FAQ
Any Advice On My Short Story?(Had To Write A Narrative For My Class)?
It'S Supposed To Be A Narrative About An Experience In Our Lives... Criticism Appreciated! 
The Title Is Early Birds: “Time Sure Moves Slow Out Here”, I Thought, Bored And Suspended High In A Tree. It Had Only Been About Two Hours Since I Had Climbed Up The Pine And Settled In My Stand, Though To Me It Felt As If I Had Been There As Long As The Forest Around Me. At First It Was Amusing. After All, It Was My First Hunt Of The Season, As Well As My First Time Hunting From A Tree Stand. I Had Woken A Quarter Before Six That Morning, Grabbed The Gear I Had Set Out The Evening Before, My Rifle, And Headed Out An Hour Before Sunrise For A Hopefully Successful Hunt. My Destination Was A Thick Of Woods Near A Narrow River, Both Resting On State Land. The Area Was Only A Fifteen Minute Walk From My House, And The Same Amount Of Time Was Used To Set Up My Tree Stand And Shimmy From The Base Of A Tree Up To About Forty Feet Or So. The Task Was A Bit Difficult Thanks To Montana’S Dark, Almost Black Autumn Nights. But After Passing A Few Finicky Branches, And Wishing I Had Brought A Brighter Flashlight, I Was Soon Perched High With The Needles Of Evergreens, Ready, As Ever, To Wait. A Forest Looks Different At Night Than In The Day. Of Course There Is A Lack Of Color: The Green, Red, Brown, And Gold Colors Of The Timber Are All Replaced With Blues And Blacks. But The Stillness Of The Trees And The Silence Accompanied By The Night Is What Brings Out A Whole New Character To The Place We Often Picture To Be So Radiant And Full Of Life. After My Eyes Had Adjusted, I Noticed This Midnight Personality. So Quiet. So Peaceful. Even The River, Being Only Fifty Yards Away, Resonated No Sound. I Felt As If I Were In The Middle Of A Community At Slumber. And In The Back Of My Mind, I Even Felt As If I Had Interrupted The Tree I Was Mounted On From Sleep. But, Unfortunately, This Bit Of Fascination Soon Passed. After Thirty Minutes Of Silence, And Staring At The Same Thing, I Found Myself Disappointed In My Own Attention Span. After An Hour, My Feet Began To Twitch Due To Lack Of Movement. After An Hour And A Half, I Began Timing The Twitches To The Beats Of My Favorite Songs Of The Week. And After Nearly Two Hours, I Was Amazed By The Fact That There Were No Thoughts Left In My Mind. It Seemed The Only Thing Awake In The Forest Was Me. I Was Bored, And In The Truest Sense Of The Word. After A Bit More Silence, I Finally Saw Movement: A Bird Had Woken In A Nearby Tree, Bounced Out Onto His Branch, And Flown Off Into The Morning. “The Early Bird Catches The Worm”, I Thought, And Began To Think Of Myself When I Wondered “But What Happens When The Worm Doesn’T Show Up? Where Does That Leave The Bird?” Losing My Train Of Thought Once Again, I Peeked Down At My Watch. Seeing Only Two Hours Had Past, I Sighed As I Thought, “Time Sure Moves Slow Out Here.” Then, From Directly Behind Me, I Heard The Sound Of A Twig Snap. I Stayed As Still As Possible, Hoping It Would Be A White-Tail Deer, Or Maybe Even An Elk. A Short Moment Later, I Saw Movement Out Of The Right Corner Of My Eye. Fifty Yards Away, On An Island In The Middle Of The River, Stood A Long-Bodied, Golden-Colored Mountain Lion. Being The First Lion I Had Ever Seen In Person, It Took A Moment For Me To Realize It Was Not A Deer Or Large Dog; It’S Long, Slim, Black-Tipped Tail Was The Visual Key. As The Cat Leaned Forward And Began To Drink From The River, I Began To Raise My Rifle And Take Aim, Moving As Silently As Possible. I Pulled The Butt Of The Gun Tight To My Chest, Placed A Firm Grip On It’S Stock, But As Soon As I Began To Raise It To My Eye, I Came To My Senses And Remembered: I Hadn’T Yet Purchased A Mountain Lion Tag For That Season. I Stood There, Paused And Upright In My Stand, Enacting The Definition Of A Word I Had Rarely Used: Dumbfounded. Standing Before Me Was A Trophy Animal, Known To Be One Of The Most Skilled Hunters In The Wilderness, And I Could Not Claim It As My Own. I Could Do Nothing. I Lowered My Weapon, Began To Breath Again, And Followed With A Deep-Breathed Sigh To Slow My Heart Rate. I Sat Into My Seat And Watched As The Lion Continued To Drink From The Slow, Silent River. “If Only I’D Gotten My Tag”, I Thought, A Little Disappointed, But Surprisingly Satisfied With The Experience. A Quiet Laugh Escaped As I Realized The Irony In The Situation. I Relaxed Into My Seat, Placed My Rifle On My Lap, And Began To Wait Once Again. “Next Time.”
