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My other avian passion is for peregrine falcons. When I was a child, I read a book called My Side of the Mountain which featured a falcon; I must have read that book at least six times. The memories have come back, after doing some Websurfing. My SF fanzine Peregrine Nations ran for about 7 years; you can find the archives at efanzines.com .

I'm also very fond of the American Kestrel. I've seen a few here in the north, but more peregrines have gone whizzing by.

In 2007, Hallowe'en was dry and lots of critters showed up at my door. Last year I was sick. :( Perhaps this year, if I can get off my tail and get started early enough, Hallowe'en at Chez Moi will be more...interesting.

Fall Color 2003

On a hilltop somewhere in Manistee County/Photo by JGS

Who am I? You may call me Jan, if we've never met; the rest of you know who I am. People still look at me as if I'm nuts when I tell them I left the Florida Keys to go north. Some folks are built for the Keys and some aren't; I'm not, so I came back to where my heart's always been. We don't pick our home places, our home places pick us.

I write. At the moment, I write articles and reviews for The New York Review of Science Fiction, The Internet Review of Science Fiction, ForeWord and BookPage. I've also done freelance editing on short stories and novels, both for free and for payment. No complaints so far.

If you have a novel you'd like to get copy edited, or you want to know what copy editing entails, clink the PES link on my home page.

I also read a great deal, as a reviewer should. My main interests are SF, fantasy, horror, romance, archaeology, future tech, general science, mysteries and true crime, and I collect cookbooks.

My recommendations:

* Redgunk Tales by Willam Eakin. Buy a copy and read it. Now. Before the kudzu spreads.....

* Carl Orff's "Carmina burana" as performed by the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra & Chorus, under the baton of Leonard Slatkin (BMG Music, 1994). As close to Klingon opera as humans will ever get and still be comprehensible to both species. Glorious.

* The movie "Pitch Black" in the Director's Cut version. Makes a lot more sense.

This is Spunky, a Siberian Husky who fully lives up to his name and his breed -- and I love him to distraction. For the first 18 months of its life, the Siberian Husky can be your worst nightmare. These dogs will eat couches if you don't walk them and play with them daily. This is not a dog for lazy people. If you don't like the thought of daily walks, lots of ball-tossing and vaccuuming your house twice a week during spring and fall, do yourself a favor and get a cat. You don't have to walk cats, they'll toss balls to you (hairballs), and the shorthaired breeds shed less than you do.

Sibes are generally intelligent dogs, though they vary widely in personality. They are more independent than many other canine breeds, so if it isn't fun, they are less inclined to follow a command. Some people consider it a near-miracle that Sibes can even participate in agility competitions for this reason. I tell them they should try getting an Afghan Hound to do it. The surprise is that Afghans can and do participate in agility. So there.

After about age 3, Sibes start settling down because they're moving from puppyhood to adulthood. What, you thought a year was enough?

Like most other breeds, Sibes are unbearably adorable as pups. So the same warning applies for potential owners: Educate yourself on the breed first, be responsible in your selection, and seek out a reputable breeder who will also choose you with great care before considering letting go of a precious pup.

Spunky went to the Rainbow Bridge in March 2009. He should be chasing Saber and Pixie all over the place now, while Mogwai sits and barks at them all. A good way to remember them all.

tropicsf@earthlink.net