Wet and Aggressive Corella challenges Magpie

Wet and Aggressive Corella challenges Magpie

Wednesday 30 June 2021

Keeper Tyree

I have followed Sandra Cox's blog for a number of years now.  She is an incredibly generous soul, and I count her as one of my friends.  She is also a prolific author.  When she asked for assistance in getting word out about her latest release I was more than happy to help.
Take it away Sandra.
 
 

 

Today’s Old West expression: Calico Queen

Like we do today, the cowboys of the old West used a good bit of slang. Calico Queen was used to describe a prostitute. He’d visited a calico queen last night.

~*~

 


 

Keeper Tyree is an aging bounty hunter who lives by his own set of rules. He’s a hard man, but he’s just, and his word is his bond. He’s a loner and likes it that way. Then Cathleen O’Donnell catapults into his life looking to hire his gun. Josiah Pardee has killed her boy and she’s out for vengeance. Somehow all his hard and fast rules, including working alone and minding his own business, crumbles in the face of the immovable widow he now works for. He finds himself rescuing soiled doves, a myopic bookworm more suited to city life than the Wild West, and an hombre being dragged to death by angry cardplayers as he tracks down the murdering sidewinder Josiah Pardee.

 

Excerpt

He threw his legs over the bed, held his head and groaned. At forty-six he was too damn old to be drinking that much rot gut. Ten years older than the average life span in his profession. Still and all it had paid off. Pardee, drunk on his ass to hear one of the saloon girls tell it, indulged in a little pillow talk. Pillow talk, that with a little sweet talk and a couple double eagles, she’d been happy to share. Pardee had headed for the Kansas Badlands until things cooled down. Apparently, the townspeople didn’t take kindly to a sixteen-year-old being gunned down, especially one that wasn’t even wearing a gun. It had happened when Keeper had been out of town and the news had moved on to the next scandal by the time he’d got back.

He pulled up tan canvas pants over long johns, shoved his feet into worn boots and strode to the window. A gold ball of glory flirted on the pink-colored horizon visible between the timber joists of a building going up across the street. The quiet of morning in direct contrast to the shootings and rabble rousting of last night. He splashed water in the basin and washed up, finished getting dressed then headed downstairs, a flask in his vest pocket. A little hair of the dog in his coffee would offset the hammers pounding at his skull.

He pulled out the hard-backed chair at his favorite table in the dining room and dropped down. From here he could see both the entryway and the kitchen. Part of the reason he was an aging gunman instead of a resident of Boot Hill was an abundance of caution.  Drink might slow him down but he could always function.


 

Bio

Sandra is a vegetarian, animal lover and avid gardener, and also writes as S. Cox. She lives with her husband, their dog and cats in sunny North Carolina.

Her stories consist of all things Western and more. She is a category bestselling Amazon author, Eppie finalist and award winner.

 

 

Order link: https://tinyurl.com/KeeperTyree

Web link: http://sandracoxwriter.com

Twitter: http://twitter.com/Sandra_Cox

 

 

Sunday 27 June 2021

Sunday Selections #539

 


Sunday Selections was originally brought to us by Kim, of Frogpondsrock, as an ongoing meme where participants could post previously unused photos languishing in their files.
 
Huge thanks to Cie who gave me this wonderful Sunday Selections image.
 
The meme was then continued by River at Drifting through life.  Sadly she has now stepped aside (though she will join us some weeks), and I have accepted the mantle. 
 
The rules are so simple as to be almost non-existent.  Post some photos under the title Sunday Selections and link back to me. Clicking on any of the photos will make them embiggen.
 

I usually run with a theme. There was another super moon on Friday (the last for this year).  It was raining here (yay) so I couldn't even see the moon much less photograph it.  However, in my usual fashion I went out at first light on Saturday.  And delighted in a cloudy dawn.










It was a muted and moody dawn but I thought it was magnificent.

We are in winter now.  A fairly wimpy (and blessedly damp)  winter.  I know that many of you in the Northern Hemisphere are experiencing unheard of and unprecedented heat.  Shudder.

The next few photos from my trip to Antarctica are designed to hopefully make you feel cooler.







