More about Great-Horned Owls

Owls Rock

Great-Horned Owls are adaptable creatures. They can be found anywhere in the United States and that includes parts of Alaska as well. Their diet consists of a wide variety of critters. They have been known to dine on almost anything from fish, bugs, and reptiles to birds and mammals. Some of these as big or bigger than they themselves, mammals like skunks, raccoon, and opossum. They kill their prey by crushing them with their powerful feathered talons before they swallow them whole.

Owls prefer to nest in the natural openings they find in trees, or they will take over the abandoned nests of other birds or animals rather than building a nest from scratch. Where they nest is just as versatile as what they choose to eat. Cliff edges, small caves, low bushes, tall grasses, bushy places on the desert floor, and hollows inside cacti are but a few. They have nested in a coyote's den or inside the entrance to a badger's burrow. Sometimes they have even chosen to nest in man-made structures.

Not far from the small town where I live is the larger town of Prescott Valley, Arizona, and the local Home Depot. For years now, a family of owls continue to nest on the very top storage shelf of the outdoor gardenmart. The area they chose is against the wall and under an overhang. Their nest is safely nestled between a large stock of cardboard boxes.

Home Depot has become their private sanctuary. Store employees avoid going anywhere near the site until the nestlings are old enough to move out of the nest and hang out nearby. By this time, the youngsters are about six weeks old. At seven weeks they can fly a little, but owls aren't competent enough to fly well until they are at least ten to twelve weeks of age. Parents continue to feed the juveniles until they are about five months old. And growing young Owls eat a lot!

Eventually, It takes both parents to keep them fed. This means that hunting times are extended to include daylight hours as well. The parent owls usually have large caches of food stored close to the nest. This place is where the owls bring their prey first. Here is where they discard the unwanted parts, things like heads, wings, and feet.

These discards they leave for the Home Depot employees to deal with at a later date.
To learn so much more about these fascinating raptors go to Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_horned_owl#Territoriality_and_movements

Book Viral Review

        Topaz and the Green Fairies

Editorial Review:
An abundantly likable and enjoyable novel for the young and young at heart, Topaz and The Green Fairies is the latest release in an engaging series from author Pat Frayne. It’s often hard to find the right timbre when writing for a restless audience that’s short on attention, but Frayne imbues her pages with a quiet charm that hits the right narrative and emotional beats from the very start. With a whimsical mix of lovable characters that children will quickly warm to, the adventure is reminiscent of time honored classics. Imaginative and rich in detail, Frayne has a genuine flair for this genre, creating a beguiling world of magic and intrigue whilst careful to capture those human elements of fantasy fiction that make for the best of reads. Underpinning it all is Topaz. A wonderfully imagined character that captures the universal fondness of cats and proves amiably endearing as Bozel’s quest unfolds.

Delightful to the end, Topaz and The Green Fairies proves a magical read and one deserving of a place on your bookshelf. It is strongly recommended. - Book Viral Review

 http://bookviral.com/topaz-and-the-green-fairies/4591617555

Imagination (third installment)

Imagination

In the beginning, my imagination seemed to flow with ease.  I finished the first draft of each of the first two stories in less than a week after I'd begun to write them. Sometimes the ideas flowed so fast I found I’d written myself into a corner and had no recourse but to self-sufficient.

At other times the dilemmas I created for my characters would take a few hours or even a couple of days to resolve before I could move forward. This was especially true in the third Book, Topaz, and the Green Fairies. Yet my passion for writing never waned. I love the challenge. It's like trying to solve a difficult puzzle. My biggest problem is spelling. Thank goodness for 'spell-check'.

As a newbie to writing, I had to learn the craft as well. So I joined a writers group,  attended multiple workshops, read several books, and scoured the internet for articles written by accomplished writers. 

All in all, writing about Topaz and his friends has been an enjoyable experience for me. It's also been many hours of hard work with seldom a day off. I've put in more hours  per day writing than I ever did when I worked as a full-time RN. The truth is, most days I barely notice how long I've been in front of the computer until my husband says, "are you ready to  for something to eat?"

Thankfully, he's quite self-sufficient, and he actually likes to make his own meals! 

http://www.patfrayne.net

Topaz, the Yellow Conjure Cat

Topaz, the Yellow Conjure Cat

As I've already mentioned, Topaz is not just an ordinary cat. He's very much a product of the mystical world he lives in. His luminous topaz eyes, a trait characteristic of his breed, are quite unsettling to those beings unfamiliar with conjure cats.  At times, those eerie eyes may be a bit unnerving for close friends as well.  This happens when Topaz appears to look through someone rather than looking at them. But that's by far, not the only reason others find them so disturbing.

Aside from his strange luminous eyes there are other traits that set him apart. He has quite a long tail, and his short buttery yellow fur is striped with pale orange. Topaz is a large, lean, muscular cat that weighs more than the Elf king. His shoulders actually come past the king's waist. This would make him roughly one hundred and fifty pounds.

Unfortunately, Topaz is the last cat of his kind. Even so, he's committed to the ancient Code he swore to uphold as did his forefathers before him. The Code governs the use of his unique conjure power. Nevertheless, this power has its limits. Armed with only a basic understanding of how this power works, Topaz struggles with this insecurity even as fights to protect the kingdom and all its inhabitants. These are but a few of the challenges our conjure cat faces when confronted with other beings who threaten the peace and safety of his beloved Knownotten.

Nevertheless, Topaz's dedication does not end here in the Kingdom of Knownotten. He's often called upon to defend the powerless victims of evil and injustice in other lands. Because he is wise, he's not above accepting the advice and companionship of others as he strives to fulfill what he sees as his duty to all Fairies and Elves as well as other mystical beings.

Topaz, for all his good points, is not a perfect being. Like some of us, he's been known to lose his patients and to speak without thinking. As you learn more about him, I'm sure you'll find these aren't his only failings. All the same, he's well loved by his friends and by readers, young and old alike.

Although these tales were written for the entertainment of those who enjoy fast-paced mystical adventures and original fairy tales, there is an emphasis on the value of courage, commitment, friendship, and loyalty.

* Fairy and Elf are capitalized because they are the name of a nationality in this series.

Topaz the Conjure Cat Books