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sandrafriend.bsky.social
Sandra Friend
@sandrafriend.bsky.social
Author. Science geek. History wonk. Nature nut. Space Hipster. Recovering guidebook writer now making things up. SandraFriend.com FloridaHikes.com TrailsandTravel.com ThoughtsAfoot.Substack.com
One exquisite morning this summer atop the coastal dune front at Tunnel Park in Holland, Michigan.

#stunday #lakemichigan #greatlakes #beaches #coastaldunes #Michigan #bluehorizon #photosky #naturephotos #photography 📷
December 14, 2025 at 10:58 PM
From my #WIP Star Struck:

Bob stepped inside. Dozens of pale green dummies filled the room. A row in faded flight suits hung from the ceiling in a line like a conveyor at a dry cleaner.

#WIPSnips #WriteSky #WritingCommunity #WritingPrompts
December 14, 2025 at 10:33 AM
A tumult of natural textures on the forest floor of a hardwood hammock in Florida.

#textures #green #naturephotos #photosky #forestfloor #florida #photography 📷
December 14, 2025 at 3:05 AM
From my #WIP Star Struck:

Bob returned to his inspection of the V-2 launch photo. When Dick murmured earlier he’d sent monkeys up on these, it took all the self-control Bob could muster to bite his tongue.

#WIPSnips #WriteSky #WritingCommunity #WritingPrompts
The #WIPSnips word for December 13th is "control"

Also HAPPY CATURDAY. We haven't done one of these in a while, so feel free to add a picture of your furry or winged or scaled, etc., pets with your post!

#WriteSky #WritingCommunity #WritingPrompts
December 13, 2025 at 10:49 AM
From my #WIP Star Struck:

Dittmer could feed Freddy just fine. Jackson, too. After the third smashed banana in the face, Bob took Freddy’s behavior as a personal vendetta.

#WIPSnips #WriteSky #WritingCommunity #WritingPrompts
The #WIPSnips word for December 12th is HULK SMASH.

Okay, it's just "smash" but I couldn't miss my opportunity.

#WriteSky #WritingCommunity #WritingPrompts
December 12, 2025 at 10:39 AM
More of my 2025 reads. Shadow Ticket gets classically, hilariously Pynchon by ch 13; the Mediterranean titles, heartwarmers; Cheerfully, a dystopian Great Lakes quest of a bass player very worth the read.

📚 #booksky #bookreviews #fiction #2025reads
December 11, 2025 at 6:08 PM
From my #WIP Star Struck:

Ed’s gentle cradle of the animal
belied the strength in his arms from years of hefting full-grown chimpanzees.

#WIPSnips #WriteSky #WritingCommunity #WritingPrompts
December 11, 2025 at 10:43 AM
Another entrant for #waterfallwednesday. Hubby dropped me off at the west end of Indian Mound Reserve; I hiked to the big mound and continued west along the gorge. He, and this, awaited me at the east end of the trail.

#indianmoundreserve #waterfalls #ohio #cedarville #hiking #takeahike
December 10, 2025 at 6:12 PM
From my #WIP Star Struck:

“Not tonight.” Dick turned off into their neighborhood. “I want my own dinner, my own couch, my own pipe, and my own cold beer out of my own refrigerator. That is all.”

#WIPSnips #WriteSky #WritingCommunity #WritingPrompts
December 10, 2025 at 11:46 AM
Fall author run #3: John Scalzi. Started the year with his newest and worked backwards; I've shared some previously but hubby, not a sci-fi enthusiast, is now a convert thanks to the snark. Next up: diving into the Old Man's War series by @scalzi.com

📚 #booksky #bookreview #scifi #funreads
December 10, 2025 at 3:29 AM
From my #WIP Star Struck:

A ménage à trois with Miss Atomic? Bob found it hard to swallow that either Gordy or Ruhl had designs on her. She was hot, but in all the wrong ways.

