When your village mascot is a raccoon, and you want something different for holiday cookie making time, you ask your friends at @reannagteine.bsky.social if they can make you something special.

Turning from baking to cooking with local farm-to-table ingredients today, in this instance saltwater shrimp raised right here in Ohio by our friends at Wildcat Ridge Farms.

One of my favorite yard residents, a tiny arrowhead orbweaver.

I love springerle cookies, and have long wanted this unusual mold of St. Nicholas in a Touring Car from Ken Harrison of The Springerle Baker. I finally picked it up and did a test run over the weekend. Santa knows how to deliver presents in style.

Do you dare to greet the King in Yellow? Is the Yellow Sign appearing wherever you look? If so, check out the latest issue of @weirdfictionquarterly.com. Among its 60 stories and poems is my contribution, "Color of the Year."

Who can resist little sour blueberry turbots? Not I.

Sometimes you catch things at exactly the right time. I was refilling a bird feeder and noticed this newly-emerged beauty on a nearby branch.

Every time I look for the queen in a hive I think I won't possibly find her amongst 20,000 or more bees. And when she makes an appearance, it feels like a very special kind of magic. All of this activity because of one little lady.

Is it too early to start testing holiday cookie recipes? No. No, it is not. Especially when they taste like a mug of spiced hot chocolate with marshmallows.

Pan wishes all y'all a bright Lammas as we head into the second half of summer.

Merry summer solstice, y'all!

The 101 Pies project, pie #12. When blueberries fall in love with rhubarb, they make . . . Blubarb? Rhuberry?

The 101 Pies project, pie #11. Mini key lime pies. I'm not saying you SHOULD eat a dozen of these at one time. But you absolutely could.

The 101 Pies project, pie #10. Apple tarte tatin. Who's coming over to try it?

The 101 Pies project, pie #9. Strawberry basil galette. In another timeline I have a bakery in a magical wood and make these for forest dwellers who pay with acorns.

The 101 Pies project, pie #8. Mushroom tart.

I took a break from making pies long enough to write a story for the new issue of @weirdfictionquarterly.com. If you think encountering a ghost squid during a visit to a natural history museum would be trippy, you might enjoy my story "Field Trip." The beautiful cover art is by @mutartis.bsky.social

The 101 Pies project, pie #7. Spiced Chai Pumpkin Meringue. I may need to practice it a few more times before one of the big pie-eating holidays, but the first go-around is promising. If you lived here I would give you a piece and rub your belly.

Guess we won't be leaving the village today. (We're all fine. It always floods like this in heavy rain, and will recede shortly.)

The 101 Pies project, pie #6. Raspberry Buttermilk Slab Pie. On Wednesdays, we make pies.

New short story time! Well, in June, when the book comes out. But you can preorder it now on your favorite bookselling sites. Sales benefit the Modern Military Association of America. Thank you to @tundraswanpress.bsky.social and editors @sirrahmedeiros.bsky.social and @vinceliaguno.bsky.social.

Today was all about tiny pies. Blueberry Bourbon hand pie, anyone?

The 101 Pies project, pie #4: Cherry. we're SUPPOSED to let it cool for four hours. Rude.

If you lived here you could request a torta caprese bianca for your birthday and I would attempt to make it for you.

Pan toasts the spring equinox and wishes you all a season of new growth!

I'm only 1/4 Irish, thanks to my paternal grandmother of the Mahoney clan, but I'll always use St. Patrick's Day as an excuse to revisit this childhood favorite.

If you lived in our house, you could have some of this apple pie. Well, once it cools down.

Checking in on the bees to see what they were up to all winter. Apparently the answer is, getting in the mood to fight.

I make pies now. I am a pieman. This one is Lemon-Blueberry Streusel.

The latest thing I've tried making: fresh pasta. I bought the machine 10 years ago and have eyed it suspiciously ever since. Turns out it's not as hard as I thought.

If you lived here and needed cheering up, I would make you bittersweet brownie shortbread and watch TOTORO with you.

We love supporting local artists, and are thrilled by a project we've undertaken with @sunspotsbyadria.bsky.social. She's creating windows that reflect the history of our village. The first one depicts our village mascot and the establishment of one of Ohio's first lending libraries here in 1804.

My story "Third Uncle" appears in this new anthology of fiction, poetry, and essays inspired by the music of Bauhaus. It was great fun creating my interpretation of what the lyrics might be referencing.

New books by friends are the best kind of mail. If you enjoy dark poetry (and who doesn't?) you should pick this one up. It's a very queer ode to one man's obsession with pop culture, horror movies, and how it all comments on the lives we lead. Well done, @vinceliaguno.bsky.social!

The bees emerging from their long winter's nap to see what's going on in the yard is exactly the reminder of approaching spring I needed today.

It's a bright, clear, warmish Imbolc here in southeast Ohio, and Pan is marking the occasion with some local moonshine. May what is kindled today grow with the strengthening sun.

Jules Feiffer, who died last week at 95, brought the characters of Norton Juster's THE PHANTOM TOLLBOOTH to life. This one of the Soundkeeper is among my favorites. What an achievement, to create something millions of people remember and love.

If you're in New York City and need something fun to do on Friday night, come hear me and these other folks read! You can also attend virtually if leaving the house is not your thing.

SUICIDE NOTES is now available in Italian. The 17-year history of this novel is a reminder that you never know what will happen with a book, or when.

Survived my pneumonia shot. Now looking forward to 48 hours of annoying my husband by saying, "My arm is sorrrrrre."

If you were here right now I would give you one of these chewy brownie with sea salt cookies I just took out of the oven.

The good folks at @pseudopod.org have turned my Mothman story "Be Not Afraid" into a fantastic audio production. Take a listen here: pseudopod.org/2024/12/20/p...

Added a hellbender Santa ornament from Peppermint Narwhal to the tree. Here in Appalachia hellbenders are indicator species for the health of our waterways, and we love our little snot otters!

Made some chocolate gingerbread cookies to leave out for Krampus tonight. Not sure if this will put me in the sack or keep me out of it, but I can't wait to find out. A delightful Krampusnacht to one and all!

Sometimes, being a light in the darkness needs to be taken literally.

Excited to share the cover of WE MOSTLY COME OUT AT NIGHT, which contains my Mothman-themed story about an Appalachian boy who gets unexpected help from his local cryptid. It doesn't hit shelves until May of next year, but go ahead and preorder it now so you'll be surprised when it arrives.

First event for EVERY STAR THAT FALLS is tonight at the @barnesandnoble.bsky.social Old Orchard (Chicago) store. Come on out and hear me and James Klise talk about books!