I haven’t posted much about my knitting lately, but that doesn’t mean the needles haven’t been out. In fact I’ve sort of developed an addiction that is often triggered simply by sitting in front of the television. I can’t watch TV any more without my knitting in my hands. I guess that’s a lot better than not being able to watch TV without a two pound bag of M&Ms in my hands, right?

I’m attempting to embed a PhotoBucket slideshow above, with pictures of many of the recent things I’ve knit. These span from the standard array of socks and mittens for everyone at Christmastime, to a couple of hats (another new favorite; hats knit up so quickly!) to an eyeglass “sleeve”.

That came about because I got new glasses and cannot locate the case for my old ones, and I didn’t want to just toss them in a drawer without protection. So, I planned to just knit a quick tube in the round and stick them in it. That led to “maybe I’ll try my hand at Fair Isle colorwork”, and the “quick tube” took well over a week to complete thanks to Old Fumblefingers here. However, I do plan to keep at the colorwork and eventually become one of those people capable of juggling more than one color of yarn without risking self-strangulation.

Eventually.

The “Cranberry Beret” was fun, especially when the dog saw me putting it on the cookie jar and then following me around the house till I took it off the “cat”. He then sat quite contentedly while I tried it on him and snapped a picture.

Last year, Kai had to have a cyst removed from his thigh muscle. I had knit him a legging, to keep him away from the stitches while he healed. He rather liked it, and would come right over and ask to have his “pants” put on after trips outside to potty. After he then asked to try on the hat, I promised him I’d knit something else for him.

Ergo, the current project on the needles is my first foray into knitting a dog sweater. I’ll post pictures when it’s done (unless, of course, I manage to royally foul it up somehow).

So, enjoy the pics in the slideshow.

Feel free to leave comments below and let me know what YOU have been knitting or otherwise creating lately!

PS: I wonder why I’m now craving M&Ms….

Related posts:

1. Daylilies, Knitting, and Stuff
2. Creative Overload: Knitting and NaNo!
3. Knit Wit: Sock Education

“To fly as fast as thought, to anywhere that is,” he said, “you must begin by knowing that you have already arrived….” (Richard Bach, “Jonathan Livingston Seagull”)

Jonathan Livingston Seagull, by Richard Bach. Anyone who thinks this is just a book about a seagull needs to read it again. And again. And again.

Yes, Jonathan is a seagull. But he’s not just a seagull.

Yes, he’s a seagull who desires to follow his dreams rather than remain confined by the rigid expectations of the flock. That in itself is a lesson of wonder and wisdom, but even that is only the very beginning of who Jonathan really is, and what he teaches.

The byword of the decade, to the point that some people inwardly groan when they hear it now, has been “The Law Of Attraction”. The Secret
book and movie brought it out of the woodwork, though it’s been around much longer than that. In essence, what was taught in The Secret simplifies the laws of reality, which are malleable and mold-able, influenced not only by physical and logical things, but by dreams, beliefs, thought and inspiration. If you follow any of the prominent “Law of Attraction” teachers today, you will find many of them recommending this “little book about a seagull,” in fact.

There are many such teachers now. Everywhere you look, someone else is opening a “teaching ministry”, of sorts, in an effort to spread the “gospel” (and occasionally cash in on the fad) about creative thought in some way. Long before The Secret, however, there were teachers who attempted to relay this concept to their students.

One of the best known, and least known, of these elder wise-men was a seagull. Even when Jonathan first hit the bookshelves, and took the world by gentle storm, people who had the courage to read between the lines saw it as more than just “a book about a seagull”. In that light it was primarily promoted as encouragement to follow ones dreams, to allow oneself to march to a different drum if that was where the heart was leading. It was praised as a book about seeking self-growth, inspiration for those who wished to move toward their own heart’s concept of perfection.

Back then, I don’t recall too many people describing this as a book about the very nature of Reality. Of course, back then, I was thirteen. However, each time I have read Jonathan, I’ve seen deeper levels of meaning. It was not just Jonathan’s determination that helped him to grow, it was his ability to let go of the illusion of the physical world around him and allow his heart to believe that growth, even growth beyond what he had initially been able to conceive, was possible. It was not only possible, but it was a given, as long as he did not give up.

