Superstition Review, the online literary magazine at Arizona State University, has published my short story “Rabble of Butterflies,” which you can read here. Check it out!

And while you’re at it, also check out the rest of the awesome fiction in Superstition Review’s Spring 2010 issue.

Did you notice that the year is almost one-third over already? Yeah. Fast, huh? I have been bad about keeping up with our lives on here, so here are some recent things that have happened:

* Yesterday we put the chickens outside in their coop. I am worried about them because it is raining, but they seem okay so far. They are a little confused, but also happy to be in a bigger space. We knew it was time to put them outside because, aside from the fact that they have full feathers and look like small chickens now, every time I opened their brooder, they jumped around and ran around the guest room. So much pent up energy! Now they can take it out by scratching in their runner.

* I went to AWP in Denver this month. AWP is a writing conference. I went with Marcia and we had a great time. I blogged about it here and Marcia added her two cents here. I liked Denver quite a bit.

* Kyle made his own bacon. He took a pork belly, cured it, and smoked it. It tasted awesome. Here is a picture:

* Kyle is almost done with his update to The Official Ubuntu Server Book. He has been working very hard on it.

* I went kayaking last weekend. We kayaked under a heron nesting ground. Dozens of herons and egrets had put weird twiggy nests in eucalyptus trees. It was neat. Now I want a kayak.

* Afterwards, we had a picnic on the bank of the American River and a Canadian goose swam up on the bank and hissed at us. We gently intimidated it back into the water, but it kept coming back to hiss again. I think there was a nest nearby and it was protecting its family.

* I planted the garden. Well, most of it. I still have to put in winter squash, melons, and leeks. The bugs have been crazy this year already. They killed all my young greenbean plants, so I had to re-plant them all. I hope they come up.

* I have been steadily publishing short stories in literary journals lately, and this makes me very happy.

* Kyle and I made plans for the rest of 2010. I want to go camping, take a smaller trip to somewhere in the United States, go to Spain, and remodel our bathroom. That’s a lot, but also very fun–well, the first three things are fun. The remodeling, not so much.

I like having fun.

Lucy is obsessed with climbing on my head. I think it’s because it is the highest point she can get to. I don’t let her up there because I don’t like the idea of a bird pooping on my head, but it’s funny that she keeps trying.

I have never seen anything develop as quickly as these chickens are developing. They will literally be different in the evening than they were in the morning. Marcia took the above picture just last week and Lucy looks completely different now. It’s kind of amazing, really.