Gardening, Writing, and a Sneak Peek

Eeek. I haven't blogged in like, forever. What have I been doing?

Well, besides writing a new short story called The Grandfather Cat (which will be released soon) I've been clearing land of blackberries, and planting a large native plant garden.

At the bottom of our property sits a chunk of land that was almost solidly overgrown with blackberries. This non-native invasive species had killed trees and shrubs and blocked anything from growing except a few willows, alders, and a pine tree.

So, armed with a pair of leather gloves, some hand pruners, and a wheel-barrow, I began clearing the blackberries. I blogged about it last year, and in fact, I've been working on it for two years.

Although this project isn't finished, I did start replanting last fall - more than 25 varieties of native trees, shrubs, and wildflowers. These are the plants that should live here instead of blackberries, and they include sword fern, wild iris, native azalea, columbine, deer fern, and many more.

I am so excited about this project, and can hardly wait for everything to leaf out and bloom this year!

Meanwhile, I am putting the finishing touches on Cat Tales #7.

And here is a Sneak Peek of the cover:

Hope you like this one! Coming Soon!