As an animal communicator, learning spiritual and life lessons from an animal is nothing unusual. That was a normal part of my existence long before I ventured into the realm of animal communication, in fact. The interesting thing, however, was that an entire generation of humans was picking up wisdom from this particular animal (at least those who could see the book as more than “a little book about a seagull”).

This is a book about a seagull, about a somewhat stubborn and unusual seagull, about a seagull who didn’t follow the rigid mores of the flock, about a seagull who learned that “Reality is What You Make It”. You would think that would be enough, wouldn’t you?

But even that only scratches the surface of what Jonathan is really about. It is about life, it is about death. It is about the nature of reality, and about what exists beyond what we know as reality. It is about growth, growth that goes so far above what we can conceive, that it may just go on forever. There are those who believe that Bach, when penning Jonathan Livingston Seagull, was tapped into some higher source, actually channeling ancient wisdom, rather than “just writing a book.”

I don’t know about that, but I do know that this simple seagull, this high flying bird, when read about with open eyes, open mind, and open heart, can relay some amazing lessons to the reader.

These, to me…to many of us, I’m sure…are very poignant lessons–lessons which I struggle daily to fully comprehend and embrace.

I think I need to read Jonathan again.

No related posts.

An edited version of my e-book, Through Their Eyes, The Nature of the Beast, is now available on Amazon.com.  It contains some typo repairs (no matter how many times I read through and fix them…never mind as well as some photographs that were inadvertently dumped from the Kindle version on first publishing.  If you have purchased the book already (before yesterday/Monday 5/23), you should be receiving an email from Kindle Support shortly to let you know to download the new version of the book.  Please do so, in order to receive the most benefit, and Miss Pree in spirit tells me that you MUST, because otherwise you won’t be able to see the most important photo in the book!  If you have not received an email from Amazon within the next day or two, please send an email to kdp-support@amazon.com and request that they replace your copy of the book in your archives so that you may update your Kindle/Kindle App.  If you haven’t yet purchased Through Their Eyes, and would like to, the links in this email will take you to the “good version”.

Now Also Available for Nook

Through Their Eyes is now also available on Barnes and Noble for the Nook.  You do not have to actually own a Nook handheld reader to read the book.  Barnes and Noble has the Nook App available for PC, Mac, Iphone, Ipad, Blackberry, Android, etc, linked on the book’s page.

I hope you enjoy my little book.  If you do, and would like to leave a review at either of the above sites, I would be very appreciative!

Related posts:

1. Exciting News! New E-book from Gayle
2. Wild Wings on Kindle
3. Through Their Eyes Author’s Proof

Now available on Amazon.com for the Kindle and Kindle App:

Through Their Eyes

The Nature of the Beast

by
well … me!

Some of my clients may remember my mentioning, some time ago, that I was working on a book that covers animal “problems” from the animal’s point of view. Well, life being what it is, delays ensued, and the book is finally available in e-book form on Amazon.com. Though it’s a Kindle edition, you don’t need to own a Kindle to read it, as Amazon has a free Kindle app for most platforms: PC, Mac, Ipad, Iphone, Blackberry and a number of others.

Within the next few days, Barnes and Noble will also have Through Their Eyes available for the Nook and Nook App as well.

From Amazon:

Animals. They are our friends, our teachers, our companions, our family. However, living life in a household where various species interact moment by moment is not always easy.

Long-time professional animal communicator, Gayle Nastasi, helps people to overcome problems with their animal friends every day. In Through Their Eyes, she presents common problems that pet owners face, from a different perspective — the animal’s own.

Follow specific situations, real-life examples, and excerpts from Gayle’s free email newsletter, as you learn to see pet problems from the pet’s point of view. As you learn to view things from your animal’s viewpoint, you will not only understand them better, you will deepen the wonderful relationship you already have with them.

As a bonus, readers will enjoy some of Gayle’s own animal photography, interspersed between the pages.

I hope you enjoy my little book, and find it helpful as you deepen your relationship with your wonderful animal friends. Feel free to share the news!

