Gummy Bears

                                                                      Ties Harmony, 2026

 

 One of my short stories was published in Indigo today.  It's called  "Gummy Bears" and it was inspired by a bad break up.  Honestly, what isn't inspired by a bad break up?

Enjoy!

https://indigolit.com/volume-01/#gummy-bears

Red Maple Leaves on Monroe 2026

                                                             Red Maple Leaves On Monroe 2026

Guppy Farms Trail, New York

                                                     Honey Mushroom and Pincushion Moss

 

 It looks like  The Guardian is going to publish in their photo gallery a similar shot to this one that I took of honey mushrooms and pincushion moss sharing space on a felled tree.  I'm not gonna lie, it's exciting because it's an international paper with a HUGE readership!

 

https://www.theguardian.com/community/gallery/2026/oct/20/nordic-wonder-and-an-ancient-art-readers-best-photographs?CMP=share_btn_url#img-15

Unknown Agaricus Mushroom

                                                               Agaricus, 2026

 

This is a spore print taken from what I beleive is some variety of Agaricus mushroom, but I amnot sure which one.  We've had a tremendous amount of rain this year, and mushrooms that we've never seen before have popped up all over. It's made for an interesting summer!
 

Portals

Two openings in places you wouldn't expect them.  The top photo shows a portal boring through the up turned roots and stump of a tree in the woods at Crouse Run Nature Preserve, and the bottom photo is a hole in the wall of Allegheny Cemetery in section 30.  The hole does go through the cut stone wall, but not straight through, it angles upward where light pours in.  
 

Human Kindness

 Caty and I went to the birthday party of a former colleague in the south hills, and on the way back home we drove through the neighborhoods instead of bypassing everything by jumping on 79. The first time a guy was on a corner asking for human kindness (on his signage) I didn't get a pic, but the second time I was ready. Looking at the photo now, my heart hurts. What's worse: Averting your eyes, taking a picture, or giving an addict money?

Pre-Antibiotic Era Death by Eczema

In the last week I've come across some firsts in death certificates such as death by rabies (11 year old girl, bitten by a dog in 1922), but today's death was surprising, a 10 month old male infant, primary cause of death was eczema, 1889. I looked it up, and sure enough, there was a medical article from The Journal of Pediatrics written in 1934 discussing sudden infant death from eczema. It was not common, but it did occur, and they didn't understand why a case that did not present as dire led to sudden death. Had to be infection going systemic, right? Prior to antibiotics any kind of infection could kill you. I had a 3x great aunt die from a needle prick on her finger going septic. Her death certificate listed as an attributing cause of death: slight indigestion.