The final book in the Reaping Covetous series is now out and available in paperback and digital. The series has been an interesting journey for me. I’ve learned a lot but still have much more to discover. On a personal level, I’m happy with the way the series ended and I hope readers are too. I’m switching gears for my next book and Imperfectly Perfect Pixie, a fantasy m/m romance should be out in October.
Summer is still in full swing, but with the younger generation going back to school, it feels like we’re on the downward spiral. September is just a couple short weeks away. Fen Fen will turn 4 August 31st. I haven’t done as big of a party for him the past couple of years, but I will get some cupcakes, candles, and the ladies at work will humor me and sing happy birthday to him. Fen also has a birthday party hat that he wears each year. It is super cute on him.
I’ve finally put my bird feeders back out and once more, the wild birds are eating me out of house and home. I took them down last year when the birds seemed to have some sort of disease and the wildlife experts didn’t want them congregating and potentially spreading it around. I was going to put the feeders back out this spring, but then the nesting hawks found a home in my sycamore tree and it seemed like a poor idea. Or, at least it seemed like a cruel one. From what I read, red-tailed hawks eat more small rodents and snakes than birds, but they will eat our feathered friends and I felt like placing the bird feeders out was sort of like a free lunch for the hawks and a potential death sentence fo the smaller birds. Maybe I overthought things, but that’s nothing new for me.
As far as the hawks are concerned, my nesting pair successfully reared 2 out of 3 of their babies. One fell out of the sycamore tree when it was very young. The other two lived and I got to watch them hop through nearby trees and take small flights until they were ready to go farther out. I don’t see them much any longer. I do hear them at times, but again, not nearly so often. They were fun to watch and I loved having them. They were also a little disturbing at times. I was witness to one of the adult hawks carrying up a snake for their kiddos and got to see one of the youngsters slurp the snake down like a spaghetti noodle. That’s a mental image I’ll carry with me for a while.
Work is as busy as ever. Our third doctor started in June and he’s doing a great job, especially for just graduating from veterinary school. It’s fascinating, watching him grow and learn. It’s been 20 years since I was in that position and I don’t miss those days. The addition we’re putting on the clinic is taking shape. As with all things right now, supply is an issue and it takes longer than it should to get anything done as we wait for the next product to come in. It will be nice when it’s done. Sometimes I fear we’ve already outgrown the addition before it’s complete.
I hope you are all doing well. Some days, that’s a difficult bill to fill. A little over a month ago, I had COVID for the first time and have to say I don’t care to have it again. Thankfully I recovered just fine, but felt like shit while I had it. My sense of smell was gone for about 2 weeks after. It’s back now and I have to say I think the sense of smell might be overrated, at least in my profession. I didn’t miss being able to smell anal glands, poo, bloody poo, vomit, tom-cat urine, etc . . .
I’m wishing everyone well and hope you enjoy the final installment of the Reaping Covetous series. I’m going to miss the characters, but they stay with me, whispering in the back of my mind, telling me their stories.
MJ May
veterinarian and fiction writer 