Related posts:

1. Exciting “Wild Wings” News
2. Book Recommendation: Animal-Speak
3. New Kindle Version and Now On Nook

You can read that previous post here….

I’ve been back and forth to the center numerous times since, of course, and always look for Firenze among the group.  Until recently, the llamas had limited freedom, as illnesses and problems were being treated.  Most of them are doing well, though, and recently they’ve been allowed into the larger front pasture.  They’re ecstatic about all the room, the browse and grazing, and the ability to really stretch out and soak up the sun.

I’ve had the chance to stop by a few times in the past week, as I’ve been helping Wes to hunt down mealworms to feed several recently rescued bats.  On Tuesday, when I dropped off the first batch of mealworms, I said hello to the llamas, who were enjoying the sunshine.  As my son and I left the center and came around the farm road, we passed a group of llamas lying in the sun, among whom was Firenze.

Stopping the car, I called his name through the open passenger side window.  Of all the llamas in the group, only he responded.  His head came up, his ears went up, and he stared right at me.  I greeted him, and he watched the entire time as my son and I sat there, and as we drove away.

Today, more mealworms in hand, I stopped back in.  After putting the buggies in the ‘fridge, I walked around the kennel building to see Firenze, with deliberation, coming from the rear of the pasture toward me.  He came right up to the fence, the only llama of the large group to even acknowledge my presence, and stood watching me with interest all the while I was saying hello.  After several minutes, another llama became curious about the attention I was giving Firenze, and wandered over.  Firenze flattened his ears and walked away, heading down the hill away from me.

I assumed he’d just had enough chat, or that he didn’t want the other llama encroaching upon his space.

I got in my car, pulled out, and drove down the road.  As I came to the bottom corner of the lower pasture, however, I was greeted by the sight in the picture (which was snapped with my cellphone, so I apologize for the awful quality, or lack thereof).

Firenze, completely alone, no other llamas in sight, was standing at the bottom corner of the pasture.  His head was up, neck stretched high, ears pricked up in obvious attentive concentration.

He looked for all the world as if he was waiting for me.

Nearly a hundred llamas, and I’ve spoken at length to only one, was gifted by only one with the permission to give him a name.  And that llama, out of the entire group, appears to have decided I’m worthy of his personal notice.

Coincidence?  I know what I think about that…how about you?

And yes, I am extremely honored.

Related posts:

1. Communication With A Llama: Firenze
2. The Montana “New York 100″ Llamas Arrive at NELR
3. Llama Sanctuary Crisis

That's Stripes looking at the camera

Quite a few friends have asked me to try to catch some updated chatter from the Starlings, Stars and Stripes.  Last time I managed to acclimate them to the little mini cassette recorder on their cage, it was Stars who went into chat-box mode.  Today, Stripes stepped up to the mic.  I had close to an hour of sounds, much of which was just whistling and “squirking” (a noise that is just a plain old Starling noise).  There was a lot of French Fry yelling at the Starlings, too, which sounds just like an angry sparrow for some odd reason.  ::grins::  I didn’t include those.  Instead, I went through the tape with good old Audacity (free sound editing software for Windows) and picked out some of Stripes’ clearest talking.  You’ll note there’s some repetition here (he was in “Where’s Mommy” mode today, but I only included two of about two dozen of those).

And now, for your listening pleasure, without further ado, and all that jazz….

Stripes the Talking Starling!

WhosABabyBirdie1.mp3 – He’s actually saying this, and variations, a couple times.  Listen for the “Who’s a (something) baby birdie” bit.  Would love to hear comments below on what you think he’s managed to fill that blank in with.  You’ll also hear some whistling and “Pptt” — or however you spell it.  A lovely sound my husband taught them.

WhosMommysBabyBirdie.mp3 – He starts out with “Sweet baby”, which always lures me right in, so you’ll hear me sounding very silly as I interact with him.  They know where to hit me every time.  Then he gets me with “Who’s mommy’s baby birdie” and I can’t help the giggle.  Sorry, I’m a sucker for cuteness, what can I say.  That is Stars whistling over him at the start.

WhosAPrayBeeBirdie.mp3 – In my recent book review of Temple Grandin’s “Animals in Translation”, I mentioned how Stars and Stripes combined “Baby” and “Pretty” to create “PrayBee”.  You can hear that here fairly clearly.

