Worried about the neighborhood feral cats in the upcoming polar vortex. They do not use any of the fancy shelters we buy. We’ve got heated pads and a light in a lean-to & a little shelter. I wish we could do more.

Would you like an Elsie sticker? We're adding a complimentary sticker to each order from my web store made between now and December 17th. Visit maryrobinettekowal.com/store/ to shop for signed books, mission patches, and stuffies. Note: we cannot accommodate Elsie sticker design preferences.

Driving from Cleveland to Columbus and wow is a big chunk of 71 S closed. Holiday + first snow is a bad combo.

We stopped in Colony Cats to drop off donations and I found the sweetest cat that we totally cannot adopt. I hope it finds an awesome human or humans.

First Christmas music of the season. Paris Baguette in Cincinnati, 16 November.

Today I learned that a local cat shelter is having cats returned left and right, because people can’t afford to keep them. There are pet food pantries out there! Please consider them if you are able to donate. Or if you need to use them.

All our Halloween decor is lit up and the porch light is on. I really hope some kids show up because we have A LOT of candy.

I’m at a potluck and so far there is only one dish that I can eat because onions. Having an onion intolerance in soup and stew weather suuuuucks.

Overheard at the Circleville pumpkin show: ”Do I smell pumpkin?”

Just noticed that OSU has stopped doing land acknowledgments due to a new Ohio law. Fuck that.

It's never too late to learn something new. It's never too late to discover the secret language of trees. It's never too late to wrap yourself in moss & malice and become the forest horror that timid folk whisper about in the dark.

I was lucky enough to meet her on tour. She worked so incredibly hard, she wasn’t tireless but she was relentless. She knew she made a difference in these animals’ lives, so she kept traveling and speaking out.

Today was cider-making day at camp! I told myself I’d work for a few hours, then take a shower while it was still warm outside.

Out in the woods and it’s a Milky Way night! Being away from the city and able to see stars is crucial for me. I need skies and real darkness.

Passed a car that had pro-Kirk shit written all over it. Things like “the left couldn’t debate him so they killed him.” How the fuck do we fight back against that level of crazy?

I wanted to get a video of this ghost crab but every time I got close to their hole they scuttled back in, so I tried getting clever with it. I made a little sandcastle and shoved my phone into it, hit record, and walked away. Crab was VERY suspicious of this addition to their environment.

I sat in the woods watching twilight darkened into night. I should do that more often.

Finally made it to the Serpent Mound! It is south of nowhere and I got car sick. Great tour with an archaeologist though.

ALRIGHT! Version 1 of the fall zine is ready for ya. For your reading enjoyment, Everything Sucks! Full Zine (for digital reading) here: drive.google.com/file/d/1cYXF... Print-and-fold version coming soon, I need to test print it first and can't do that right now lol

Happy to report that I’ve moved from the ”every 5 years” plan to the ”every 7 years plan” for colonoscopies. One polyp, waiting on pathology but hopefully it didn’t try to kill me. Last time I had 2 that were different types of pre-cancerous.

It's never too late to learn something new. It's never too late to learn the secret language of owls. It's never too late to wrap yourself in moss & wild magic and to become the forest horror that timid folk whisper about in the dark.

In the procedure room, the nurse was putting ECG leads on my arms and shoulders… and they weren’t working! I assured them that I was actually alive, and the surgical nurse said ”not according to this equipment!” Eventually they did get them working properly, whew.

Me, yesterday: now that my GI tract has a hard reboot, I should be very mindful of what I put into my body. Me, right now: or, I could eat donuts. Gods do I want donuts.

I successfully woke up at 4 AM, to see Orion and the Pleiades! It is one of my ”welcome to autumn” rituals.

Join us in celebrating the people who labor in the fields to put food on our tables. Únase en celebrar a la gente que trabajan en los campos para poner comida en nuestras mesas. #WeFeedYou #LaborDay

I finally found the propane leak on my giant, 30,000 BTU camp stove. I didn’t even have to use soapy water to find it. The connection caught fire.

At an orthopedic office waiting for an ultrasound of my hand. There is a long wall with photos of the doctor, and it is a sea of white dudes.

If, like me you can’t stand lime-flavored things, yet need to consume jello that is not red, purple, orange, or blue… I have news! Haven’t tried it yet but hey it is not lime.

On Wednesday my pre-colonoscopy restrictions begin. The forbidden foods are basically 90% of my usual diet. This is going to suck.

Being interviewed by Terry Gross ruined all other interviewers for me. "Well prepared" doesn't even begin to cover it, and she is just so generous in the conversation. It's like playing tennis with Serena Williams but she only wants to keep the volley going as long as possible.

hi this is my favorite writing advice, it's from former simpsons writer john swartzwelder (i think about the crappy little elf all the time) www.newyorker.com/culture/the-...

Today I learned that there is a juggalo weekend east of Columbus. My first clue was the guy in shitty clown makeup in Columbus, and then the nice lady at Flint Ridge explained the rest. Things get weird in the boonies!

It begins!

Layla wants you to admire her beauty, or else! #catwithRBF

Jack wanted to give you all a little timeline cleanse.

I think that 90% of the reason I’m learning to drop spin wool is so I can use the word ”niddy-noddy.”

Home from another amazing Starwood festival! There were epic amounts of rain and mud, but I had a wonderful time, caught up with old friends and made new ones. Everything I brought is soggy and muddy, but so worth it!

This is going to be fun. My shift starts at 4 AM. I’m afraid of sleeping through my alarm(s).

I finally got the work barter deal info for an event next week. It’s in first aid, which I like to do to keep my skills sharp. But my shifts are from 4 AM to 8 AM, which totally sucks.

You are cordially invited to our Anti-Prime Sale, where every purchase will financially support bookstores, NOT billionaires 🥳

Can places please stop fucking calling this the cutesy name the Nazis want you to call it and just call it what it is: the Everglades Concentration Camp. Please?

I had a lovely weekend in the woods, but had to start today with a tetanus jab. If it’s been 5+ years since your jab, and you get an animal bite or dirty/rusty/outdoors cut, get yourself in for a booster! (It was a rusty metal for me.)

We have to take our two sick cats to the vet, and OF COURSE there are thunderstorms. Fortunately one cat is unphased by them. The other, we’ll probably need to look under beds.

I just learned that there is a Mythago Wood anthology, and it is a finalist for the World Fantasy Award! I loved the Mythago Wood books, except for the big dude energy.

Hotline to call to help move immigration hearings online, thanks to USC Agents of Change.

"why does restaurant food taste better than food cooked at home" The cook does not care if you live or die and uses salt and butter accordingly

Questions about storytelling? My books? Writing careers? Puppetry? Talking cats? Being a creative person who also has ADHD? Something else? Tonight, July 2 at 8 PM ET, I'm hosting a Q&A for my Patreon supporters. Join with a 7-day free trial: www.patreon.com/c/maryrobine...

So I’m in a number of plant ID groups on the place of face and WOW do a lot of people not know what raspberries/blackberries are.

In my happy place. So glad my gym has these!