Sandra Friend

Ok, it's a must. ❤️ pigeons.

It tracks.

That's sick. Literally. Love Canal, anyone?

Same. Somewhere in that misty Hudson Valley past.

Escape from religious persecution and wars and/or poverty in Europe, largely.

Congratulations! It sounds intriguing!

A trio of geese on a footpath, in the way. Sheer drop on right into chasm, rugged bluffs on left. In the north woods.

Oh, I certainly know. Imaging puffing your way up a steep footpath with lots of stairs and encountering this "none shall pass" gaggle before you get to the waterfalls.

It is very okay. You be you. I'm in that same space myself. Ignoring Instagram. Haven't ditched FB yet but strategizing an escape.

Reddish egret walking through a shallow salt pond with a wake behind it and a reflection of its whole self below it.

Today's #BirdoftheDay theme is #Reflections, the alternate any of the #Paridae species (Tits). Here's one of my favorites, a reddish egret striding across a salt pond at Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge in Florida.

#photography #birding #floridabirds #naturephotos #photosky #eastcoastkin

Inside an AI start-up’s plan to scan and dispose of millions of books Court filings reveal how AI companies raced to obtain more books to feed chatbots, including by buying, scanning and disposing of millions of titles.

"But court records suggest that the companies didn’t see it as practical to gain direct permission from publishers and authors to use their work."

Hello? "Not practical?" It's not practical to pay for my groceries and yet, necessary.

This blatant theft cannot go unpunished.

wapo.st/4bCAbBL

And if you like record albums! And geology! And hiking! I felt this:

"He cheated the rules and switched seasons, sometimes as often as four times per day, just by walking up and down massive hills."

What's an iron?

Oh yes. I was so upset to find some of my books in there. Even worse: to find out some of my publishers did not file copyright even though the book flyleaf claims they did per my contracts. So AI stole my books and no compensation to me as I can't "prove" authorship? Maddening.

From Star Struck:

This go-round, with Frankie hands-on and Bob’s design being used by Jimmy as a springboard, Dick felt more confident about the success of MIA.

Dick glanced at her badge. “Is it a clearance issue?”

#WIPSnips #WriteSky #WritingPrompts #WritingCommunity

An autumn day
Atop an Appalachian ridge
At High Point State Park, New Jersey
for #blueskymonday

You can see New York from here!
#photography #nature #naturephotos #photosky #bluesky #eastcoastkin #newjersey

Damn it. Now I do!
Better go look for the movie.

Healthy wetlands are essential for healthy water in lakes and lagoons in Florida, too.

Twenty Years of Florida Hikes A trip down Memory Lane as we celebrate our twentieth year online and run a month-long giveaway of our books in February 2026.

What I've been up to these past 20 years. Happy anniversary to my sprawling behemoth of a website! Every entry researched and written by an actual human.

#hiking #florida #outdoors #floridatrail #outdoorwriting #goplayoutside #happyanniversary

floridahikes.com/twenty-years...

OMG! I snort-laughed.

From Star Struck:

“Thanks. I needed to hear that.”

Lizzie screeched as Dick’s footsteps echoed up the hall. Bob hoped he’d eased another of Dick’s burdens. He owed him for his support after Junie died. Dick had such a hard time letting go.

#WIPSnips #WriteSky #WritingPrompts #WritingCommunity

A carving of a cherubic face with Angel wings into wood that is actually part of the back of a chair

Is a moment
minus context of the whole
a shadow of its possible self?
A doppelgänger?
Or a spirit, wild and free
held for inspection
measured, assigned worth
without judgement.

#shadow
#vss365 #poetry #writing

Goodness, I remember spinning this at WTMC back in the day. Forgotten this song entirely. And yes, the lyrics!

Crystalline coating of ice on tree limbs and a dusting of snow on a cold morning approaching Max Patch northbound on the Appalachian Trail

"Crystal Woods"

Found this while starting a refresh of our Appalachian Trail "Not Quite Thru" hike journal online. Fitting for winter, a stunning but cold, wet day on trail.

#stunday #photography #naturephotos #hiking #winter #nature #photosky #eastcoastkin #outdoorphotography

Haha. I feel that right in the guidebooks. Have you assembled a walkers' guide to Everything Will Swallow You?

From Star Struck:

A newly minted flight doc when Dick first met him at the centrifuge, Paul had no combat experience, but he had no fear. Zealous about saving lives. Zero qualms about in-flight testing.

#WIPSnips #WriteSky #WritingPrompts #WritingCommunity

A Bhutanese prayer wheel as seen on the campus of UTEP

The urge to heal
To soothe
Comes naturally to those
Whose breath
Rises and falls
With the rhythms of the earth

#soothe #vss365 #poetry
#moments #creativewriting

As seen from the passenger window of a car crossing a bridge at a beach, a massive thunderhead with blue skies above it and rain below it

#BlueSkyArtShow

Saturday January 31, 2026
The theme is #Clouds

#thunderstorm #photography #stormclouds #nature #naturephotos #eastcoastkin #floridaskies

Yes! I look up everything unfamiliar now, although it started when I was trying to separate fiction from fact in historical fiction. "Uncanny valley" was one I checked last night while reading God's Junk Drawer.

From Star Struck:

“C’mon. Academy of Medicine of the Luftwaffe?” Bob’s voice rose. “Do you know what those men did? Their test subjects weren’t animals. Or volunteers! What on earth is he doing in our division?”

#WIPSnips #WriteSky #WritingPrompts #WritingCommunity

An early Louis Comfort Tiffany window in the dining hall of Flagler College

Bottles racked in the old style at San Sebastián Winery to filter out solids

Fibers in blue, red, and white atop an item in a display at St Photios Greek Orthodox National Shrine

Jets of flame through rock at a fire pit in a courtyard of a food hall in the Springfield District of Jacksonville

A quartet of textures to close out a long day. All captured earlier this month. Where did January go?

#photography #textures #art #moments #timestandsstill #photosky #photos #florida