You might not know this, but I raised and bred guinea pigs when I was a kid. At one point I think I had over a dozen in my bedroom (my room also had a pair of breeding doves and some fish). Not to brag or anything, but I made it to showmanship championships in Bakersfield one year. Yeah, I was a big deal with my piggies. Enjoy this very out-of-focus photo of me and my champion Teddy (breed of guinea pig) named Chippy.
I share this to say, when I found out they had baby capybaras at The Sacramento Zoo…I got pretty excited. For those who don’t know, capybaras are part of the Caviidae family and are considered distant relatives of the guinea pig. I got my 6-year-old nephew hyped up and when we saw the five little babies, well, we might have squealed just a bit. Not only are they adorable, but we saw them learning to swim! I think I got him hooked.
Here are my favorite capybara photos, along with some other beautiful Sacramento Zoo animals. Let me know if you have a favorite photo and have a fantastic rest of your week!
#1 *the momma capybara#2 *one of five cute babies!#3#4#5 *don’t tell the others, but this little one is my favorite#6#7#8#9 *see if you can spot the third baby in the water#10#11#12#13 *serious side-eye happening #14 *love the meerkat lookout#15#16 *isn’t he gorgeous!#17#18#19#20 *love the red pandas#21#22#23#24#25
Photos were taken with an Olympus OM-D and edited with ON1 Photo RAW
Thank you Vanessa for the awesome face painting! Check her out if you need to hire someone. She’s fantastic.
It’s my favorite time of year—apple picking, pumpkin patches, fun tights, caramel apples, popcorn, beeswax candles and costumes. It’s the time of year I’m happy to linger beneath a tree or chase the setting sun. It’s also a time of change, letting go, and setting new goals.
I won a pitch session with an agent last week, and it didn’t go as planned. In fact, I learned it’s impossible to sell middle-grade novels at the moment and on the fly I pitched my YA novel from years ago. She loved the idea and agreed to read it when it’s ready. I’m proud of how I shifted gears in the moment, with only a brief stumbling of my words, but that story isn’t where my heart is right now. Should I pivot anyway? Is selling my books the goal? What if it takes me another ten years to write anything?
Obviously, this sent me into a creative existential crisis for a few days, but with the help of my incredibly creative friends, I found my way back to the truth. I want to write cool shit that makes me happy. My middle-grade novel is for my daughter. If nobody else reads it, then it’s okay. It’s her story, for her. Maybe when it’s ready the industry might be interested, and maybe not. If I start trying to write what I think will sell, then I’m going to be forever chasing a shadow that’s moving quickly across the ground. No thanks.
So, while I’m forever reinventing myself and changing, I do know wonderful things are happening all around me. I hosted a Halloween party at my home for the first time in years and it was a blast! My talented friend, who I’ve known since her birth, will be releasing her book on Halloween (CHECK IT OUT). I’m making strides toward my new health goals. I just listened to a story that reminded me how much I love twisted fairytales and writing weird things. I’ve got a bowl full of fresh apples on my counter and I cleaned out my garage.
So come with me to the apple orchard. Let’s see how the light hits the apples and hear the crunching of the leaves beneath our feet.
#1#2#3#4#5#6#7#8#9#10#11#12#13#14
Photos were taken with an Olympus OM-D and edited with ON1 Photo RAW
I’ve been struggling with some health stuff and things feel very hard. I’m still working on various projects, but in small doses. I did get to meet one of my fellow bloggers in person recently, which was amazing. I also continue to sell a few books a week and reviews are still coming in (thank you!)
While I’m focusing mostly on health right now, I did recently visit the historic Sacramento City Cemetery on a bright fall morning and take these photos. I hope you enjoy them and please let me know if you have a favorite.
As always, thank you for sticking around here. It means the world to me.
#1#2#3#4#5#6#7#8#9#10#11#12#13#14#15#16#17#18#19#20: Taken on the night of the full moon
Photos were taken with an Olympus OM-D and edited with ON1 Photo RAW
birthday soon leaves begin their autumn dress eager wind rushes to receive only in dreams, summer remains —Neil, 2021
As many of you know, my dear friend and fellow blogger, Neil Reid, left us last November. Today would have been his 78th birthday. In honor of his kind heart and beautiful writing, I’d like to share with you two poems that will be in our poetry collection coming out next spring. The first one I wrote in honor of Neil, and the second is a favorite poem of his. He had a way of stringing together many different ideas to make you understand a deep truth. The photo above is of his beloved dragon statue which made it’s way to me. It’s magical, like him.
I miss him so much.
If you have a favorite Neil memory, please share it. Or, if his writing is new to you, read more and let me know what you think.
farewell
you are my moose four legs rooted in soil stars dancing in dark pupils sniffing for ripe plums running from wolves
you hand me threads wrapped around words unraveling big pills not wooden, real live boy feet kissing earth
you turn toward light living moss-covered verbs bowls of ocean water melt like sugar does children need sunlight
you wanted Neverland stories told under willows hunger turned into warmth forgetting ancient lost faces harvest moon dancing
you call me mother as in honey comb solid tree branches bend into dream blossoms nests, fragile eggs
you return home tail, fin, gills, scales shyness turned into galaxies unafraid of unknown shapes
love is a bucket we keep filling forever
—Bridgette
tell me words
when I can’t quite see you. unclear. obstructed. cluttered by stray thought. sound but no sight. although more than an arm’s length away. or, maybe it’s just smoke. fine bits of something recently burnt. a particulate suspended mass.
describe smoke
when I called, you came to me. only a few steps measured away, but it meant you had to get up, get out of bed. something in the dark looked awry. my height marked in pencil, ascending on the doorway jam. yours by a calming hand.
describe mother
she was always there. more than anyone. her. feeder of stray cats, any cats. hands that held no threats, not to anyone. a gingham dress. always. at least my always. memory bigger than me. mother of mother.
describe Janet
you come from out of the ground. you come from mountaintops. you come from high and grey and green and white and dark, clouds we say. one drop at a time still makes an ocean to waiting watchful acolytes. thirst. we drink.
describe water
check mark all of the above. a first beginning, eagerly. tell me all the stars. tell me all the worlds. tell me about me and about you. I’m all ears. I’ll bring the old cooking pot.
describe everything
you come from the ground when I call. you answer thirst. you bake bread. I comb your hair. cat’s asleep on the bed. you are rolling brown grass hills. my hand knows the curves. you are a bowl of soup. you are inside when outside is rain.
