR

Australia: https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B01M9BS3Y5

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Here’s an interesting review from Goodreads

(BTW, the writer has never met the reviewer and was not even aware of the review until very recently – You can look up the review on Goodreads, if you like)

A Dark Horse

Every gambler is bound to run out of luck eventually, right?

By far my favourite type of horror is psychological horror. I was quite pleased with how Mr. Olausen frightened his audience without spilling a single drop of blood or so much as hinting at anything gory. He knew exactly what hints to drop for us that made us deliciously dread the next scene simply by throwing out hints about who or what the dark horse might actually represent. This is the kind of stuff I love getting scared by, especially as Halloween approaches.

It would have been helpful to have more character development in this short story. While I certainly wouldn’t expect to see as much time spent on this as I would for a full-length novel, I did have trouble connecting to the main characters due to how little I knew about them and how much their personalities seemed to remain the same no matter what happened to them. If not for this issue, I would have felt comfortable choosing a much higher rating as the plot itself was well done.

I must admit to not knowing much about gambling at all, so I appreciated the brief explanations the narrator shared about how placing bets works and why some people have so much trouble walking away from a bet. While I will leave it up to experts on these topics to say how accurate everything was, I did enjoy learning more about the main character’s addiction and what he hoped to gain from betting on just one more game or race. It gave me a stronger sense of empathy for folks in his position.

A Dark Horse – A Gothic Tale was a deliciously chilling story for the Halloween season and beyond.

 

 

The Magnetic Anomaly (short story), now on Audiobook (Amazon)

An adventure Sci-Fi tale to listen to during a long drive. Or maybe just at home, when you want a bit of mystery and suspense (P.S. soon to be a full novel that explains all – well, a lot more than the X-files ever did).

The Magnetic Anomaly: A Science Fiction Story

“A geophysical crew went into the Canadian north. There were some regrettable accidents among a few ex-military who had become geophysical contractors after their service in the forces. A young man and young woman went temporarily mad from the stress of seeing that. They imagined things, terrible things. But both are known to have vivid imaginations; we have childhood records to verify that. It was all very sad. That’s the official story.”

You can purchase it for all of 99 cents.  Alternatively, keep your eyes open for a free promotions, which occur periodically. Or, get it with Kindle Unlimited.

Amazon:

U.S.: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0176H22B4

UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0176H22B4

Canada: https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B0176H22B4

France: https://www.amazon.fr/dp/B0176H22B4

Italy: https://www.amazon.it/dp/B0176H22B4

Netherlands: https://www.amazon.nl/dp/B0176H22B4

Spain: https://www.amazon.es/dp/B0176H22B4

Japan: https://www.amazon.co.jp/dp/B0176H22B4

Mexico: https://www.amazon.com.mx/dp/B0176H22B4

Australia: https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B0176H22B4

Germany: https://www.amazon.de/dp/B0176H22B4

India: https://www.amazon.in/dp/B0176H22B4 

Brazil: https://www.amazon.com.br/dp/B0176H22B4

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 Love at the Lake, now on Audiobook (Amazon)

A romantic tale to listen to during a long drive. Or maybe just at home, when you want a romantic story to cheer you up.

Love at the Lake

This romantic short story (approx. 5000 words) tells about the first days of a summer vacation of two couples with young children, who have cottages on a Northern Ontario lake. Both of their marriages are affected, in different ways, by the arrival of a luscious, blonde eighteen-year-old, at a neighbouring cottage. Janice is a flirt, at the least, and Mary Anne and Doris have to decide how they will deal with the attention that she is showering upon their not unattractive spouses. And their husbands, Tim and Ross have to figure out what is the most important to each of them. Is the opportunity to bed a beautiful young woman more important than an established family of wife and children?

The book is priced at only 99 cents U.S. or equivalent in other currencies. It is also available on Kindle Unlimited and is periodically offered on free promotion.

On Amazon:

U.S.: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00IPSZKLS

U.K.: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00IPSZKLS

CAN: https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B00IPSZKLS

AUSTRALIA: https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B00IPSZKLS

GERMANY: https://www.amazon.de/dp/B00IPSZKLS

FRANCE: https://www.amazon.fr/dp/B00IPSZKLS

SPAIN: https://www.amazon.es/dp/B00IPSZKLS

ITALY: https://www.amazon.it/dp/B00IPSZKLS

NETHERLANDS: https://www.amazon.nl/dp/B00IPSZKLS

JAPAN: https://www.amazon.co.jp/dp/B00IPSZKLS

BRAZIL: https://www.amazon.com.br/dp/B00IPSZKLS

MEXICO: https://www.amazon.com.mx/dp/B00IPSZKLS

INDIA: https://www.amazon.in/dp/B00IPSZKLS

 A Summer on the Railroad, now on Audiobook (on Amazon)

Something to listen to during a long drive, whether or not you ever worked on the railroad (odds are, you know somebody who did). Or maybe just at home, while contemplating a summer job you once had (or will have).

