Wednesday, October 24, 2012

[Mostly] Wordless Wednesday - Here, Pretty Bird & Links

I went hiking with my kiddos and nephew on Friday before heading up to Denver for Mile Hi Con.  We went to Seven Falls, famed for its 7 waterfalls, but also the number of steps to climb to the top of the falls.  Well, the steps go to the top of the falls that are close together, but then you have the option of hiking to the topmost one, called Midnight Falls.

I'm going to share our trip in bits and pieces for the next couple Wednesdays.  Today, the beautiful Steller's Jay, aka the Mountain Jay.  These guys are omnivores, though they mostly eat seeds and plant life.  I was so excited to catch one of these guys!  And he cooperated so nicely.






Link Time!

Contests:

Monkey Puzzle Press is holding their 4th Annual Flash Fiction Contest.  $10 entry fee.  $300 first prize.  All entries considered for publication.  Submission deadline November 15.

Open for Submissions:

Vine Leaves Literary Journal currently has an open submission window until November 30.  They take prose, poetry, artwork, photography, and reviews.  Pays $5.

Blog Fests:

Andrew Leon, Alex J. Cavanaugh and Matthew McNish are hosting the Oh, How I Miss You Blog Fest on November 16.  Join to spotlight bloggers you miss, who haven't been posting often, and those you would miss.

Cally Jackson is hosting The Year I Turned 18 Blog Fest from October 29 to November 2.  Post what you'd like about the year you turned 18.

Writing Retreats & Workshops:

Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers is offering their first annual writing retreat directly following The Colorado Gold Conference.  It will occur September 22-26.  The most awesome part?  Kristen Nelson of Nelson Literary Agency will be there, presenting a workshop and offering critiques.  Kristen Nelson is on my short list of agents I'd love to have, so if you're interested, snatch this up!

Registration is currently being accepted for Big Sur Writing Workshops in December and March.

Of Interest:

Michelle Roberts wrote "Creativity Closely Entwined with Mental Illness" for BBC Health News.

Matt Petronzio posted "10 Inspiring Social Networks for Writers" on Mashable.

Anything to share?  Think you'll participate in either of the blog fests?  Have you submitted anything lately?  Ever seen a steller's jay?  How about a blue jay?

May you find your Muse.



16 comments:

Carol Kilgore said...

The Stellar's Jay is such a beautiful bird. We once lived in the New Mexico mountains, and they were abundant. We don't have them here.

I'm participating in the Oh, How I Miss You Blog Fest!

Unknown said...

What a gorgeous bird. And I would definitely love to try that hike someday.

I'm all signed up for Oh How I Miss You. I think it's a wonderful concept.

Anonymous said...

"Creativity Closely Entwined with Mental Illness"

I can believe that. :)

Rebecca said...

gorgeous blue birds

Julie Flanders said...

Oh, what a gorgeous bird! I love that color.

Thanks for the info on the fests. I think I will sign up for the 18 one, sounds like fun. :)

Unknown said...

Just beautiful photos, Shannon! Glad you shared them. :-)

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

Amazing bluejay photos!
Thanks for mentioning our blogfest.

Andrew Leon said...

Wow! Great pics!
And thanks for the mention, which reminds me: I need to set up my temporary permalink.

Shelly said...

I've never seen a real blue jay before. Beautiful.

Hugs and chocolate,
Shelly

mshatch said...

gorgeous bird. My son is really into birds, constantly tells me who's who.

Shannon Lawrence said...

Carol, I read that their heads get bluer the farther south you go. Was that true for the jays you were seeing?

Melissa, it's a beautiful and peaceful hike, at least on a week day. That blogfest really is a great concept, isn't it?

Linda, so can I! It was an interesting read.

Becca, there's something about a blue bird that I always like.

Julie, I'm signing up for that one, too! In fact, I'll be writing the post as soon as I finish catching up on comments.

E.J., thank you!

Alex and Andrew, thank you, and no problem! Good luck with it.

Shelly, I'd only ever seen blue jays in Oregon, primarily on the coast. Those are a different type, as these are the mountain ones, but I always loved the jays. They were fairly rare to see.

Marcy, so you are probably fairly over birds? I've only really begun paying much attention to them in the last year. So many birds I didn't know we had around here.

Andrew Leon said...

I've been meaning to email you, but this reminded me and works just as well:
Did you post a review for Charter Shorts on Amazon? Just wondering, because, if you did, it's not there, but I've been hearing horror stories of Amazon removing reviews lately, so I wanted to check.

M Pax said...

Pretty birds, but they're very noisy. Great shot.

Shannon Lawrence said...

Mary, they are, aren't they? This little guy was fairly quiet, though. The magpies around here are the noisiest.

unikorna said...

wow Shannon a writing retreat sounds soooo inviting, I plan on discovering more about it. Congrats on your lovely photos of the blue jays :), you are one mighty patient photographer.

Shannon Lawrence said...

Petronela, a writing retreat definitely sounds wonderful. I'd love to be able to do it.