A crane sat staring at the moon. I couldn’t stop my van to take its picture because several cars were behind me, but I saw how it lifted its elegant white neck to show reverence. A few minutes later I found a spot to pull over and startled a field of crows who took off noisily, letting me know I’d disturbed their quiet sunrise.
My camera helped me worship the full corn moon, to capture it sitting on branches and bobbing between power lines. I was struck by how much of an outsider I was to this scene, but also how much I long to remember my connection to all things.
As the bright moon faded into the blue morning, the sun took over the sky. It blinked over the horizon blinding me temporarily, and my eyes fell on the plastic Superman dangling from my rearview mirror and it reminded me I’m doing my best. We all are.
“That is where you’ve always been wrong about me, Lex. I am as human as anyone. I love, I-I get scared. I wake up every morning, and despite not knowing what to do, I put one foot in front of the other, and I try to make the best choices that I can. I screw up all the time, but that is being human, and that’s my greatest strength. And someday, I hope, for the sake of the world, you understand that it’s yours too.” —Superman
Let me know if you have a favorite photo and I hope you have a fantastic day.
Over Labor Day weekend, I attended the 35th annual Chalk It Up event, a free open-art festival for families. My daughter had the privilege of opening the show with her G.I.R.L.S. Rock Sacramento band, Wisteria. It was a lovely, albeit hot, morning filled with art and music.
Let me know if you have a favorite shot and have a fantastic day!
#1#2#3#4#5#6#7#8#9#10#11#12#13#14#15#16#17#18#19#20 (my daughter doing her thing!)
Photos were taken with an Olympus OM-D and edited with ON1 Photo RAW
My beautiful sister and her family invited me on a trip with them last weekend to the ocean. For a moment, all the worries of life were swept to the side. I got to be a kid with a camera. Dogs. Forts. Dance parties. Card games. Laughs. Deer. A hornet bite on my neck (not so fun). Reading in bed. Coffee on the balcony. Seagulls. Snuggles by the fire. A sea monster sighting (maybe). Salt water taffy. Mint tea. A stunning sunset.
I’m starting to feel words swirling inside me again. They seem almost ready to come forth. Yesterday, one of the local indie bookstores, Bloodstone Books, emailed “can you bring more books to the shop? We are officially out.” I can almost forget sometimes my book is in the world, but people are buying it. Slowly but surely. Taking more copies to them today, which feels fantastic.
My daughter is having some scary health struggles and my son is getting his wisdom teeth out tomorrow. Life continues to throw things at us, but damn, I sure do love seeing it all through the camera lens. For those taking the time to view all my photos lately, THANK YOU!
Let me know if you have a favorite photo and have a fantastic day!
As summer winds down, I took my nephew to a few local museums. By far, the Aerospace Museum of California was his favorite. He loved seeing all the planes and playing with all the interactive materials (Legos and other type of building supplies). We spent almost four hours exploring and playing together.
The museum holds another special place for me. My father was in the Air Force and worked at McClellan Air Force Base my entire childhood. It’s also the place a budding journalist (16-year-old me) got to meet President Bill Clinton and see Air Force One.
Let me know if you have a favorite photo and have a great day!
#1#2#3#4#5#6#7#8#9#10#11#12#13#14#15#16#17#18#19#20#21#22#23#24#25: My nephew wanted to take my photo because I “looked like a toy” next to the giant plane.Also, the Man of Steel now has a permanent place in my van.
These photos were taken with an Olympus OM-D and edited with ON1 Photo RAW.
For tickets and information about special events, visit aerospaceca.org
A few weeks ago, I went camping with family. Our campsite was surrounded by large bushes which attracted birds, we spent an afternoon at the beach, and I hiked up some big sand dunes.
Although these might be some of my favorite photos, it’s hard not to beat myself up because I’m not writing. I made an attempt at working on my middle-grade novel recently, and it was rubbish. And although I’ve sold over 100 books, more than I thought I would, I can’t seem to get people to review it. My mind tells me it’s because people don’t like the book, which is fine, but the small hopeful part of me is a bit sad. But you know what? Two local bookstores carry my book and I’ve been selling about three copies a month in store, from people just browsing and liking it. That needs to be celebrated. As I’ve always told my kids—comparison is the thief of joy.
So, let me brush this all off and say, I’m not writing currently, but I’ll be back at it soon. In the meantime, enjoy all these photos. And as always, let me know if you have a favorite. Have a wonderful day!
This will be the eighth time I’m sharing photos with you of Dillon Beach, a place I’m lucky enough to visit several times a year. It’s crazy how each visit is a little different. This visit we saw thousands of tiny crabs, met a lot of really sweet dogs, and shared the early mornings with fishermen and surfers.
These photos are for Heidi, as she showed me again how magical this place really is, and for Sephera, for always being my exploring buddy on the beach.
Hope you all enjoy these and let me know if you have a favorite.
Bridgette Tales 