WhosABabyWhosAPrettyBird.mp3 – The beginning isn’t terribly clear, but I think what I initially tagged as “Who’s a Baby” is actually “Sweet Baby”.  At the end he starts a “Who’s a–” but cuts it short.

WhosABabyBird(various)Chirpy.mp3 – Okay, he’s on a tear here.  “Chirpy” is my husband, Joe, for some Starling Only Knows reason.  He tosses in a “Kiss Mommy” and a “Where’s Mommy” at least once, a Chirp and a “Pptt” and … well, you figure it out. 

WheresMommy(x2).mp3 – A pair of “Where’s Mommies” and a “Pptt”.

WheresMommy(short).mp3 – Quick, but clear.

Sneeze.mp3 – Making fun of the human condition.  Yeah, they do sound-effects, too.  ::snort::

KisstheKittyKitty.mp3 – And he closes out with a nice wolf whistle.

HelloKittyKittyKitty.mp3 – I’m not sure why kitties always seem to elicit that wolf whistle … taunting destiny, maybe?  Flirting with Danger?  “Hello”, even though it always seems to be the thing most people try to teach their birds first, came very late (despite us sitting like fools repeating it endlessly in front of them) in the Starlings’ vocabulary.  It’s a bit slurred when they say it, but I think you can hear it.

Related posts:

1. My Starlings Talking
2. Starling Sixpack, and Baby Season
3. RAOKA’n Robins. Er, Starlings.

Animals In Translation

Animals in Translation is an innovative classic which compares the animal mind to the mind of the autistic person.  She parallels the way animals think and feel with her own experiences, drawing some amazing and absolutely inarguable conclusions.  It was her ability to “think like an animal”, in fact, which led to her great success in the meat processing industry.

I’d like to say, to begin, that I do not agree with everything Grandin concludes.  I believe her experience with cattle and livestock is amazing, but I do question, with the utmost respect, her expertise on dogs, for example.  Throughout the book, I found that she tends to generalize a bit too much on the temperaments of dogs breed-by-breed (all Labradors are destructive chewers, for example).  I believe her opinion on “dangerous” breeds may go a bit too far and actually be a “dangerous” opinion.  I don’t feel one should be too quick to use the word “all” when it comes to pigeon-holing dogs into specific breed temperaments.  Yes, certain breeds may tend to lean certain ways, but nothing is written in stone, and a great deal depends on the way the dog is raised and trained.  I also was more than a bit taken aback when she indicated that she condones the use of shock collars in dogs that are prey-drive inspired to chase bikes and joggers.  I actually found that to be somewhat upsetting, and think that it did not take the whole picture into account.  By shocking a dog who’s chasing a jogger, you’re going to cause that dog to associate joggers with pain.  You’ll take a dog who’s being influenced by his prey-chasing instincts and turn that dog’s responses to the stimulus (the sight of the jogger) into fear.  Using a shock collar in this case, as far as I can see, though it might help with dogs that have otherwise unshakable temperaments, poses far too high a risk of turning the dog from a prey-chaser into a fear-biter.

However, that said, for the most part I loved this book.  Not only was her insight into the animal mind from the perspective of a person with autism inspiring, I was amazed by her vast knowledge of animal behavior studies.  Some of the most fascinating parts of Animals in Translation involved her account of studies which have been done with animals the world over and led to some very exciting breakthrough knowledge (as well as knocking some old beliefs on their butts!).  Grandin’s approach to animal behavior is unique and exciting in itself, but I must confess that a lot of my enjoyment of the book was caused by being able to so relate to some of these findings.

In addition, parts of it really struck home for me emotionally.  For one example, when reading the section on music as a language, and how man is most definitely not the only animal who has been able to manipulate the many, often very sophisticated, characteristics of song, the following passage actually had me leaping out of bed, running into the living room with my nook, and calling my husband and son over so I could read it to them out loud:

Mozart was definitely influenced by birdsong. He owned a pet starling, and in his notebooks he recorded a passage from the Piano Concerto in G Major as he had written it, and as his pet starling had revised it. The bird had changed the sharps to flats. Mozart wrote, “That was beautiful” next to the starling’s version. When his starling died, Mozart sang hymns beside its grave and read a poem he had written for the bird. His next composition, “A Musical Joke”, has a starling style. If a musical genius like Mozart admired and learned from a bird, it seems extremely likely early humans learned from birds when they were inventing the first human music.

