Rocky Raccoon and the Sugar Water…
I know I have written (many times!) about our hummingbird feeders, bird feeders, and bird bath. Ever since Sprite “left us” (a year ago) I have been feeding the birds, and we have all enjoyed watching them. (Watching birds is NO substitute for Sprite, but it does provide us some fun happenings outside our kitchen windows.)
I have to admit that since we don’t get a very bright-colored group of birds, I prefer the little hummingbirds. They visit our area between March and October. I know I went overboard, but I actually had four hummingbird feeders placed around the yard. I knew that hummingbirds tend to be territorial, so was hoping we would be able to accommodate a few of them at any given time.
Well, we no longer have four hummingbird feeders!
Last week, I was quite surprised to find all four of the feeders totally dry, and one of them actually sitting in the middle of the yard, flipped over. I looked at our neighbors’ hummingbird feeder, and sure enough, it was also pulled down off its hook.
We have lived in this area for twenty years, and none of us have ever seen a raccoon…. ever! Those little critters are mighty handy… I cannot believe they were able to climb up the poles and get the nectar out of those little holes in the hummingbird feeders by tipping them just right, but they were. I had no idea raccoons are that stealthy, but rather doubt the little squirrels could pull off this feat.
Live and learn! One visit to our local Wild Birds Unlimited store took care of this little “problem”>>> I am down to only two hummingbird feeders on one pole, complete with a squirrel baffle. While I enjoy our birds and some of the squirrels, nightly raccoons are simply not on our agenda!
Classic British Cozy Mystery with Classic British Cozy Mystery Dialogue
A little while ago, I was driving somewhere, listening to Death in Ecstasy by Ngaio Marsh. (And, incidentally, loving it!) The only problem I have with audio books is that you can’t simply mark the spot with a bookmark so you can refer to it later. In this case, I thought some of the dialogue was so clever, I simply HAD to go find a place to park, in order to transcribe the words>>> which meant having to reverse and play my audio book several times. (So, these might not be the exact words, but if they aren’t, they are really close.)
For those of you who haven’t yet read any of the Ngaio Marsh Inspector Alleyn mysteries, shame on you! They are British Cozy Mystery classics, some of the best!
What I found endearing about the following conversation that occurs between Inspector Roderick Alleyn and Nigel Bathgate (a journalist cohort), is the way Marsh takes the reader along for a ride with these two fictional characters, discussing mystery books written by contemporary authors of Marsh’s. She is able to make the reader (just about!) forget he/she is reading about fictional characters.
Question regarding who the murderer could be:
“… “let’s pretend it’s a detective novel. Where would we be by this time? About halfway through, I should think. Well, who’s your pick?”
Answer:
“It depends on the author. If it’s Agatha Christie, Miss Wades … guilt drips from every page. Dorothy Sayer’s Lord Peter would plump for … Inspector French would go for…” (Inspector French was the fictional character in Freeman Wills Crofts’ mystery books, written at the same time.)
I found it to be quite clever that Marsh would have her fictional characters refer to current mystery authors, as if her fictional characters weren’t exactly that: fictional characters!
When I told my husband about this, he quickly responded that he thinks Agatha Christie had her fictional characters – Tommy and Tuppence – also name current mystery authors in their dialogue.
Can you think of any other Cozy Mystery authors’ fictional characters who refer to real Cozy Mystery authors?
2012 Nero (Wolfe) Award Nominees!
I finally posted the nominees for the 2012 Nero Awards. Most of you, I am sure, know exactly what the Nero Awards stand for:
The “Nero” is an annual award presented to an author for literary excellence in the mystery genre. The award is presented at the Black Orchid Banquet, which is traditionally held on the first Saturday in December in New York City. Past winners of the award include Fred Harris, Martha Grimes, Dennis Lehane, and Sharyn McCrumb.
(I copied the above statement from the Wolfe Pack site.)
Congratulations to all of the nominees!
2012: Guilt by Association by Marcia Clark 
The Silent Girl by Tess Gerritsen
The House of Silk by Anthony Horowitz
Spiral by Paul McEuen
Though Not Dead by Dana Stabenow
Black Orchid Blues by Persia Walker
(And, here’s a fun tidbit: Jane K. Cleland, author of the popular Josie Prescott Antiques Mystery Series, is the Wolfe Pack’s literary awards chair!)
