Blog Posts - Liz Tyner

Pawnee Code Talkers

5/25/2020

I'd heard about Navaho Code Talkers but didn't know about the Pawnee Nation's own Code Talkers who'd probably lived not far from my house.

These bilingual troops could transmit tactical messages to each other in their native language. Six of the Code Talkers were wounded. Sergeant Echohawk was wounded three times, and one local Code Talker didn't survive combat.

Because there was no written language, it made it extremely difficult for anyone who'd not grown up speaking the language to be able to translate it.

Now I realize how confusing for an opposing side intercepting the messages to try to translate several unknown languages.

The Code Talkers were awarded a Congressional Gold Metal almost 50 years after the event.

I'm fortunate the memorial at Pawnee, OK, included mention of them because otherwise I would have missed this bit of local history.

Green and Vibrant

5/22/2020

The trees were my view the last time I set out on my exercise walk.

Then I get to a small field. The part of the tree that grows to the right is probably tall enough that I could easily walk under it. But, I would be risking meeting poison ivy up close, or stepping on something slithery. Another reason I tend to walk on mowed paths.

Then, there's a winding trail that twists and turns through true woods, and I return back to my yard on a different way because it makes it seem like I've traveled a greater distance. All three of the pictures, the tree and both paths, surround the small field that sometimes it grows up in the summer, with only an area mowed for a walking path.

After I've returned home, this is the view if I turn and look back into the field. You might notice a strap around the tree on the right. That's the back of the trail camera. Quite a few deer travel this path as well.

It seems unusual for someone in this area to have a house with an acreage if she doesn't plan to raise animals.

Most people in the area with an acreage have either a few head of cattle or some horses. Maybe goats and chickens closer to the house. These critters help out with the land, but also require even more work.

It's rare to want to care for an area without financial gain. Cows and pigs can be sold. Horses can be ridden. Goats trim the grass.

You either need critters to graze the pasture, or you mow it, or it will become a forest again.

Frankly, it is work. Either in caring for the animals on the property, or caring for the land itself. A lot of the land has been left to return to nature during my time on the place. But during the quarantine, I've enjoyed having the space to roam even more than usual.

With the world in a troubled mode, the walk helps. Nature is going along as usual which I can see as I stroll. I imagine the land little different than hundreds of years ago when Native American children played in the area. Imagining children at play and at peace with the world seems to briefly solve all my problems.

Photos In My World

5/15/2020

If it's in nature, and doesn't run from me, I'll take a photo of it. And the critters in the area would say, "If it doesn't run fast enough, she'll take a photo." They know me pretty well. I would have missed the mushrooms, though, if someone else hadn't pointed them out.

I think you can buy similar flowers at a nearby nursery, but these were growing freely.

The picture of the fruit tree blooms was taken earlier in the year. I think it's apple but that doesn't mean I expect to have fruit. It seems something else always has first, second and third pick of the apples, peaches and pears. I'm pleased if they leave the tree behind. (The deer do not always leave a healthy tree behind.)

Even the most unattractive weeds are often beautiful if you catch them at just the right moment.

I'm thankful the moderate weather has let me enjoy spring because when the mercury rises in the thermometer, I tend to forget nature and think about the beauty of air conditioning.

The Birds In My World

5/8/2020

Dealing with social distancing hasn't been as hard for me as it has been for many others. I've been fortunate to have photo opportunities in the yard.

If you have the opportunity to sit outside where there are lots of critters, grab a bag of popcorn and watch the show! However, you may be a part of the entertainment for them.

Native American Headdress

4/24/2020

I've only lived in one USA state, Oklahoma. Because the state is rich in Native American history, I'm fortunate to be close to that heritage. Some of my family members belong to the Cherokee Nation.

The Oklahoma state flag is a depiction of an Osage warrior shield. With over 30 Native American tribes having ties to Oklahoma, we sometimes have tribal celebrations near my home.

I was fortunate to attend a pow wow, and enjoyed watching the others dance. My friend, who is Native American, had authentic clothing made so one of the men in her family could take part in their heritage festivities. The cost of the outfit was comparable to the cost of a handmade wedding dress.

This headdress was photographed at a Woolaroc Museum, Bartlesville, OK

Cherry Blossoms

4/11/2020

Last year, I went to Washington DC on the first of April. The cherry blossoms were as vibrant as I expected, and this is my favorite photo of them. I took it on the last day of my visit. Later I read that the Washington Monument was, at one time, one of the tallest structures in the world. I feel that I should fact check that, but I didn't.