Stay cool (or warm) and enjoy the week ahead.

Sunday 20 June 2021

Sunday Selections #538

 


Sunday Selections was originally brought to us by Kim, of Frogpondsrock, as an ongoing meme where participants could post previously unused photos languishing in their files.
 
Huge thanks to Cie who gave me this wonderful Sunday Selections image.
 
The meme was then continued by River at Drifting through life.  Sadly she has now stepped aside (though she will join us some weeks), and I have accepted the mantle. 
 
The rules are so simple as to be almost non-existent.  Post some photos under the title Sunday Selections and link back to me. Clicking on any of the photos will make them embiggen.
 

I usually run with a theme. Years ago reading an essay the author said that the ambiance of her home was 'cluttered and dusty'.  I winced in rueful recognition.  The same could be said of our home (and my head).

It is decidedly cooler here, so I broke out the winter doona (duvet) cover of stylised frogs which I made years ago.  Yes, it needs (and didn't get) ironing but I hope you can see the frogs.


It occurred to me as I put the cover on (and those curves were a beast to sew) that despite firmly categorising myself as not creative there are other things in the house which I have made.  Here are some of them.




 

I made this for himself's mother.  When she was forced to move to a nursing home it was one of the items she insisted on taking with her, which was a huge compliment.  After her death it came back to us, and I think of her with affection when I see it.



How I wish I had spent the extra money and got non reflective glass when I got these framed...



This one makes me think of a cat we had, the late and much lamented Medlyn.  I had completed about three quarters of the tapestry when he, resenting the attention I was paying to it and not him, piddled on it.  I sponged it down but was afraid that if I washed it I would lose the pattern.  Completing the tapestry was smelly and not fun.  I was very glad to put the last stitch in and give it a good wash.

And now I am going to return to a more usual Sunday Selections theme for me.  The king parrots have started returning from the hills in which they breed.  We are getting small flocks of them visiting most days.  I assume that the adults are returning visitors, and they bring the young ones with them which is lovely.  The adult males have the red heads and the females the green but it is harder to tell what sex the young ones are.  The males have an red beak and over the next few months their plumage will change too.  They look quite bizarre in the process and I will try and capture some photos as they transition to adult plumage.






I hope your week is healthy, happy, colourful (and even creative).

Sunday 13 June 2021

Sunday Selections #537



Sunday Selections was originally brought to us by Kim, of Frogpondsrock, as an ongoing meme where participants could post previously unused photos languishing in their files.
 
Huge thanks to Cie who gave me this wonderful Sunday Selections image.
 
The meme was then continued by River at Drifting through life.  Sadly she has now stepped aside (though she will join us some weeks), and I have accepted the mantle. 
 
The rules are so simple as to be almost non-existent.  Post some photos under the title Sunday Selections and link back to me. Clicking on any of the photos will make them embiggen.
 

I usually run with a theme. Towards the middle of last week our Bureau of Meteorology forecast some extreme weather for much of South-eastern Australia.  Snow, buckets of rain, damaging winds, record cold temperatures.  Some of the forecast was truthful, and some communities have a lot of cleaning up to do.  A couple of people have died in flood waters.

Not here.  No snow, and a teensy smidge of rain.  It was breezy but not dangerously windy.  Chilly but not frigid.  It was grey though. 

Early morning skies looked like this.



 

On the first day that some sunshine was making valiant efforts to break through we headed down to the lake.  I go there often for solace and heart balm (and a roo fix).  As is always true there was a lot to delight us.

There were black swans.


The lake was serene and lovely - and even on a mostly grey day there were reflections...







We got our kangaroo fix.


This isn't a good photo - but I did love that very pink tongue.

I love our magpies too, and this dapper male is a beauty.


A small and noisy flock of sulphur crested white cockatoos were feasting on berries.  These are for you David.





 


On our way home we stopped in at a small suburban shopping centre to see if the locals had rugged up 'their' statue.  They had.
 

 
She has her scarf - but her feet are still bare.
 
There was other public art too.
 


I thought that this bumper ornament on a tradies ute was unusual - but was pleased to see it just the same.


 I hope that even on your grey days (literal or metaphorical) you find beauty and fun.