#WIPSnips #WriteSky #WritingCommunity #WritingPrompts
December 9, 2025 at 12:10 PM
A mesmerizing piece of kinetic sculpture at Wellfield Botanic Gardens in Elkhart, Indiana. This stop on our summer travels surprised with its sculptures threaded throughout the plantings.

#glassglobe #sculpture #fountain #garden #elkhart #indiana #soothing #videosky
December 9, 2025 at 12:22 AM
Accidentally found: a pirated book in a little free library. I've had #Buckeye on my TBR list. At home I discovered this "book" has no copyright page, no spine or back identifying publisher, and the interior is NOT the novel. I pity the reader who bought it. #booksky #pirates
#writersbeware 📚
December 8, 2025 at 4:32 PM
From my #WIP Star Struck:

Colonel Whittington didn’t put Bob on the invite list? Victor thought fast. “I’ll check on that. There’s a dinner at the club on the Fourth of July, a meet and greet with the movie guys and Miss Miller. Consider this your invite.”

#WIPSnips #WriteSky #WritingCommunity
December 8, 2025 at 10:17 AM
Fall author run #2: Mary Robinette Kowal. Started into her Lady Astronaut series earlier in the year - love the interweave of real-life astronauts - and decided to try another outside the series. A delight! Will seek out more next year.

📚 #booksky #bookreview #scifi #alternatehistory #womeninspace
December 8, 2025 at 3:17 AM
A moment for reflection among the ancient trees of Clear Springs Nature Preserve near Montague, Michigan.

#stunday #bigtrees #reflections #autumnleaves #michigan #naturephotos #photosky
December 7, 2025 at 5:00 PM
From Star Struck:
Kurning walked in with a small crate. The frogs sank under the water when his shadow danced across their tank. Ulysses motioned for him to leave it atop the only empty table. Touching the box, he tingled when the pigeon cooed.

#WIPSnips #WriteSky #WritingCommunity #WritingPrompts
December 7, 2025 at 12:44 PM
From my #WIP Star Struck:
Acknowledging his security guard with a quick thanks, Dick snatched the receiver off the hook, speaking in a quiet, level voice so as not to disturb the animals.

#WIPSnips #WriteSky #WritingCommunity #WritingPrompts
December 6, 2025 at 10:57 AM
There's a hole in our hearts today with the passing of our friend Bob Eggleston, who was as close to a brother as my husband John ever had as an only child. They'd met more than 50 years ago in Boy Scouts and we adventured together locally this past decade. RIP old friend.
#cancersucks #gonetoosoon
December 5, 2025 at 6:36 PM
From my #WIP Star Struck:
She’d picked up a few synchronized swimming gigs with MGM to stave off boredom. Staying in the water kept her profile low, on screen and off.

#WIPSnips #WriteSky #WritingCommunity #WritingPrompts
December 5, 2025 at 10:40 AM
Another good, kind human, another friend.
Descended through the portal of no return.
Goodness doesn't equate to good health.

Don't put off that #colonoscopy
Don't break more hearts.
#takecareofyourself
#youmatter
#fuckcancer
December 5, 2025 at 2:17 AM
From my #WIP Star Struck:
Their war pigeon display was yesterday’s news. City folks laughed off seeing the same birds as on their windowsills, so Catskill sold them off.

#WIPSnips #WriteSky #WritingCommunity #WritingPrompts
December 4, 2025 at 9:48 AM
The wonders of nature come in all shapes and sizes.
Another comic from this past year. Sometimes I'm in awe about how incredibly small birds can be.
December 3, 2025 at 11:53 PM
I love the idea of #waterfallwednesday, as it lets me dig into photos from our travels. This one pours off a rocky bluff into a ravine below the trail I'm standing on at Glen Helen Nature Preserve in Ohio.

#glenhelen #waterfalls #ohio #yellowsprings #hiking #takeahike
December 3, 2025 at 8:34 PM