UPDATE: The winner is…Deborah Brown!
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It’s Saturday! There’s one more week ahead of getting kids up early for school, then we can ease into lazy mornings! I can’t wait. But it’s not today. Too much to do. So many pages to edit!! Enjoy the puzzle!

For a chance to win a $5 Amazon gift card, solve the puzzle, then tell me something about the couple you see here. Why are they there? Does their setting cause some issues? Can they breathe? Have fun with it. 

UPDATE: The winner is…Anna Marie Flamini!
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A rare geomagnetic solar storm has some folks very excited. When it was announced, we were disappointed that we wouldn’t get to see them this far south in Arkansas. However, last night, some of the 19-year-old’s friends shared pictures they’d taken with their phones of faint glimmers of the aurora borealis affect.

So, she went outside and took these.

Cool, right? Our big old trees blocked most of it. Okay, so it’s not spectacular, but we NEVER see the lights this far south.

I’ve always wanted to go someplace like Iceland to experience the truly spectacular Northern Lights, but maybe someday.

For a chance to win a $5 Amazon gift card, have you ever seen the Northern Lights? Enjoy the puzzle and Happy Saturday!

UPDATE: The winner is…Joy Boutwell!
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This was the excitement in our little town yesterday. A black bear showed up at the courthouse/jail then took a tour, winding up in a tree next to this law office. The local PD (including my SIL) had to use yellow tape to keep the public back. There was no letting the bear wander away on its own because…people. So, game and fish brought a tranq gun out to dart the bear and take him to a remote spot to release him. There were some lovely pictures of him up in the tree, but I can’t share them because I worry about copyright. This pic was so widely shared, I didn’t see the harm…

Anyway, back to today’s fun.

Because he was so lovely, and it was so exciting watching the posts on FB all day, the puzzle is a bear! Enjoy it!

For a chance to win a $5 Amazon gift card, what exciting interaction with wildlife has happened where you are?

UPDATE: The winner is…flchen!
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Sorry, I couldn’t help myself. I often talk about my nostalgia for old sci-fi TV shows—the ones I grew up with—and I forgot about one until I saw the image I’m using for today’s puzzle contest. Before Scott Bakula’s Quantum Leap, there was another TV show that trapped a pair of scientists, moving from one horrible situation to another. I ADORED The Time Tunnel, starring that yummy James Darren from the silly 60s beach movies. Can you imagine how thrilled I was when he popped up as lounge singer Vic Fontaine in a holodeck program in Star Trek’s Deep Space Nine?

Now, I have to go find the series to binge. Luckily, it was only two seasons long, and I remember it didn’t hold a candle to Star Trek, but I had plenty of daydreams where I was James Darren’s fellow scientist arriving in pivotal moments in time…

Anyway, I had to share that very short video, even if it’s grainy as hell. On to the contest!

For a chance to win a $5 Amazon gift card, solve the puzzle, then tell me what’s at the end of that tunnel! Have fun!

UPDATE: The winner is…Pansy Petal!
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It’s Saturday, which means it’s puzzle time! I hope you enjoy the challenge.

For a chance to win a $5 Amazon gift card, solve the puzzle, then tell me a little story about what you see. The story doesn’t have to be long or even good. Just have some fun!

UPDATE: The winner is…Margaret!
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It’s finally feeling like Spring. The japonica and forsythia bloomed and faded. The trees are budding—first, the red buds which quickly turn green, too. We’ve had to mow the lawn several times now. The temperatures haven’t dipped to freezing in a while…which makes me really antsy for it to warm up enough, so the pool won’t make me into a popsicle. We won’t talk about the green tinge of the water. We’re working on that.

So, thinking about trees growing their leaves, I found this picture which inspired a “what if” thought. For a chance to win a $5 Amazon gift card, would you enter? What would you hope is on the other side?

UPDATE: The winner is…Diane Sallans!
*~*~*

One family member is arriving tonight. My sister will be arriving maybe Sunday night…? Anyway, it looks like the weather might cooperate with Monday’s eclipse—the only total solar eclipse we’ll see here until 2044!!! I’m so excited—or as excited as I can be as I have a deadline approaching that is kicking my ass and I have been writing for 12+ hours a day. And yes, I have to finish the book on eclipse day. Gah! Yes, feel sorry for me. I could use an attagirl!

Anyway, today’s puzzle is fun. With all the weird nonsense online about the upcoming eclipse (what on earth do earthquakes have to do with eclipses?!), I thought the image I chose would be fun. For a chance to win a $5 Amazon gift card, solve the puzzle, and then tell me the wildest story you’ve heard about Monday’s eclipse or eclipses in general! Have fun!