Bigfoot footprint cast photo, as promised

The cast of the bigfoot footprint from the garden is hardened. It's coming to life right out of my YA fiction book, Revelation.
Here is a photo of it. I will have it on display at my table during the St George Book Festival on October 20 at Barnes and Nobel in St George, and again at the book event on October 25 at the Children's Museum in St George.
Doesn't look that big?
Here's a comparison photo with my foot next to the cast. I wear an 11.5-12.5 depending on type of shoe (really sandal, I don't wear real shoes unless I must, but let's not get too technical)

Now that's a big foot! Not mine, the other one. And yes, I know the grass needs to be mowed. I am working on the second book in my Almost Human trilogy, Retaliation. It is scheduled to come out in Fall 2015, if I can just keep these pests out of the garden. On the upside, whatever left this print seems to get along with my chickens. None of them are missing, and Ala King, the Black Austrolorp appears to have accepted it, she hangs around the area of the footprints and clucks softly.

Pests in the Garden aka Bigfoot sighting

  And I thought I had seen most of the local pests before. I am definitely going to have to get a larger Hav-a-Hart trap if this one keeps invading. Imagine my surprise, going out to check for eggs, and finding this guy hiding out in the shed. I'm six-three, and he was looking down on me.
  Even though he gave me the heebeejeebees, he turned out to be not such a bad guy. Did have a chat with him about staying out of the grow boxes though, he left two bigfoot tracks as he strode across one of my square foot garden boxes.
  Once he left I thought, hey why not make the most out of a bigfoot compressing my garden box, so I made up some Plaster of Paris and scooped it into his tracks. I should have  photo of the cast in a day or two.

Of Hawks, Chickens and squirrels

I like the hawks. (Their flight reminds me of C. David Belt's vampires.) For the second year their family (the hawks, not David's) has chosen our massive cottonwood for a nest. They are smaller than my chickens, so I don't think they are much of a threat. That, and I've enclosed my run with steel fencing and netting so the hawks would have to open a gate to get in.

On the other hand - ground squirrel(s)!

Last year chipmunks ravaged my garden. This year it's a ground squirrel. It's smarter, bigger, eats more, goes under, around, and through my fencing and netting, and is just plain obnoxious they way it sits on top of my grow box, flashes squirrel signs, and brags to all its friends about eating my lettuce and chard.

I don't expect much from the hawks in residence - don't attack my chickens - don't drop your babies out of the nest again this year and...EAT THE GROUND SQUIRREL!

I don't think it's too much to ask for rental space in my tree. It's not like they aren't going to go out and hunt the surrounding area for just such a tasty meal as a squirrel. And here, like fast food on the corner, right under their tree, is a meal waiting to happen. Maybe the hawks are just waiting for the little bugger to fatten up on all my garden produce before they take him home for dinner.


Come on hawks, just fly on down and snatch that evil garden devil away. Just like a vampire, but not the one with a conscience, like the other vampires in C. David Belt's book Unwilling. Which by the way, I am enjoying when I'm not writing, or playing Caddy Shack in the garden.

Ever notice devil is evil with a "d" on the front end? I suppose evil is also a "d"-less devil too.