Your senteces are a bit long, so for starters, I would go through and edit out any unneccesary words. For example:
"At first it was amusing. After all, it was my first hunt of the season, as well as my first time hunting from a tree stand."
This could be changed to: "First, it was amusing. My first hunt of the season; my first time hunting from a tree stand."
"I was bored, and in the truest sense of the word."
Change to: "Boredom set in."
If possible, keep the story active. Use personal pronouns as little as possible. Be consistent with the verb tense.
"I pulled the butt of the gun tight to my chest, placed a firm grip on it’s stock, but as soon as I began to raise it to my eye, I came to my senses and remembered: I hadn’t yet purchased a mountain lion tag for that season."
Could be changed to:
"I pulled the butt of the gun tight to my chest. Placing a firm grip on it’s stock, I began to raise it to my eye. But quickly I came to my senses, remembering, 'I hadn’t yet purchased a mountain lion tag.'
Keep things short and to the point, build interest with adverbs that add to the story, not bore the reader.
Good job and great imagery!
Norfolk Pine?
My Office Has A Norfolk Pine That Needs Some Tlc. Honestly, The Boss Wasn'T Attached To It, And I Was Considering Taking It Home And Giving It Some Tlc, Then Bringing It Back. Can I Keep It Outside? We Have Cats And I'D Rather They Not Chew On It (B/C It'S Poisionous To Cats), So It Can'T Really Be Kept Inside. Also, Any Tips On Repotting? There'S Not Much Dirt In The Pot It'S Currently In. Thanks!!
They can be very fussy about watering. Don't overwater, but don't let it dry out. If you move it, it'll lose needles. Needs good bright sunlight, but not direct as it will burn. Add some mulch to it, but make sure the base of the trunk is not under the soil or you can get rot on it..
Depends on where you live if you can leave it outside. Not above zone 8 as it's sub tropical. It's not hardy in Canada or the northern States.
Norfolk Island Pines may be grown in most temperature ranges which are suitable for people. However, they will do better when grown in cooler temperatures of about 65 degrees f., with slightly cooler night temperatures (never below 50 degrees). Extremes in temperature, either hot or cold should be avoided.
Norfolk Pines need bright light (but never full sun), preferably a spot within four feet of a large window. These plants can survive, with only household incandescent or fluorescent lighting if they receive a minimum of 16 hours of light each day. Although this will be effective in keeping the plant alive for a year or two, there is no substitute for bright, natural light. Turn the plant frequently to keep it symmetrical.
They should be thoroughly watered (preferably with rainwater or water which has set for 24 hours or longer) weekly in the summer to keep it slightly moist, never soggy. (Water more often if the plant is drying out earlier). In the winter, allow the soil to dry completely before watering again. Feed monthly in the summer with a diluted (half strength), soluble house plant food.
Humidity is very important. Lack of sufficient moisture in the air will cause tip browning, needle drop, and eventually, the lower branches to die off. Misting is the best thing you could do for your tree, followed by any other method which would add humidity to the room (humidifier or aquarium?) Norfolk Pines are one of the very few plants who enjoy being misted with COOL water, rather than room temperature water.
The only pruning that should be done is snipping off brown tips and dead branches. Brown tips will never turn back to green, and unfortunately, once they have turned brown, growth will stop from that point. Any other pruning you may decide to do will have the same effect... no new growth from that point.
Norfolks resent replanting, so they should only be repotted every 3-4 years, in the spring. Use a fast-draining, sterile, commercial potting soil mix.
Help! Do I Need To Separate My Pet Rats? Is My Injured Rat Going To Die?
Okay So I Know She'S Not Going To Die But I Just Wanted To Draw More Attention To The Question...Please Help, I Just Got Two One Year Old Sister Pet Rats A Few Days Ago. And When I Got There To Pick Them Up (Just From Some Family Getting Rid Of Them) I Was In For More Than I Anticipated. One Rat Is Large, Healthy, Fat, And Clean. The Other Sister Is Thin, A Little Skittish, And Covered In Disgusting Scabs, Which Are Obviously From The Other Rat. She Made Me Promise I Wouldn'T Separate Them, And It'S Not That I Want To (Because I Do Want 2 Rats, And I Know If I Bring In A Totally New One At This Age They Would Probably Fight Even Worse) But I'M Totally Not Up For Taking Care Of The Sickly Looking Rat If There'S No Hope That I Can Make Her Better And Healthy Looking. So, The Specific Questions I Have Are: First And Foremost, Should I Get Rid Of The One? What Effect Might That Have On The Other Rat? If I Bought A New Rat Would It Also Have To Be Female? How To I Take Care Of The Wounds, And Is There A Quicker Way To Get The Injured Rat Looking Good Again? (Right Now I'M Actually Using Neosporin At The Follow-Up Request Of The Previous Owner. It Appear To Help But She Tries To Clean It All Off So I Don'T Know) And Is There Any Known Way/Method To Actually Get The Domineering Rat To Totally Stop Biting The Other One, Or At Least Less?