I’ve always said Mozart is my favorite classical composer.  Now I know why!

In the chapter on How Animals Think, Grandin talks about how many scientists believe that humans are the only animal which uses “recursive” language. This means that they use rules to combine individual sounds and words into sentences that have different meanings. She then points out that it’s been proven that both parrots and dolphins can understand recursive language quite well.

The famous African Grey parrot, Alex, who has the measurable intelligence of a four year old child, in fact, has proven that he can combine concepts in inventive ways to communicate.  One day when her sponsors were visiting Dr Pepperberg’s (Alex’s trainer/owner) lab, the researchers were giving a demonstration on how Alex and his parrot-buddy Griffin had been learning “phonemes”, which are basically the sounds letters and letter combinations represent.  For instance, when pronounced phonetically, a “T” is not “tee”, but “tuh”, an “S” not “ess” but “ssss”, etc.  They were a bit rushed, having to give this demonstration to an audience, and for each plastic magnetic letter Alex got right, he would ask for his usual reward, a nut, and be told he had to wait a bit, then given another letter to identify.  “Which sound is blue?”, for instance, would result in Alex correctly identifying the letter: “Sssss.  Want a nut.”  “Which sound is green?”  “Shhhh.  Want a nut.”  After answering correctly numerous times and having his reward delayed each time, Alex got frustrated.  The next time he answered the question, he added, “Want a nut.  Nnnn, Uh, Tuh!”  Everyone, including Dr Pepperberg, were quite surprised that Alex had taught himself to spell!

Alex took skills he had been taught, and displayed a full understanding not only of the action, but the meaning behind the action, by using them in a way that not only communicated what he wanted, but that he was getting tired of having his rewards delayed.

In the chapter on Animal Genius, Grandin talks about a macaw which re-combined words he knew to create his own concept.  He frequently would get treats of crackers and cookies, and the bird formed a new word, “crackey”, which indicated that he wanted a treat (but didn’t really care which one he got).

Why do I find these topics so fascinating?  Why did I read them while grinning from ear to ear?  Are you sick of hearing about my starlings yet?

I live with this kind of animal genius every day.  As I was reading about how these “amazing” birds are stunning their researchers with musical skills and communication talents, I was laughing and saying, “That’s not a surprise, my starlings do that all the time!”

In the post on this site called My Starlings Talking, you can, in fact, actually hear Stars say the word, “Pray-bee”.  Similar to “crackey”, it’s a combination of “Pretty” and “Baby”, both of which the birds would hear me say, and learned to repeat.  A “Pretty Baby”, to them, is more easily referred to as a “Pray-bee”, their own “recursive” word.

Stars and Stripes also recombine words to form new sentences all the time, always sentences that are, for the most part, grammatically correct and make sense.  For example, though they heard me asking, “Who’s a pretty bird?” and hearing me call them “Baby” many times, they took it on themselves to recombine the words frequently.  I never specifically taught them to “repeat” the variations, they just invented them on their own.  “Who’s a pretty baby?” “Who’s a pretty baby bird?”  And they taught themselves “Mommy” — which they very obviously apply only to me (my husband is “Chirpy” for some strange reason … a word they never actually heard us say as far as I know!)  They can frequently be heard to ask, “Who’s Mommy’s (yes, with the ‘s added!) pretty baby bird?”  No one ever actually taught that to them — they recombined words they already knew, and did so appropriately, to form a new sentence.

Grandin also talks about how birds in communication research have learned to recognize not only the words they use, but their meanings, and to use them properly in different situations.  Alex, for instance, knows what “blue” is, and can generalize “blue” regardless of what item he is looking at that is that color.  My starlings have long recombined concepts and shown me clearly that they not only know the word, they know what the word means.  When trying to express what they want, they sometimes have very interesting ways of doing so, too.

