Liz Tyner - Liz's Latest

The Rotunda

7/20/2019

The Rotunda of the Capital Building in the USA, is used for dignitaries to lie in state, and the public is allowed to pay their respects. It was surprising to me to discover that it had been used during the civil war as a union hospital.

Another surprising fact for me was that the artist had fallen while on the scaffolding but had held on for 15 minutes to be rescued. How terrifying. And how tragic it would have been for him to have been killed completing his final masterpiece.

Photos From My World...Butterfly

7/13/2019

After a hail storm, I've noticed that some of the butterflies have damage.

Reading... A Chore or An Adventure?

7/6/2019

My grandfather didn't want to read aloud. Then one day, he heard my brother read something.
My grandfather decided if a little boy could do that, he could as well.
      He did.
   A few miles away, another person read a newspaper article to me and stumbled over the words. I knew she read the newspaper every day.
   I'm amazed that people continue reading when it is so difficult for them. But, that is the power of written words.
   As a child, I sometimes felt starved for books in the summer. I was about 18 before I went into my first library other than at school.
My reading world has changed so drastically. Libraries abound. Books are only a click away.
   Yet, would I have valued literature as much as I do if I'd had books floor to ceiling in my world?
   I'm fairly certain I would have.

Photos From My World—Poppies

7/4/2019

The poppy pollen seems almost like a geyser inside the flower, or a mini-firework bursting.

Fashions—1700's Style

6/29/2019

Buttons of the past weren't the simple plastic fasteners most often used today on shirts. Having made fabric covered buttons once, I'm always impressed when I see them.

The other thing that fascinated me about this reproduction outfit was the layering. The coat and the spats on the shoes would have made one additional layer against the elements.

I could easily see one of my characters donning something similar, except he would have been wearing leather boots, and perhaps a caped coat.

Photos From My World...Zoo Day

6/23/2019

I enjoy going to the zoo because some of the animals seem to know that I would like them to think of it as a photo op.

Some want me to turn the camera away, however. No photos please!

Photos From My World...Flooding

6/22/2019

I didn't know that flood waters could linger, and work almost like a pesticide on the ground.

The following pictures are ones I posted in the past, and are from the flooded area before the rains.

After the flood waters drain away, the ground will be more nutrient rich, and the wild plants should flourish again.

Carolina Wren

6/15/2019

   Of all the reasons for writer's block, I've never heard anyone claim she couldn't write because the birds were leaving the nest. Today, I claim that.

   After watching the mother bird build her nest, suspecting that babies were inside, and trying to set up a camera on a tripod with a remote shutter release (and failing), I was able to watch the wrens leave the nest.

   At first glance, I knew the little ones were too small to make it on their own. But, then I discovered that the mother was still feeding them even as they sat and tried to figure out the new world around them.

This is the first day this Carolina Wren has sat in the sunshine, having been born in a nest hidden in a dark recess.

      Now, I'm back to writing, and I'm happy I was able to watch the exodus.

The Beauties and the Beasts

6/8/2019

I wanted to move to the country for a quiet life. I didn't expect a colorful life, and all the activity I would find around me.

Plans get disrupted by nature every year. Most usually, it's a frost that kills the blooms or a drought that kills plants. Or a critter that knows to pick the fruit the night before it gets ripe. But sometimes nature surprises me.

The mulberries were so sweet they didn't need sugar. Besides fruit from the trees overhead, I once was surprised to look up and see pelicans flying over. That's rare.

I admit, it's a bit unsettling to be on a walk and hear something skittering in the leaves at your feet. It's taken me a bit to accept the bad with the good. Sometimes the woods can be dangerous. I would say—the woods can be dangerous all the time. You have to be careful, and accept the risks.

This wild sow would have attacked me in a heartbeat if she'd thought her babies were threatened. I do my best never to have an encounter with a wild pig. I don't know that I would survive. This photo was taken with a trail cam which is safest.

The fruit tree is protected from the animals. And if you look at the deer on the right, she only has three legs.

Another critter I try not to get too near. I took this photo while on a walk. I wasn't expecting to see a bobcat, but we both went our separate ways.

I lived nearby for a long time before I moved to this location and discovered nature. They don't advertise their presence. Even after I first lived here, I had no idea that I had so many four-legged neighbors.

After a path was mowed through the woods, and I began to take daily walks, I learned that the animals like to walk on mowed paths almost as much as humans. Why wouldn't they?

Food: Early 19th Century Style?

6/2/2019

While watching the 1995 version of the movie Pride and Prejudice, I noticed the food on the family table. It didn't look tasty to me. The vegetables were cut into large chunks, and I saw no gravies or sauces.

So I wondered if food—cut in large chunks and mostly thrown together, then cooked—would do more than simply satisfy hunger? Would it taste good?

Larger pieces of food save time in preparation, but take more time in getting the heat correct—although it would have been routine for a cook in the nineteenth century. My version wasn't cooked over coals, but firewood.

The verdict: Yes, it tasted good. The flavor was a little different than what I was used to, but definitely hearty and something a character in my novel would enjoy.