I think everyone in the country is having a tough time right now. More and more people in my state are being diagnosed with Covid 19, the hospitals are filling up, and it feels like there’s a horrible new video depicting racism and police brutality everyday. It’s been hard to see any sort of light at the end of the tunnel.

But I don’t think we should give up hope. We can do things to protect other people and ourselves. We can wear masks and stay home to stop the spread of Covid 19. I was encouraged that I saw so many people wearing masks the last time I went out (to the Tag agency). When I take my kids on walks around the neighborhood, people cheerily wave and cross the streets to physically distance. It’s hard, and I wish we could go back to normal, but at least for now, we have our health. We can also donate to organizations that are fighting to stop Covid 19, like Doctors Without Borders.

And I do think that there’s a greater awareness of systemic racism than I can remember ever seeing before. It’s hard to dismantle racism when you can’t see it. Now that so much attention is being brought to the way institutions discriminate and dehumanize people of color (as well as poor people, LGBTQ people, and other marginalized communities), I hope we can find real solutions to address these problems. I’m encouraged by some of the amazing ideas that so many people have, like this program to include social workers and paramedics on calls to people with mental health crises, instead of just the police. This helps people with mental health problems to get the help they need, instead of just having them tasered or arrested or otherwise treated like criminals. What we need to do now is to elect officials who will do the right things and enact good anti-racist policies. And of course, hold politicians and police accountable when they harm innocent people like Elijah McClain.

Bunnies!

In terms of finding joy, I’ve come to love watching the local wildlife in my neighborhood. So imagine how excited I was when I noticed a bunny digging a little nest in my thyme pot. It started when I noticed the little hole the bunny had been digging, which she’d lined with fur. I thought it must be a nest, but I didn’t see any babies in there, so I wasn’t sure if she was just using it to keep warm at night (or honestly, whether she was a female bunny at all—I don’t think there’s a good way to tell gender on wild bunnies). Then I saw the bunny in my thyme pot, and managed to snap a couple of pictures. I couldn’t tell what she was doing, but I suspected that she was doing baby-type things.

A few days later, I saw movement coming from the bunny’s nest, and then a couple of teeny little bunny ears and adorable little paws. Sure enough, there are baby bunnies in my thyme pot. I don’t have a picture of them because I didn’t want to disturb them too much, but I hope I can get some cute pics once they’re bigger and maybe hoping around my garden a little more. I’m just so amazed to see something like this, and it’s been a very joyful experience.

Update: The baby bunnies came out of their little burrow in the pot for the first time today, and I got a couple of pictures! They’re just adorable!

Yellow-Crowned Night Herons

In addition to having baby bunnies in my herb garden, I’m also excited that my neighborhood has a nest of yellow-crowned night herons living in my neighbor’s trees. There are at least two baby herons in addition to the parent birds, and it’s been a thrill watching them grow up. I’ve often seen the young birds (which are pretty large, though their coloring makes them hard to spot) both on their nest and walking around near their trees.

Book News

If you’re looking for books to read, I’m hosting some of my largest Story Origins Online Book Fairs ever. Right now there are over 90 books in my Fantasy and Sci-Fi in July Kindle Unlimited Book Fair. If you’re looking for books on sale, you can also check out the July Sci-Fi and Fantasy Book Sale and All for Less Than a Pair of Socks. And if you’re looking for some free short stories, you can also check out the Summer Reading—Science Fiction and Fantasy Giveaway!

It’s also been exciting to read all the interviews that my fellow science fiction and fantasy writers have shared with me! Many of them are fascinating people, and I hope that you’ll read some of the interviews, especially if you’re looking for a new author to try out. Reading is probably one of the safest and most relaxing things we can all do right now.

Cat Pics!

Of course, if we want to find a little joy and comfort, we can give our pets a good snuggle or look at pictures of how cute they are! Here are some of my cat pics.