Trade with Waughtercolors

These three cards are for my latest - and possibly last (at least for a while) - trade. After this, I will work a little while more on my tarot deck and then throw myself instead into my own personal projects - such as preparing my entries for the Gavin Bishop award (due November 30th, but I'll have to get it done by the 31st October, so it doesn't interfere with Nano) and writing a picturebook for the Joy Cowley award. Due to the nature of both awards, this blog may become a little quiet for a time - the entries are confidential.

The images below are:
- Fork Marked Dwarf Lemur
- Welcome Swallow (I wanted to draw a bird in portrait)
- Koala Cuddles.

They are for Waughtercolors - an extremely talented lass who initiated the trade. Her art is beautiful, and I feel honoured that she wanted to trade with me.

Other projects I will be working on this year are:
~ completing "Lemurs: A Saga"
~ Writing "Tiriki's Great Escape" (my planned NaNo Novel).

Show not tell

I'm editting "Midsummer Knight's Quest" for the manyeth time, and although I set out to merely align the pages correctly and so forth, I have started editting parts of it again.

Take for example, this passage:

Dirk awoke to find himself stark naked, bound wrist to ankle and in some sort of spherical metal tub. To make matters worse, a demented dog-ape was attempting to force an apple down his throat. His head throbbed and his nostrils burned with the stink of smoke. The hideous face loomed closer, round piggy eyes buried amongst rolls of saggy flesh. Between its naked floppy ears rested a stained cook’s hat and about its swollen body was wrapped a plastic apron, declaring to the world the frightening request: “Kiss the Cook.”

Well, I decided that it was just a wee bit blah, needed spicing up a bit, and thus I rewrote it:

Dirk woke in smoky gloom. Something was pressing against his mouth, something cool and solid. He was hot, so hot, and his head burned with pain. Struggling to uncurl himself, he found he couldn't. His hands and feet were bound. Together. He struggled, feeling his fingers brush against his flesh. I'm naked, he realised. No, not quite, they've left my underwear and socks. Where am I? His back butted against a curving metal wall. It was warm to the touch. Warm, but getting hotter.

I'm in a gigantic pot! He realised, struggling harder.. Something's trying to cook me alive!

“Calm down, din-dins,” came a guttural, male voice and Dirk looked up into the hideous face of a demented dog-ape. It leered doan at him, round piggy eyes buried amongst rolls of saggy flesh. Between its naked floppy ears rested a stained cook’s hat and about its swollen body was wrapped a plastic apron, declaring to the world the frightening request: “Kiss the Cook.”

And this is how you improve your wordcount!
And also why I may never get this jolly book finished...

Time for the Threes.

The Three of Coins is represented here by the chaffinch. It is a card of opportunity, the chance to develop or nurtue a passion.

The Three of Trees is represented by a grey warbler with her cuckoo chick. It indicates pride or power in an achievement or relationship, but it may come with a price. One should wait until all has turned in their favour before they start boasting about it.


The Three of Waves is a card of celebration, represented here by a flock of fluttering shearwaters. It is a card of friendship and fun. It implies that there might be someone you are attempting to add to your flock, a relationship that is in early stages.

The Three of Swords is, as many of the swords are, a somewhat darker card. A difficult truth is about to be revealed, something bitter and painful about to come to the surface. It will not be entirely unexpected, and may even ease some of the tensions. It is represented here by a rock wren. Probably dead, but possibly stunned by a rockslide.

Godwit, the global traveller

The bar-tailed godwit is an extraodinary bird. He spends half of his year - from September through March, enjoying a southern hemisphere summer - before making the long journey back to the Arctic to breed. It breeds in Alaska, Scandinavia and Northern Asia. Durin gthe journey the bird flies for approximately 11, 000 km over the period of around 9 days. It does not pause to feed. Upon arriving in New Zealand it first sleeps, then eats. And eats. He will have lost about half his body weight. His diet is molluscs and worms, crabs and aquatic insects. Females are larger than males. Over the southern summer, he will eat until his body weight doubles, and then his tummy turns red, signifying that he is ready to make the long journey back to breed.

The Twos Have It!

I'm right back into the NZ Naturally Tarot deck now, picking up where I left off - at the twos. As the numbers progress, it is going to become more difficult to decide on what to use to represent each one, especially since I do not wish to repeat the same animal twice. This will become especially difficult with the Peaks, I suspect, as their are not as many animals in the High Country as say, the Urban environment.

The Two of Coins is a card of juggling, or switching between one thing and another (in this case, snails) to try and achieve your goals.
It is repesented here by a blackbird.

The two of Waves is a coming together, a moment of recognition and shared feeling- that very moment that a relationship may hinge upon. Or not.
It is represented here by a pair of hoiho.

The two of Peaks is a card of Balance. Where one is faced with two opposing ideas, the outcome of which depends upon their decision.
This handsome fellow is a chamois (not to be confused with the earlier tahr)

The Two of Trees is a card of Choice. Having achieved one's goals with single-minded drive, it is now the time to look into what the future will hold, and to set yourself a new goal.
This cute wee bug is a plasterer bee.