May 2023

May went by very fast. One day in late April, there were a couple of leaves on some of the trees, and then four weeks later, they had flowered and were in full-on summer leaf mode dumping tons of allergens, keeping the rest of the family and me in a perpetual state of needing antihistamines. 

In May, I began a short story, like I actually began it, rather than beginning to plan it. Actual words were written as part of the story. Some of those words will make it through the final edit. 

I continued reading the books I listed last month but started reading and finished Conjuring the Witch by Jessica Leonard. You can buy a copy here or where ever scary books can be found - https://perpetualpublishing.com/product/conjuring-the-witch/. Spoiler - it may have witches in it. I loved it, though. 

Jen and I just finished watching the season finale of Yellowjackets, and that's been fun. What is more fun is reading about people losing it over the cannibalism in the show, but as vegans eating meat really is that gross. What's scary to think about is that some folks out in the world watch this and think, 'Yup, I'd love to try it.' 

Pearl, the prequel to X, showed up on Showtime, and I got a chance to watch that. First, the movie was filmed beautifully, and they kept so much of the horror in the light. Like Midsommer but completely not like Midsommer. Mia Goth balanced hopeful youth, bored farmgirl, with completely unhinged so well. You could tell right away something was not right, and then they gave it to you. I'd be interested in a prequel-sequel. 

The big news this month and the biggest time suck was the release of Legend of Zelda's Tears of the Kingdom. Amazing game that basically, since May 12th, stopped my ability to do any writing, much reading, or watching of most things. It's been a few weeks, so my goal for June is to balance some of that playing with other things. 

Other things that happened in May. Our garden is tilled and planted. I watched my daughter play a lot of High School tennis. I left my job and start a new one the first week of June. I captured an amazing video of a baby squirrel eating millet seeds by our compost. Saved a baby groundhog from being run over. Went on a few hikes. Drank a lot of tea and met up with someone who is likely my surprise half-brother. 

Here's a picture of a few treetops in my backyard


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