This is the Palmeran Violet, Viola palmensis. It only grows on La Palma, above 1,900 m. (There’s a similar violet on Tenerife, but it has smaller flowers). It used to be rare, but the island government has a program of replanting areas. You can find them beside the road from Santa Cruz to the Roque de los Muchachos well above the tree line.
I can’t believe I got everything done yesterday. I took Julio to school and little Sam to nursery and got home about 9 a.m. That gave me just under two hours at home to mop the kitchen and utility room floors, have a shower and read email. then I took Lou to the doctor, to get the official letter to say her foot’s still in plaster. They were a little…
“Dear Sheila:Thanks for entering the fifth “On The Premises” mini-contest. We received 48 entries. Yours didn’t earn a cash prize, but was one of three chosen as an honorable mention.” The story is up at On The Premises Mini #5
Yesterday afternoon I went to a party. I wanted to ask a fellow writer there how he manages to write so fast. This is a man who produced a first draft in a couple of months. Then I had such a good time that I forgot all about it. Until he said, “Excuse me, I must go and do some writing,” and disappeared for maybe half an hour. He came…
Flash Fiction Online want to buy my Feghoot, “The Mummy’s Curse” for the April 2009 issue. It’s a long wait, but a great market, so I’m chuffed. What’s a Feghoot? It’s a very short story ending in a groan-worthy pun. I’ve got three on my website: “Caught in the Oort”, “Oh Baby!” and “Conan the Librarian” The editor of Flash Fiction Online described “The Mummy’s Curse” as “pretty funny, in…
This morning I took a party of kids around the Herschel Telescope. It was the first time for about 6 months, so I felt rusty, but it went fairly well. It really helped that the tech staff moved the dome and telescope for us. The bad part was that I’d forgotten how cold the wind can be up there, and I wasn’t dressed for it at all.