As previously stated, your rat should be seen by a Vet, realistically however, these ladies are more than likely suffering from mites or lice, and the thinner of the two may be being picked on by the larger, healthier female.
There are a few things that you can do if they are in fact fighting....1 take them out of the cage, clean it with super hot water, and water/vinegar solution, let dry, add new bedding (ALL WOOD TYPE BEDDING SHOULD BE FROZEN BEFORE USE TO PREVENT MITE/LICE) 2. Put them back into the cage, please make sure that your cage is large enough for both rats to have space, the Rat Cage Calculator is a very helpful tool.
Since Rats are considered exotic pets just because of their size, the costs can be large. If you think smaller of the two is being picked on by the other rat, bathe her in warm water, DO NOT Put PEROXIDE of Neosporin on your rat, Peroxide can eat away healthy flesh because it is formulated for humans, not small rodents, and neosporin is petroleum based, and can cause diarrhea.
You can give your rat Bird Antibiotic (it says to put it in the water, but do not recommend this) called Onacycline, it's sold over the counter at pet stores, and is safe for use in rodents. Use half the package in some baby food, split that into two servings, take each rat out separately, and make sure that they eat all of the mixture. Treat both, because the antibiotic will make the other rat "smell funny" to the more dominant rat, so it's best to treat them both, so that this will not happen.
If it is mites/lice you can treat them with invermectin, that will have to be purchased from a veterinarian. You should be able to see mites and lice with your eyes. Lice are small, flat, brown specs (looks like a really small half size, flat brown rice) Mites are white "dandruff" flakes in the fur. Google it if you aren't sure.
If your rats have excessive "blood" around the eyes, or nose, this is not blood, it's rat "tears" and they may have a URI, treat 10 days with the Onracycline, or see a vet. You can test your rats breathing by putting your rat up to your ear like a telephone, you should hear "Whoosh Whoosh" a sound like air being put through a bellows, or blowing through a drinking straw. If you hear any "crackling" in the lungs, this is fluid, and a sure sign of a URI. Not knowing the full out condition of your rat, I cannot say, but untreated URI's can be fatal. If you'd like to get a 3rd rat, be sure to make introductions properly, do not just toss another rat into the cage, and expect them to get along.
Rats heal very quickly, so if you'd like to separate them for a while, and let the weaker rat recuperate, you may, make sure that you are not housing them on cedar or pine bedding, and in well ventilated cages, NOT TANKS, and place the cages next to each other, rats are highly social, and can die if depression over comes them from the loss of a cage mate!
Good Luck!
What Quote Is Like &Quot;You Can'T Own The Sky, So You Can'T Own The Land&Quot; By An Indian Way Back In The Day?
The Whole Quote Please And Who It'S By. For A Project. Thank You(:
Chief Seattle's Thoughts
How can you buy or sell the sky, the warmth of the land? The idea is strange to us.
If we do not own the freshness of the air and the sparkle of the water, how can you buy them?
Every part of this earth is sacred to my people. Every shining pine needle, every sandy shore, every mist in the dark woods, every clearing and humming insect is holy in the memory and experience of my people. The sap which courses through the trees carries the memories of the red man.
The white man's dead forget the country of their birth when they go to walk among the stars. Our dead never forget this beautiful earth, for it is the mother of the red man. We are part of the earth and it is part of us. The perfumed flowers are our sisters; the deer, the horse, the great eagle, these are our brothers. The rocky crests, the juices in the meadows, the body heat of the pony, and man --- all belong to the same family.
I Have 500 Sq Ft In My Back Yard That Is Bare. I'M Done With My Lawn, Garden, Etc. I Need Something Cheap
We Don'T Like The Idea Of Bark Or Wood Chips. How Much Roughly Would It Cost For Stone Or Any Other Alternative? Thanks
It might be fairly expensive. I use pine straw on my backyard. Downside is that I have to replace it every year. Upside, its easy to replace and relatively inexpensive.
Landscaping Ideas for Living – Fall 2017
Visit Our Local Pine Straw City for information on delivery & installation
Ladsonfrom
http://pinestrawlandscaping.com/landscaping-ideas-for-living-fall-2017/
No comments:
Post a Comment