With the warmer temps, the birds have been out in full flock. Some of the most vocal are the house sparrows. I have no clue what they’re saying to each other, but they sure are loud and enthusiastic.  Often I can’t see them, as they’re inside the tall hedge that edges my deck. But man, I …

This is what spring looks like in New England today.Photo copyright 2026 by Vanessa KierFortunately, the snow melted pretty quickly. Crazy weather. Annoying to live with. Great source of story conflict for writers!

Anyone else remember the days when library books and DVDs had their due dates stamped on pieces of paper attached to the item?  I was surprised to find this inside a DVD I recently checked out from the library. Too bad the years aren’t there. I’d love to know when the last physical stamp was made.Photo …

This is how my back door looked last night. We were having a rainstorm with extremely high winds. When the wind blows the rain at my back door, which fortunately isn’t that often, the door leaks.I’d already removed four napkin-sized cloths that were soaked through. Fortunately, the towels did the work and there was no puddle …

I took this screenshot Saturday night. We were due to turn the clocks ahead one hour at 2 a.m. Sunday morning.The weather app had already accounted for that. So, of course, my writer’s brain immediately asked “What if the weather that was originally forecasted for 2 a.m. ends up in another dimension?” This has now been added …

I prefer to work on ergonomic, split keyboards.  I started off with a Microsoft ergonomic keyboard. It was one long piece, with the left and right sections separated and slightly angled. It had a ten-key pad on the right.I don’t even know why I still have this in my closet! Photo copyright Vanessa Kier 2026Then I …