Wednesday in Wyoming -- October 11, 2017

Where would you expect to see benches made from wagon wheels and a fountain with a cowboy pouring water from his boot?  If your answer included something about the old west, you were right.  You'll find this scene outside the Old West Museum in Cheyenne.

Wednesday in Wyoming -- October 4, 2017

Perhaps this week's post ought to be titled "The Sunflower Saga," because everything in it revolves around one of the wild sunflower plants in my backyard. While the plants themselves aren't especially beautiful, the flowers are cheerful and -- best of all -- they attract beautiful birds.

Here's an American Goldfinch, his beak open as he reaches for a seed.

If you look carefully, you can see the seed in his beak.

One seed isn't anywhere close to enough, so he goes back for another and another and another.

I'm always amazed by how persistent the birds are. They'll stay on a single plant for up to an hour, devouring the seeds. It's particularly fun to watch them when they turn upside down to pluck a seed from the flower.

Here's what the plant looks like when they're finally finished. Not much left for the next bird.

I won't tell you how many hours I've spent watching goldfinches and other birds feasting, but each time I see them, I'm grateful for the volunteer sunflower that decided to grow so close to my house.

Wednesday in Wyoming -- September 27, 2017

Looking for a bad hair day? The new Grand Conservatory at the Cheyenne Botanic Gardens can help you.

All joking aside, one of the unusual and fun features of the new conservatory is the fogging system which helps hydrate the plants. The amount of fog is carefully controlled and can be modified to meet changing indoor conditions. And, if it isn't the best thing for naturally curly hair, it does have a positive effect on skin.

So, come on inside and enjoy the fog.  (If you look carefully, you can see me to the left of the Gardens' Assistant Director, Tina Worthman.)

Wednesday in Wyoming -- September 20, 2017

What's so special about this wall in one of the classrooms of the Cheyenne Botanic Gardens' new Grand Conservatory? It has a history.

When the conservatory was being built, it was necessary to cut down a number of old Ponderosa pine trees. You might be surprised to learn that this generated some controversy. Why? It all started back 150 years when the city was first founded on land that had not one native tree. Getting trees to grow here is a real challenge, so cutting down healthy trees is something few take lightly, even now.

Unwilling to let the trees go to waste, Gardens' director Shane Smith, who's a great proponent of recycling and reuse, arranged to have them milled into wood. During that process, the miller discovered that the trees had been infected with pine bark beetles and would have had to be cut down, even if the conservatory hadn't been being built. So, what was first thought to be a problem turned out to be a good thing -- the beetle-infested trees were gone, and the conservatory had some unique walls, not to mention a story to tell.

Wednesday in Wyoming -- September 13, 2017

It's not only the inside of the Cheyenne Botanic Gardens' Grand Conservatory that's green. So too is the roof.

Cover Reveal -- A Borrowed Dream

Even though we've all been told not to judge a book by its cover, I do, and I suspect you do too. That's why I'm always eager to see the cover art for one of my books and to be able to share it with you.

So, with no further fanfare, here it is -- the cover for A Borrowed Dream.

Isn't it beautiful? I never cease to be amazed at how the team at Revell manage to capture the spirit of my stories in the covers.

I love the way the designer incorporated so many authentic details:

• The bluebonnets that tell you more clearly than words that the book is set in Texas
• The stone schoolhouse, because one in the Texas Hill Country would have been made of stone rather than wood
• The bell that students could ring to signal the end of recess 
• The Texas flag
• The heroine's blouse, which is virtually identical to one I saw in an historic costume book  

I could go on and on, but that might bore you. Instead, let me share the back cover copy with you, so you have an idea of the story that's inside this gorgeous cover.

Catherine Whitfield is sure that she will never again be able to trust anyone in the medical profession after the town doctor's excessive bleeding treatments killed her mother. Despite her loneliness and her broken heart, she carries bravely on as Cimarron Creek's dutiful schoolteacher, resigned to a life without love or family, a life where dreams rarely come true.

Austin Goddard is a newcomer to Cimarron Creek. Posing as a rancher, he fled to Texas to protect his daughter from a dangerous criminal. He's managed to keep his past as a surgeon a secret. But when Catherine Whitfield captures his heart, he wonders how long he will be able to keep up the charade.

With a deft hand, Amanda Cabot teases out the strands of love, deception, and redemption in this charming tale of dreams deferred and hopes becoming reality.

Have I intrigued you? I hope so. And, if you'd like to learn why I wrote this particular story -- the story behind the story -- here's the link.

A Borrowed Dream will be released in March 2018, but it's available for pre-order at all the major sites right now. Here are some links.

Amazon
Barnes & Noble

Christian Book Distributors

Wednesday in Wyoming -- September 6, 2017

How often do you get to see the tallest palm tree in Wyoming being pruned? I was fortunate to be given a sneak peek at Cheyenne Botanic Gardens' new Grand Conservatory before it opened to the public and happened to be there the day that the palm tree was being readied for the opening.  What fun!

You've probably heard me say that the Botanic Gardens are one of the reasons my husband and I chose Cheyenne for our home, and it's true. Now, with the Grand Conservatory, the Gardens are even more wonderful -- well worth a trip.