Smorgasbord Posts from Your Archives – #Potluck – Essay — Summer Weather Forecasting is for the Birds by HL Carpenter

Welcome to the series  Posts from Your Archives, where bloggers put their trust in me. In this series, I dive into a blogger’s archives and select four posts to share here to my audience.

If you would like to know how it works here is the original post: https://smorgasbordinvitation.wordpress.com/2019/04/28/smorgasbord-posts-from-your-archives-newseries-pot-luck-and-do-you-trust-me/

This is the final post from  mother and daughter writing team HL Carpenter (Helen and Lorri). They have two blogs and one is for guest posts and book promotions which I featured last week and is a great place to share your work Top Drawer Ink Corp. Now I want to focus on their other blog and their own work.. I chose this post as we tend to watch the birds for some idea how the day is going to go weather wise, particularly in the winter. Over the last three years we have noticed that if heavy rain or high winds are forecast the birds are much busier at the feeders the day before than any normal day….

Essay — Summer Weather Forecasting is for the Birds by HL Carpenter

Image HL Carpenter

Weather forecasting is for the birds—bluebirds, that is.

Here in Carpenter Country, the magical place where we write, we offer room and board to local avians in exchange for the pleasure of their company. We built two of our community birdhouses especially for bluebirds, and they’ve been continually occupied over the years.

During that time, the bluebirds-in-residence have followed the same routine. In spring, for warmth, they raise chicks in the box that sits in full sun. In summer, to keep the nestlings cooler, they use the quarters that occupy a shady spot close to a leafy Sycamore.

Last month, Mr. and Mrs. Blue reversed the procedure and built a summer nest at their spring address.

We’re pretty sure bluebirds don’t move house because the kitchen in the new place is equipped with great appliances or the bathroom has a hot tub. We think they’re more into the realtor’s creed of location, location, location. They decide—in advance—which location will offer the best conditions for the survival of their chicks.

So, are bluebirds better at long range forecasting than human meteorologists?

Turns out they are. Every day during the month of July, the weather people predicted an occasional shower and lots of sunshine. But the birds knew July would be cloud-covered and rain-soaked.

Perhaps forecasters should watch birds instead of computer models. How about putting bluebirds on the air? A live-stream webcam of bluebird activity would be more interesting than swirling maps of radar simulations. And, given the accuracy of recent forecasts, Mr. and Mrs. Blue would earn their salary of insects and berries.

What do you think? Is employing bluebirds as forecasters an idea whose time has come? Or could it only happen in Carpenter Country, a place that, like our stories, is unreal but not untrue?

©HL Carpenter 2014

About HL Carpenter (Helen and Lorri)

HL Carpenter is a mother/daughter duo who writes family-friendly fiction from their studios in Carpenter Country, a magical place that, like their stories, is unreal but not untrue. When they’re not writing, the Carpenters enjoy exploring the Land of What-If and practicing the fine art of Curiosity Their website Top Drawer Ink Corp  also offers opportunities for promotion for other authors and their books.

A selection of books for adults, YA and children by HL Carpenter

One of the reviews for The Ghost in the Gardens

Jul 22, 2018 Jane rated it Four Stars

I was not sure what to make of this at first it is unusual and pitched really well for the child. It was a quick read and I loved the main characters love of plants and science.

A lovely story and recommended – You would not expect this to have a ghost as all the main character thinks about is plants and a quest to find a rare orchid that is until her teacher disappears and the police suspect her uncle was involved. She need to find out just what this ghost was telling her otherwise it could be too late.

Recommended and well written.

Read the reviews and buy the books: https://www.amazon.com/default/e/B007SHS9LA/

And on Amazon UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/HL-Carpenter/e/B007SHS9LA/

You will find a lot more reviews on Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5820921.H_L_Carpenter

Connect to HL Carpenter

Website and blog: https://www.hlcarpenter.com/
Author Guest posts: https://www.topdrawerinkcorp.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/hl_carpenter
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hlcarpenter/
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/hlcarpenter/

Thank you for dropping in today and I hope you will head over to both of Helen and Lorri’s blogs to explore them further and to take advantage of their kind offer to promote your work.. thanks Sally.