A Summer Working on the Railroad

What follows is an account of a few weeks one long-ago summer, when I was 19 and was working for the Canadian National Railway (CNR) on a railroad construction gang, in the wilds of north-central British Columbia, Canada.

The journal is in the form of a letter, that was never sent. Decades later, I think it has an interesting historical resonance. At times I come off like a callow youth – I plead guilty as charged. I swore a lot more in those days than I do now, but in places the writing is surprisingly good, at least in my humble opinion. And the story has a compelling narrative arc.

There were a lot of interesting and dramatic events that occurred – a number of industrial accidents being the most serious. There were also some colorful characters on the crew, which resulted in some dramatic and at times amusing conflicts and altercations. I perhaps flatter myself by including myself in that number. Or perhaps I condemn myself – I’m not sure.

So, if you want to be reminded of one of those summer jobs that was kind of life-changing, read on. My story may just kick-start some memories of your own.

The memoir/journal is about 9,000 words, a length that can usually be read in an hour or so. It is priced at 99 cents U.S. (equivalent in other currencies) and is free on Kindle Unlimited. Periodically, it will be offered as a free promotion.

U.S.: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CN661P8Z

UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0CN661P8Z

Canada: https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B0CN661P8Z

Australia: https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B0CN661P8Z

India: https://www.amazon.in/dp/B0CN661P8Z

Germany: https://www.amazon.de/dp/B0CN661P8Z

France: https://www.amazon.fr/dp/B0CN661P8Z

Spain: https://www.amazon.es/dp/B0CN661P8Z

Italy: https://www.amazon.it/dp/B0CN661P8Z

Netherlands: https://www.amazon.nl/dp/B0CN661P8Z

Japan: https://www.amazon.co.jp/dp/B0CN661P8Z

Brazil: https://www.amazon.com.br/dp/B0CN661P8Z

Mexico: https://www.amazon.com.mx/dp/B0CN661P8Z

Nathan’s Adventure in the Other-Other Land, Book 1 – To Rescue a Princess (An exciting kid’s adventure story, now on Audiobook (Amazon))

It’s great to read a story out loud to a child, but every now and again that’s not practical. In such a case an audible book can fill in. You can give it a try, with Nathan’s Adventure in the Other-Other Land, Book 1 – To Rescue a Princess. Magic and adventure, suitable for boys or girls, moms and dads).

Nathan’s Adventures in the Other-Other Land, Book 1 – To Rescue a Princess

This is a great book for kids, especially with Christmas coming up. Adults who read the book to children will also be amused. Here’s the summary:

Young Nathan discovers some new playmates in the Other-Other Land, a wonderful, magical world that exists behind the Magic Mirror. But disaster strikes, and Nathan must help Prince Roland rescue his sister, the Princess Pepper, from the clutches of the Black Flying Dragon of the Dark Mountain.

But the rescue will not be easy. There are said to be many fearsome obstacles along the way, including treacherous quicksand swamps, complete with monsters, poisonous mushrooms that can walk and jump and that hate people, and ferocious bands of roaming tigers. And then, there is the dragon and his minions to contend with.

Will Nathan and Roland (with the aid of their trusty ponies) outwit their enemies and overcome the many dangers of the journey to the Dark Mountain? Can they save the feisty Princess Pepper? Come along for the ride and find out for yourself.

The story is about 10,000 words, a suitable length for an elementary grade child to read in an hour or two. It can also be read to a younger child over a few bed-times. There are 15 short chapters with 15 original hand-drawn pictures to go along with them. Note that the writing includes some humorous passages that parents and older readers will enjoy.

The book is available from Amazon in both e-book and print versions.

Ebook, Audiobook - $3.99

Amazon U.S.: http://www.amazon.com/Nathans-Adventure-Other-Other-Land-Adventures-ebook/dp/B00PHAEFLS

Amazon UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00PHAEFLS

Amazon Canada: https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B00PHAEFLS

Amazon Australia: https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B00PHAEFLS

Amazon Germany: https://www.amazon.de/dp/B00PHAEFLS

Amazon France: https://www.amazon.fr/dp/B00PHAEFLS

Amazon Spain: https://www.amazon.es/dp/B00PHAEFLS

Amazon Italy: https://www.amazon.it/dp/B00PHAEFLS

Amazon Netherlands: https://www.amazon.nl/dp/B00PHAEFLS

Amazon Japan: https://www.amazon.co.jp/dp/B00PHAEFLS

Amazon Brazil: https://www.amazon.com.br/dp/B00PHAEFLS

Amazon Mexico: https://www.amazon.com.mx/dp/B00PHAEFLS

Amazon India: https://www.amazon.in/dp/B00PHAEFLS

Print book $9.99

http://www.amazon.com/Nathans-Adventure-Other-Other-Land-Adventures/dp/1502536730