Delayed Chapter

Okay, I've stalled for ages. But I'm finally writing that chapter of Evva's story that I need to add. Like I've mentioned before, I always find some kind of event I need to slip into a story. Which so far has meant that I've had to add a new chapter to each of my stories after their first or second (or twelfth) draft.

I guess one reason I've been putting it off is the research aspect.
And also because I'm not entirely sure what's going into the chapter beyond the basics. But that's true about most of what I write. So it's no real excuse.
I've done about as much research as I can at this point, so I'm making myself do it XD . I just have to stop myself from getting confused between Evva and Arrin's stories.

Speeching in the Desert

I've mentioned a few times that my dad used to volunteer at the bald eagle breeding program where I now work. I've also mentioned his documentary about the bald eagle Silver.
Silver ended up at the zoo after he was shot. This was when bald eagles were extremely rare because DDT was ruining all of their eggs. The zoo decided that they were going to try something new by strengthening Silver until he could be released. It took a few years. Dad was very involved in the project. And finally they were able to release Silver out in the Nevada desert, near Elko.
Ten months later, someone shot and killed Silver.

The Northeastern Nevada Museum in Elko got permission to display Silver and share his story.

That was 45 years ago.
And for the anniversary, they redid the whole Silver exhibit. They put Silver in a place of honor above the big animal hall. It comes with new signs and a touch screen with info about eagles and Silver in particular. It also has the two documentaries about Silver.

They had a big event for all of this. And they invited Dad to come in and take part.
I went along.
Dad did a speech about Silver and the danger eagles were facing. At the end I came up and talked a little. I told everyone that it was normal people who had noticed that eagles were disappearing. And I talked about the success story of the Mexican gray wolves.
It's my job to get people to care about animals, after all.

It was a good event. Dad loved every moment of it.
It's a great museum, and if you're ever in the area I definitely recommend you check it out. Dad's in several of the museum signs. Here's one of them (it's not super focused - sorry).



And after we had time to go look for some wild horses near Reno!
Look at this little cutie~

Look at the Life Around You

There are so many amazing animals where I work. But whenever I get the chance, I like to point out the animals living wild around us.
People should care about all animals, not only the biggest most impressive ones. Even tiny animals can be amazing (or cute).

We get some cool birds around here. A couple months ago, there were a pair of hooded oriole chicks that were fledging.

They could fly pretty good, but would sit in a bush and call constantly for mom and dad, "feed me, feed me! Don't forget about me! I'm over here!" And every couple minutes, either mom or dad would come by to stuff them with bugs.

(Baby begging from mom)

(And here's dad)
I'd point the chicks out to everyone who walked by. While also making sure no one bothered them.


One day, there was a gopher digging out a tunnel about a foot from the pathway. He'd come up pushing an armful of dirt, and then pack it down and disappear back in the hole only to return a few seconds later with another armful of dirt. He was working hard! And the kids liked watching him. It was pretty entertaining. Finally he pushed up so much dirt that the hole was essentially sealed up. I guess later he started all over again in a different place.

This is a different gopher - a younger one that lost his hole and was trying to find it again.
Random story, but still cute. I was on a hiking trail when I noticed movement. A gopher was coming out of his hole, grabbing grass, and pulling it back inside. I quietly crouched next to his hole and started picking blades of grass and holding them near the hole. And he took them from me, just like he was taking the grass he'd picked himself XD


This last one has happened several times since, but it was exciting the first time I saw it.
A bee swarm.
When honey bees are ready to move out and find a new home (for example if a new queen is born), the queen leaves with many of the other hive bees.
They're pretty harmless when they swarm. They're on full "protect the queen mode" so they're not interested in attacking anyone. And they'll fly until they find a temporary or permanent roost. Then they all pile on top of each other to form a protective huddle around the queen.


This one was about the size of a football. And this was a very small swarm.
I hung out for a while, mostly making sure there was no danger of stings. And then I just pointed the bees out to people because it was cool.

So while zoo animals are freaking awesome, don't forget to appreciate the local life around you also!

Google Earth

So, I've discovered a new tool for writing.
Google Earth.
Arrin's story is set in their version of Yosemite. Which means that if I get some geography wrong, people will notice. It's a popular place.
Yosemite is not close to my house, so I can't go up there and measure things myself. The satellite view from Google Earth helped me see where certain features are. Even just a clump of rocks. Rocks are important in this story, so I need to know where to find them.
Yaay for technology!


Peacock

It's Easy Being a Cat

I recently did a rough sketch of the cat character in Rinn's story.
And I just introduced her (she's become a female since my last post, because there were too many boys in the story XP )
Oh man, she's so fun to write for! She's the first thing about this story that's come effortlessly.


Sumatran Tiger

Nicknames

Yeah, I keep catching myself calling Arrin "Evva." I think I'm going to start calling her "Rinn" instead. It's her nickname, just as Evva is short for Evareen.
Everyone calls her Evva. But only a few people call Arrin "Rinn." So I've haven't made too much use of that nickname yet.
Even though the names Evva and Arrin aren't really that similar, I guess they're close enough in length and syllable count to confuse me.
At least for now, I'm going to stick with "Rinn," and see if that smacks me into shape. Probably in some distant draft I'll be able to change it back.


Kudu

Paid to Write (kind of)

Ooh, I might get to write a page for the zoo website!
My boss let me start typing it up. So if all goes well, it will get posted once I can show the PR people a finished result.
It'll be about living with local wildlife.
Wish me luck!


Marabou stork (To feed him, they toss mice and he'd catch them right out of the air. You can see one flying toward him in the first picture).