CM Simpson: Writer & Gamer

I have wanted to get close enough to photograph these shy wading birds for some time, but they've always managed to elude me, skulking off into the shrubbery, just as fast as their little red legs can take them. To find out more about dusky moorhens, you can visit the following sites: http://www.birdsinbackyards.net/species/Gallinula-tenebrosa ; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dusky_moorhen ; http://birdlife.org.au/bird-profile/Dusky-Moorhen ; http://www.parks.tas.gov.au/?base=16225 ; http://goulburnwetlands.org.au/?page_id=908 ; http://calamvalecreek.awardspace.com/dabbs.html ; http://www.climatewatch.org.au/species/birds/dusky-moorhen-1 .

On a grey morning, I went out to look for birds. I didn't have a lot of luck, but I did spot these beauties coming in to land on this tree. I'd noticed them on other walks, on the ground, but this particular morning, they did not oblige by coming out of the tree. The first shot shows where they landed.  The next few shots catch show a glimpse of yellow and red. But it wasn't until this one turned side on, that I had enough to be able to identify them. I'm thinking the males have yellow faces.  And the females or juveniles are all green... maybe. Apparently, the superb parrot is a threatened species, so I feel particularly lucky to have been able to photograph these. More information on superb parrots can be found at the following sites: http://www.birdsinbackyards.net/species/Polytelis-swainsonii ; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Superb_parrot ; http://www.environment.nsw.gov.au/threatenedspeciesapp/profile.aspx?id=10645 ; http:/...

Reading got done. After Laurell K. Hamilton, I opted for a change of pace and dipped into Anne McCaffrey’s Crystal Singer series, and Tanya Huff’s Blood series.

So, I went for a bit of a walk, trying to get some different shots of the crimson rosellas. At first they proved to be very elusive, and they stayed that way for the morning. This was the only shot I had of a pair in a tree. For bright red and blue (and green) birds, they can be quite difficult to see, when they are feeding in long grass.  Harder still when they bend down to feed. There are two birds in each of the shots below.  And there they are again. If even red and blue birds can hide in the long grass, what chance do we have against velociraptors? You can find more about crimson lorikeets from the following sites: http://www.birdsinbackyards.net/species/Platycercus-elegans ; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crimson_rosella ; http://birds.about.com/od/mediumbirds/p/Crimson-Rosellas-As-Pets.htm ; http://parkweb.vic.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0012/322203/rosella4.pdf ; http://australianmuseum.net.au/Crimson-Rosella ...

This month I finished writing the following 2 collections: 365 Days of Flash Fiction   365 Days of Flash Fiction is scheduled for release October 4, 2014. 365 Days of Poetry   365 Days of Poetry is scheduled for release November 6, 2014.

Look, look, look - it's finished, it's up on one site  with a discount, and it will be up on another shortly. Anyway, for your enjoyment, for the next two weeks (the week before, and the week after release). CROSS-POSTED FROM publishing site : Due for release on 4 October 2014, 365 Days of Flash Fiction is now available in e-book for pre-order from Smashwords , and will shortly be available from Amazon.com. Science fiction, fantasy, dark fantasy, speculative fiction and a touch of horror, this collection plays with just about every genre C.M. Simpson could lay her hands on. In it, she explores new worlds, new settings and some ideas that just needed to be gotten out of herhead. If short stories are your thing, and the shorter the better, there are a bunch of them to be found in this collection. Go ahead and take a look. TO CELEBRATE: we are offering this collection at SMASHWORDS at a 50% discount until 11 October 2014. Just use the following coupon PRIOR to co...

With four assessment items due in the first three days of this week and a need to revise for the upcoming lessons, not a lot got written last week. Overview New words produced: 3,915 (assignment) Old words revised: 0 Works completed: 0 Works revised: 0 Covers created: 0 Works published: 0 (2-3 release platforms) Works submitted: 0 Competitions Entered: 0 Bloggery: 0 Publishing Tasks Edited Annual14— 365 Days of Flash Fiction