Twice now, I’ve been “doing” something where they could see me, but could not see what I was doing because my back was to them.  I would hear their adorable little alien voices ask, “Washee doin’?” and, without turning, I’d tell them.  One time it was “Knitting socks,” another, “Writing something”, for instance.  They’d continue to ask, “Washee doin’?” and, when I didn’t quite give them what they wanted (to actually see what I was up to), they’d then say, “Come see me doin’!”

They say “come see me” all the time, and ask “washee doin’?” frequently.  By combining the “come see me” (which brings the person to them) and “doin’”, they illustrated that they not only knew the words, they knew the meaning of the words.  They wanted me to come over to them and show them what I was doing.  And of course, I did!

One day, my friend and “birdie mentor”, wildlife rehabilitator Kelly Martin, was visiting.  The starlings gave me one of my biggest grins that day.  As with many birds, if there’s something new or strange in the house, they won’t talk.  Thus, Kelly, though she’d visited a number of times, had yet to actually hear them speak, even though I was always bragging about them.  She stopped in front of their cage that day and noted, “I see they need their beaks trimmed.”  Stars immediately responded, “Do you see me?”

Kelly stopped in her tracks, and gave me a sideways grin.  “Well?  Do you see him?” I asked and she replied, “Yes, I do.”

The starlings say many things they were never “taught” to say, but just picked up on their own.  They often take things we did actually teach them deliberately and recombine them in ways that make perfect grammatical (though sometimes in a round about way, such as “Come see me doin’”) sense.  They entertain and amaze us all the time, and very frequently illustrate not only that they have learned the words, but they know what they mean.  I truly do believe that they are not only “talking birds”, but “communicating birds”.  Some may try to call it all coincidence, but my little feathered friends, with their consistency and their continual adaptation skills, have taught me not to doubt.

The other day, I was sitting here at the computer writing, and Stars began to talk to me.  He was using a phrase that they taught themselves.  As I said, they picked up “Mommy” on their own, as well as using the word in sentences, such as “Where’s Mommy?” and “I see Mommy!”  This day, it was “I see Mommy!”

I’d turn toward them and respond, as usual, “I see you, too!”

“I see Mommy!”

“I see you, too!”

“I LOVE Mommy!”

Who could ever doubt that?

Mozart’s Piano Concerto in G Major (YouTube)

Mozart’s “A Musical Joke” (YouTube – Stars, Stripes, Whistle and I all love this piece)

Animals In Translation

Description, reviews and purchase options.

Related posts:

1. Doctors and Daylilies..and Birdies

Sadly, with the passing of my dear friend Judith Simpson, Lost Bard Books has also passed away.  Watch the website  for news about the future of the Junior Handlers Mysteries.

Some of you may have noticed that I haven’t been posting much lately. That is not to say, however, that I haven’t been writing. I have, in fact, been nose-first in the written word quite a bit lately, including a last run-through edit of my first mystery story for young readers.

The Corpse That Wasn’t There is the first installment of The Junior Handler’s Mystery Series, which will be published by Lost Bard Books. The book is done, and the editors are putting it through the final spell-check and tweak before assembling all the parts and putting the finished product online. Rest assured that I’ll be posting here as soon as it’s available for purchasing!

Lost Bard Books is a new e-book and print on demand publisher. Their first run of books will be online very soon, including “Corpse”, as we’ve fondly grown to call it. (How quaint, yes?) While you’re eagerly waiting to purchase the novels Lost Bard will be making available for your reading pleasure, you can visit the website and download quite a nice selection of free short stories right now.

The team at Lost Bard Books are doing a wonderful job, as the samples online will show you.  I’m extremely excited, as they have hired the amazingly talented Jen Hawkyard to do the cover illustration for The Corpse That Wasn’t There.  You can view the book cover on her website right now, http://jezhawk.com/Illustration.html, as well as many other examples of her lovely artwork.

The second book in this series, Wild Wings of Danger, was my NaNoWriMo novel draft for 2009.  I posted here about my NaNo adventures, and am pleased to say that the story didn’t turn out half badly.  It was good enough, in fact, to be readily accepted by Lost Bard, and I look forward to seeing it join its predecessor some time in the future.  Within the past week, I’ve been jotting notes for Book Three as well–I’m having fun scheming, and look forward to the meat of the writing adventure.