The tour guide told us that after the trees were planted, at some point the caretakers had trouble with the cherry trees being damaged at night. Later they discovered that beavers were the culprits. I could believe that as beavers have been destructive on my property.

Compromised into Marriage Favs

4/4/2020

Some writers know exactly which direction their story will go, and I envy them. But not always. Some of my favorite scenes in a book are often surprises that I didn't see happening when I started.
For instance in Compromised into Marriage.

When the bad girl stops the carriage with a bang.
The companion's non-role in the scene.
The hat that fell out of the vehicle, and how something so simple gave the heroine an option.

The First Kiss

4/1/2020

Imagine if you were young, beautiful, ill, sheltered, not expected to live, and you'd never been kissed. That could feel tragic to a young woman.

If a herbalist said she could save you, and all you had to do was promise to marry some rich, eligible bachelor, it would be a no-brainer. Sign me up, a young heroine might say.

So, Vivian Darius promises to marry Lord Everleigh. Not a problem, she thinks, because she isn't expected to live.

But then she gets well. As her health improves, it's time for her to make good on the promise, except he didn't agree to anything, except a kiss...

Writing these characters is what makes writing enjoyable, and seeing the twists and turns as the story arrives on the page. When you begin writing, you've made a promise to the character to make sure she gets her happy ending. Then, on publication day, it's official.

When a Name Becomes a Character

3/28/2020

I chose the name Vivian for the heroine in Compromised into Marriage because I thought it had an elegant sound. It could be Vivianne or Vyvian. But I picked the common spelling of Vivian because I wanted the readers to feel she was someone they might know.

For the hero, his name became Everleigh...because that just seemed to fit him. Someone who was going to be there for...ever.

And, Ella Etta's name was first mentioned by my husband when his family tree was being discussed. I didn't ask for the specific year his relative was alive, but it wouldn't surprise me if it is authentic to the time frame of the story.

Hope you enjoy the characters as much as I did, except I hope you hate the women who stepped in front of the carriage. And, I hope you like Vivian's damage control!

Daniel Defoe's Eye Witness Account

3/25/2020

I searched online to find A Journal of the Plague Year by Daniel Defoe,

People started dying of a "distemper" or "Spotted Fever".

Many people left town, and Defoe was uncertain whether he should leave or not. He was unmarried, but considered that he had a family of servants and his business to look after.

When he half-decided to go, he realized there wasn't transport available. No horses to rent or buy. His married brother was leaving and implored Defoe to go as well. At one point, the servant Defoe had been planning to travel with took matters into his own hands. He left without Defoe. Finally, Defoe decided he should stay, a decision he regretted when he was in the midst of the sickness unfolding around him.

He also noted that theft from the unoccupied houses of people who'd fled wasn't unheard of. And, he realized that other people tried to profit from the disaster by selling medicinal concoctions.

In one area, women and children weren't allowed to attend the funerals of people dying of the plague. Trustworthy people were appointed to check out the residences where illnesses were suspected. If confirmed, the houses were to be shut up for a month, with the occupants inside, and two watchmen outside.

One watchman worked during the night. The other during the day. If they had to leave their post, they were to lock the door. They had padlocks. These watchmen were also responsible to get necessities for the people inside, either from their own pocket, or financial assistance would be provided. (Think houses with windows, and people inside not always voluntarily confined.)

The people in the houses were contained for a month, and after everyone was deemed well, they were not allowed to sell any belongings of a deceased person for another month, and only then after the items had been treated with smoke and perfume.

—I had to stop reading at this point.. The version I was reading was a scanned version of an original copy, and not easily studied. Later, I found the Project Gutenberg copy which is clear and well-done, and I've included a link below. (If you're not familiar with Project Gutenberg and you're confined to your house, now is a good time to check it out.)

My takeaway from the book is that people 370 years ago, although unaware of germs, were little different than we are. Some were in such terror that they tricked the watchmen so they could escape their houses, with possible fatal results to their friends who might shelter them.

Another takeaway is our extreme good fortune to have more resources and knowledge than people had in the past.

But please form your own opinion. Check out Project Gutenberg for a contemporary account of events of a plague in a previous era.
https://www.gutenberg.org/files/376/376-h/376-h.htm