After stepping into the zoo, my wife and I were eager to explore all the habitats. While some of the critters weren’t up and about, some just didn’t position themselves for quality shots. Of course some of my favorite ones were the visiting avians...

As the month marches to an end, I push my stories out to my patrons. With Infiltration and Onslaught complete, my attention shifted from successful defense to the breach by Jameson’s family. Despite all of Samuel’s secrets and sorcery, the sheer numbers of Jameson’s family are too great to overcome. While our hero protected the jail and the criminal for a while, eventually the unstoppable nature of the criminal family broke through his defenses. Unfortunately for Samuel, he’s still waiting for Pearl to return with the calvary...

With Infiltration finished, my mind fluttered to the second tale for July, a historical fiction. Despite the logjam with this month’s first story, I’d been toying with this storyline from the moment I finished Bounty. Fresh off completing his job, Samuel knows that the local sherif is ill-equipped to deal with the oncoming storm. With absolute faith in his dragon and his abilities, Samuel beings to prepare for the onslaught of the Jameson’s family...

Once we parked atop Mill Mountain, we marched across the parking lot toward the zoo. Along the way, we meandered through the Wildflower Garden. Unfortunately, we visited at the wrong time, so we did not get to see too many blooming wildflowers. However, we got to see a beautiful water feature...

Despite another busy month, the moment I pulled the results of the poll, my mind began churning at potential stories. While I had a couple thoughts for the final two stories, I couldn’t think of a single storyline for my master thief. In the past, I’ve focused on individual jobs, highlighting aspects of her character and skill. In fact, those are reasons I continue to delve into her mysterious past. However, up to now, I’ve avoided exploring those in her immediate orbit. So after a lot of debate and back and forth, I leaned into an episode of White Collar for some inspiration for this tale...

On the way to the Mill Mountain Zoo, there were lots of sights that captivated my mind. This past week, I’ve brought a handful of those to the world. Come join me as I bring you the highlights from that easy jaunt...

Fresh off the beauty of Roanoke in the moonlight, I was once again remineded of the ultimate beauty of Mother Nature. As we headed toward Mill Mountain, distant mountain ranges raced toward the clouds. The rugged lines of sprouting trees and homes played perfectly with the backing peak...

There is something about nature, like a waterfall, a sunset, or a beautiful mountain range, that soothes me in every way possible. In contrast, whenever I’ve seen what to some people say is a beautiful cityscape, my nerves and anxiety receive no benefit. However, when I stood beneath the Roanoke Star and gazed out at the sprawling city of Roanoke, a weight slid off my shoulders. While I’ll always be able to enjoy these photos, I’m not about to dissect them to discover the reason constructions achieved the same results as Mother Nature...

With life propelling me one hundred miles an hour, trips to unplug and renew are essential. Unfortunately, I can fall into a groove, and I lose track of how burdened I become with each day. Thankfully, my wife kept dropping hints she wanted to unwind. Eventually, I picked up on her subtle statements and admitted that a break in our hectic lives would be a wonderful thing. As a result, we started looking for destinations to visit, and after a brief search we found a beautiful cottage through Airbnb in Roanoke, VA. By the end of our vacation, not only were we rejuvenated, I had plenty of pictures to bring to the world...

With Finale and Balancing the Scales complete, my mind whirled at the story for my historical fiction. Thankfully, a few sources of inspiration whirled through my mental landscape and a rough draft flew through my fingers. I was excited to expand on Samuel’s story, yet a couple of other stories vied for attention. The first was Support your Local Sheriff, and the second was the pilot episode of Firefly...

With the end of the month looming over me, and Finale finished, I turned my attention to the second Patreon exclusive, a drama. While staring at another blank screen, I thumbed through my mental rolodex of characters. When Tiatha’s name surfaced, a story sprouted in my mind. Instantly, my fingers flew across the keyboard and before long, the first draft of the tale between her and another teacher at the Academy was staring out at me...

As I continue to delve into my studies, my time is constantly slipping away. However, I’m dedicated to delivering my patrons’ exclusive stories. So over the weekend, I grabbed my computer and hid myself away and started churning through their exclusive tales. Unfortunately, without a readily available idea for a comedy, I thumbed through my favorite comedy skits. While I got a few laughs, they didn’t inspire me. As a result, I pulled out my Rory’s Story Cubes and tossed the nine dice...

After enjoying my trip through the walking trail, I took a bit of a break. Fortunately, it didn’t take long for me to add to my digital collection. In my office, I noticed a “lego” night light that I found in the bottom of my stocking from last Christmas, and I was eager to explore using focus in my photography. To round out the week, leaned into a few photos I took with an old camera phone...

There were a few things I wanted to do on my walk down a local walking path. The first was to capture anything that was interesting, the other was to capture sunlight piercing through the forest’s canopy. Fortunately, the time of year aided me in achieving the latter, as only the evergreens obstructed my view. However, I didn’t want to blind myself, so I had to get creative...

During the rat race that is life, you have to carve out time to enjoy the world around you. The below pictures highlight the end of my walk around the pond behind Tackett’s Mill and a local hiking trail. While I failed to jot down the name of the trail, the first image has been posted and more will follow in the coming weeks. Despite the lack of green, there is plenty of beauty to be found in the world, as long as you take the time to appreciate it. Hopefully, this week’s round-up highlights some of the hidden beauty that exists in my local area...