Needless to say, I’m extremely thrilled to see the first book in the Junior Handler’s Mystery Series hitting the virtual shelves very soon.  My deep gratitude goes out to the good folks at Lost Bard Books, particularly my editor Judy Simpson, and to Jen Hawkyard for sharing her wonderful talents with my story.  While you await the final product, please enjoy, here, the synopsis to:

The Corpse That Wasn’t There

Junior dog handler, Rhiannon (Ree) Antonio’s best friend in the whole world is Merlin, her cream Saluki.  Coming in at a close second are Jake and Stacy, who also participate in Junior Showmanship with their dogs, Irish Setter Finn and Basset Hound Clyde.  The kids think they have normal dogs, who are enjoying normal dog shows, until Merlin begins to behave strangely, and lands the kids right in the middle of a mystery.

The Saluki slips his collar and the kids chase him through the show grounds, where he discovers a body buried in trash behind some storage sheds.  When the trio of Juniors finally convince the adults to follow them back there, however, the body has vanished…and everyone thinks Ree made up the story as a joke!

The kids know different.  They are determined to find that body, and prove to the grown-ups that they were telling the truth!

Their search leads them into the museum on the grounds, and the American Workers exhibit.  Ree finds clues there that expand her search, but a scary encounter between the museum’s cranky curator, Mrs Kennedy, and Merlin (who appears to have gone off the deep end) adds a whole new element of fear and danger to the day.  Ree finds herself not only trying to prove her own truthfulness, but save her dog from being put to sleep as vicious!

The kids’ saving grace turns up in an unlikely person.  Detective Aaron, who was originally called in to investigate a missing museum exhibit, takes a shine to the Saluki, and believes that there is more to Ree’s story than an over-active imagination.

Merlin continues to follow the clues, guided by his inner sense for trouble, and leads the trio of Juniors through the scary halls of the old museum, and into the dark of night.  Their adventures culminate in a police chase that speeds down darkened back roads to the parking lot of a run-down motel.

There, the mystery is revealed, the criminals apprehended, and we finally meet the “vanishing corpse” in person!

Links of Interest:

LostBardBooks.com
Jen Hawkyard’s Website

Related posts:

1. Announcement: Lost Bard Books dissolved
2. My Amazon Author Page
3. “Corpse” Author’s Copies are Here!

When new people call me now, with a missing pet, I offer (at no charge) to send information to the pet, including encouragement and instruction on how to help himself be found.  Two-way connections are much more difficult, however, and it is these I’ve been taking a break from for some time.  (This, please note, is not the fault of the animals or their humans, but a failing of my own which I’m hoping is temporary.)

I also offer other advice, practical applications that can help a person locate a missing pet.  One of the best of these in recent years has been FindToto.com.

FindToto is a service that calls listed phone numbers in the area where the pet was last seen.  A recorded message describes the pet and the situation, and gives a number to call if the pet is seen.  Their success record is quite impressive, and I’ve become more and more convinced that this service is one every person missing a pet should at least consider.

There is a fee for FindToto.  Their rates vary depending on how many calls the client wishes to be made, beginning at $70.00 for the basic package of 250 calls, raising in increments all the way up to 10,000 numbers for $875.00.  The FindToto website includes a lengthy section of success stories to help potential customers decide if the service is for them.

There are many things a person can do, including hiring the assistance of an animal communicator, while searching for a missing pet.  The vast majority of those things involve getting the information out.  The more people who know about your animal, the greater the chance of someone seeing and recognizing him.

FindToto is an innovative way of doing just that.  Not everyone has the financial means to hire the service, but I believe everyone searching for a lost pet should at least consider it.

Links and Information to help in the search for missing pets:

• FindToto.com
• http://gazehound.blogspot.com/2005/01/animal-communication-tips-lost-pets.html
• http://gazehound.blogspot.com/2005/01/more-on-lost-pets-communication.html
• http://gazehound.blogspot.com/2005/04/excellent-lost-dog-help-site.html

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