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sandrafriend.bsky.social
Sandra Friend
@sandrafriend.bsky.social
920 followers 600 following 500 posts
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
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sandrafriend.bsky.social
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 📷
Downslope view of grasses and wildflowers carpeting a steep dune slope leading to a sandy beach with minimal surf and clear waters of Lake Michigan.
December 14, 2025 at 10:58 PM
sandrafriend.bsky.social
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
sandrafriend.bsky.social
A tumult of natural textures on the forest floor of a hardwood hammock in Florida.

#textures #green #naturephotos #photosky #forestfloor #florida #photography 📷
Wild coffee peeping out from amid a bed of marsh ferns
December 14, 2025 at 3:05 AM
sandrafriend.bsky.social
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
wipsnips.bsky.social ✨#WIPSnips✨ A Daily Writing Share Tag @wipsnips.bsky.social · 2d
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
#WIPSnips a bluesky writing community tag December 13 - control Share a line from your WIP with the daily word for inspiration Use #WIPSnips. Don't forget Alt Text for graphics Synonyms, variation and vibes are fine. Support others on the #WIPSnips tag! Hosted by rosie-j-potter.bsky.social The image behind the text is a border that is black with stars with a light blue rectangle highlighted by a fuchsia line. An illustrated caticorn holding a pencil and writing in a book with a rose behind one ear is in the lower right corner
December 13, 2025 at 10:49 AM
sandrafriend.bsky.social
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
wipsnips.bsky.social ✨#WIPSnips✨ A Daily Writing Share Tag @wipsnips.bsky.social · 3d
The #WIPSnips word for December 12th is HULK SMASH.

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

#WriteSky #WritingCommunity #WritingPrompts
#WIPSnips a bluesky writing community tag December 12 - smash Share a line from your WIP with the daily word for inspiration Use #WIPSnips. Don't forget Alt Text for graphics Synonyms, variation and vibes are fine. Support others on the #WIPSnips tag! Hosted by rosie-j-potter.bsky.social The image behind the text is a border that is black with stars with a light blue rectangle highlighted by a fuchsia line. An illustrated caticorn holding a pencil and writing in a book with a rose behind one ear is in the lower right corner
December 12, 2025 at 10:39 AM
sandrafriend.bsky.social
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
Book cover: Lesser Islands by Lorenza Pieri. A coastal Mediterranean village. Book cover: The Secrets of the Little Greek Taverna. A magical immersion into an unusual village and its inhabitants. Book cover: I Cheerfully Refuse by Leif Enger. A Lake Superior lakescape with a town aflame. Book cover: Shadow Ticket by Thomas Pynchon. A 30s cityscape.
December 11, 2025 at 6:08 PM
sandrafriend.bsky.social
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
sandrafriend.bsky.social
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
Waterfall with mill race cut to its right sporting a far more slender cascade.
December 10, 2025 at 6:12 PM
sandrafriend.bsky.social
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
sandrafriend.bsky.social
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
Book cover: The Kaiju Preservation Society by John Scalzi, an often hilarious romp between parallel Earths Book cover: The Android's Dream by John Scalzi where electric blue sheep mean a lot to an alien culture and a quirky sort of diplomacy meets the challenge Book cover: Fuzzy Nation by John Scalzi, where the self-determination of a alien species isn't something the mega-corporation strip-mining their home wants to see Book covers: When the Moon Hits Your Eye and Starter Villain by John Scalzi. My faves so far among his many books: the what-ifs will keep you rolling on the floor with laughter.
December 10, 2025 at 3:29 AM
sandrafriend.bsky.social
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
sandrafriend.bsky.social
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
sandrafriend.bsky.social
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 📚
Exterior of supposed copy of Buckeye by Patrick Ryan. No spine graphics. Back cover of supposed copy of Buckeye by Patrick Ryan. No graphics, blurb, publisher, nada. Note the author does not match the cover. Should be Patrick Ryan. No front matter, except a bogus copyright page that doesn't mention the author or publisher or ISBN. Goes right into this, which I quickly confirmed online is NOT the novel Buckeye. In fact, paging about ten pages in, it's dreck. Who the hell does this to a reader? Pirates! Into the recycle bin. I don't want anyone to think Patrick Ryan would write this crap.
December 8, 2025 at 4:32 PM
sandrafriend.bsky.social
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
sandrafriend.bsky.social
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
Book cover: The Relentless Moon by Mary Robinette Kowal. Four astronauts against a lunar background. Book cover: The Fated Sky by Mary Robinette Kowal. A solo astronaut against a fiery background Book cover: The Spare Man by Mary Robinette Kowal. An elegant couple and their dog on a starship cruise.
December 8, 2025 at 3:17 AM
sandrafriend.bsky.social
A moment for reflection among the ancient trees of Clear Springs Nature Preserve near Montague, Michigan.

#stunday #bigtrees #reflections #autumnleaves #michigan #naturephotos #photosky
A massive oak trunk on a steep shoreline with leaves turning color and autumn leaves floating on the surface of the water
December 7, 2025 at 5:00 PM
sandrafriend.bsky.social
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
sandrafriend.bsky.social
Where aviation began.

#blueskyartshow #sky #photography #photosky #aviationhistory #historicsites #wrightbrothers #kittyhawk #nationalpark
Person descending stairs from an upswept monument against a dramatic sky of white clouds against deep blue
December 6, 2025 at 5:36 PM
sandrafriend.bsky.social
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
sandrafriend.bsky.social
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
A woman and two men in holiday attire on a beach during an event A man paddleboarding in a lagoon Two men with bike helmets standing on a trail bridge A man crossing a plank boardwalk while wearing a hat and bright orange vest
December 5, 2025 at 6:36 PM
sandrafriend.bsky.social
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
sandrafriend.bsky.social
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
Interior of an ancient adobe dwelling with a series of keyhole doors in half shadow
December 5, 2025 at 2:17 AM
sandrafriend.bsky.social
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
sandrafriend.bsky.social
The wonders of nature come in all shapes and sizes.
rosemarymosco.com Rosemary Mosco @rosemarymosco.com · 11d
Another comic from this past year. Sometimes I'm in awe about how incredibly small birds can be.
In a comic strip panel, person in a red shirt walks through a sunlit forest. The text says "Sometimes I go looking for a tiny part of the universe." "This part only takes up as much space as: half an apple, a salt shaker, or 2 ping pong balls." Each of these items is shown. Galaxies and stars swirl as the text says "But somehow, in an unfathomably huge universe," and then there's a complex mess of forest leaves, with one tiny Wilson's warbler in one corner, and the text says "this one tiny part". There's a close up of the warbler, blazing yellow against a sparkly yellow background, and the text says "can fill up my whole heart."
December 3, 2025 at 11:53 PM
sandrafriend.bsky.social
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
Author of the post, a lady in a Tilly hat, beside a waterfall splashing into the gaping mouth of a small cave on a bluff
December 3, 2025 at 8:34 PM