Golden Horn Reviews

What the reviewers have said about the Golden Horn:

"Alternating between Jim's and Jonnie's point of view, this fast-moving tale blends romance, mystery and adventure as the couple fights against long-standing prejudices and a culture in which the right to revenge is unquestioned. The breathtaking climax holds more than a few surprises. Jim and Jonnie may be able to set the record straight about a pivotal event in Starnovia's history, but will they escape the turmoil they've created? The unique setting, appealing characters and plot twists make this an enjoyable read." Chesakis on Amazon.

"This book is a must-read for fans of Indiana Jones and for those who love stories about ancient myths and legends. Set in the present day, the story centers around an archaeology student who seems to find danger, and love, in the most unexpected places. Two-thumbs up." Archaeologist on Amazon.

"The author does a good job in creating characters and atmosphere. The two main characters (Jonneanna and Jim) alternately tell the story. This is a little bit different - but works well in creating empathy with the characters and showing the different worlds they're coming from."
Avery on Amazon.

"This author has accomplished what this reviewer would confidently call a literary tour de force, in creating out of whole cloth a sovereign nation, presumably part of what we once knew as Yugoslavia, and telling a thoroughly engrossing tale about that nation against a backdrop of history both modern and ancient."
"The author's knowledge of Eastern European history, archaeological theory and practice, and his skill in creating a plausible vignette of life in the years following the recent conflict in the Balkans, together with his craftsmanship in creating characters and putting them into action, all combine to make a stunningly workmanlike debut novel." Clempage on Amazon.

Interior trim for the lodge

Bit by bit, we are starting to add trim: baseboards and moldings around the windows. It is slow work and real wood is expensive, so it may be months before all is done.
Images show me nailing on sub-baseboard, then finishing a power receptacle. I paint and stain the grill work for the large bedroom window, then install it. The small windows in the bedroom are done with the white dragon of the Loders watching over all.

Animals at the lodge

Hunting season is over, and our deer are getting bolder again. Sunday afternoon, eight came out of the lower woods and worked on the green weeds growing in the soybean field. This image was taken using a modern digital Nikon combined with a 250mm f4 Nikkor lens that dates back to 1959 and first saw use with a reflex housing and a rangefinder camera. Not bad for a lens that is probably 50 years old. If I'd used a tripod and didn't have a window in the way. the results would be even sharper.

Our Steinbock (Eurasian Ibex) had taken up residence in the passive solar home. He seems quite happy there, although I do not know what he thinks of the circle of light one window gives to the interior in the late afternoon sun.

On the first Sunday in February we finally had the combination we needed: a tall ladder and most of the dust and dirt making finished. So we installed the overhead light in the open center of the house. Some day we might even have the power to light it up. Note the drapes and sheets covering railings. Soon they will be gone. Meanwhile, our "house cat" keeps watch on top of the heater.

LEGO return

I have been a big fan of LEGO ever since my own children were barely walking. At one time we had a train setup that took an entire room, allowing two trains to run simultaneously. Alas, time and space moved on. But this year, for the first time in over a dozen, I got the trains out and created a small setup. To my surprise, everything still works!

Here a Freight comes around the curve. Note the street lights, powered by transformers wired into the old 4.5 volt LEGO light fixtures.

A minifig team climbs a mountain. The rope leader is chopping ice out of a handhold. His teammate is providing belay.
The pesky Belville girls, including two Lassies in tartan, are once more invading minifig country. I loved to work in the Belville dollhouse scale, but it sure takes a lot of bricks.
Here is an overview of the south side of town. Note the traffic light.

Second entry for The Watchers, Enjoy and give me feedback.

Shepherd Benjamin saw himself as a quiet scholar, a seeker of truth and the higher planes of existence. He do not care for the thrills or dangers of violence, but this was inhospitable and unprovoked! He tapped his staff against the doorstile, stepped back in front of the doorway, pointed the staff’s end into the interior, closed his eyes and spoke a few, seldom-used phrases. The flashes of light that followed were all any mid-summer festival could have hoped for in pyrotechnics. Screams and grinding metal sounds preceded a break-building explosion. He shivered. “Ugh!” The place still stank. He turned and walked away, mumbling brief prayers for the souls of the sapient beings his staff had just turned to ash.
When he reached the far side of the fountain, the beggar girl moved in beside him, matching her pace to his own. “That was impressive,” she enthused. “What happened to those inside?”
Benjamin stopped and took a deep breath, letting the clean, stenchless air he was now moving through his lungs linger in his nose and throat. “I am afraid that all those inside were overly sensitive to light. It is possible that they separated.”
“Separated? Life force from body?”
“Indeed. Their bodies have departed. I know not where their life forces now reside.”
“You use strange verbs, holy man.”
He chuckled, allowing himself a nervous look at his most-recent savior. “You have a strange way of understanding them. Thanks for the warning …and the flash bomb.”
The girl gave him a brief, fierce look then shrugged and cupped her right stump in her left hand and rubbed. Head tilted back slightly, she returned his look in the same manner as before. “Where do you go now, holy man?” she asked.
“Back to my lodging, I guess.”
“You do not wish to examine the place you just incinerated?” she asked.
“Hmm. Had not considered that.” Benjamin stopped, turned around and studied the worship house. It appeared unchanged except for faint streams of pale smoke that continued to drift from the doorway and several small, shattered windows set in its upper dome. Nothing now would be alive inside—not even the elders he had sought—if they had yet been resident. No, he needed the fresh air and these clean, sanded streets, not rooms half-filled with burnt meat. “No, child. I think I have done enough here.”
“Then I shall,” the girl answered, and left him. He watched her skip and weave her way back to the entry, tapping the fountain’s basin edge with her good hand as she passed it and whistling a simple melody that he was sure he knew but could not at that moment place. She waved to him once, then disappeared inside.
“‘You’re a better man than I, Gunga Din,’” he quoted, sighed and resumed his retreat as the fire sirens began scream their warnings. It was only the next day that he realized that the girl’s melody was Bach’s “That Sheep Might Safely Graze.”

Birds, and more birds

I covered some of my bird photography on my older web site , but thought I would add a few more pictures here as a salute to the new year.

The lesser snow geese were in migration and using Harney Lake in East Central Oregon.
The American goldfinch, the yellow-headed blackbird and the ruby-crowned kinglet were shots taken on the fly, handheld, using a 400mm F4.5 Nikkor with pistol grip. The pigmy owl was much closer and, after rehabilitation, about to be released back into the wild.