Castle Rapture~

This is not only a beautiful site, but extremely important to share with others – reblog on your site, too.

cindy knoke's avatarCindy Knoke


Near Haut-Koenigsbourg in France is a castle called Kintzheim that houses only raptors.

These are bateleur eagles that I photographed in the wild in Africa and never expected to see again in France!

Of course you recognize these beauties, who I also never expected to see in France.

The castle runs a program called “La Volerie des Aigles,” which is dedicated to breeding, conserving and educating the public about vulnerable raptors. Birds are flown daily, and are an unusual sight soaring over the old towns and orderly fields of France. The castle has bred many endangered raptor species including Andean condors, and stellar, imperial and white-tailed eagles, and many other species, including vultures.

The white-headed vulture is endemic to Africa. Populations have been declining steeply in recent years due to habitat degradation and poisoning. Our planet needs vultures, they are designed to keep our world clean.

The cinereous vulture has…

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Less and Fewer

The Easy Explanation

By Annette Rey

I believe grammar is made too difficult to understand so risking condemnation from the wordy grammar ghouls out there, here is the shortcut to understanding when to use less and when to use fewer.

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Writers Using English

Refresh and Recheck Your English Skills

By Annette Rey

English and non-English first language speakers, listen up! The site mentioned below may be one of the most useful you will find to help you improve your speaking and writing of English. It will also increase your understanding of English. Understanding the core of a subject is when the light bulb shines in your brain and makes learning the rest of the material easier.

The site is:  Continue reading →

Writing Figurative Language

It Can Really Grab Attention

By Annette Rey

I came across a fabulous example of figurative language. It really caught my imagination and drew an enticing picture in my mind. But figurative language also wakes up some deeper emotion in my being. This is something you would like your readers to find in themselves as they read your writing. Your work and author name will be unforgettable if you flower your work with words that make your readers think.

Let’s have a look at the sentence I wish I had said.

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Writing Honestly

Be the Real You When You Write

By Annette Rey

Supposedly Benjamin’s Franklin’s father told him, “Nothing is useful that is not honest.” I think that is a great way to start this post.

We writers need to be honest when we write.

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Challenge – Write a Poem

Not a Poet? No Matter

By Annette Rey

You know writers need to experiment and get out of their comfort zones sometimes, right? Well, what better than to dabble in poetry?

I have done this and it opens another part of my brain. The words just sort of flow. Don’t try to be great at it. Just enjoy.

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Alice’s Anniversary

A Real Hoot

By Annette Rey

Who is thinking of November when it’s just September? Writers are. Good literature doesn’t have a “read-by” date. This coming November 26th is the 152nd anniversary of the publication of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. Yay! Hooray!

It might be time to get the old tomes out and read them again. You don’t have to be a child to appreciate good story telling. And what a day we live in to escape to a Wonderland, huh?

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Sites for Writers, #11

For Real World Writing News

By Annette Rey

The Sites for Writers category is growing on my site and most of them are instructional and educational sites for writers to improve their writing skills. I have taken to numbering the posts so my readers (and I) can keep track of them.

The ones I mention today don’t directly fall into that category.

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Old, Forgotten, Wonderful Words

 

Still Useful Today

By Annette Rey

Words show what writers want to tell their readers. Flabbergast, and gunshots punctuated the riverfront night, and shattered opera glasses, and bellicose, all conjure up images in our minds. Speaking and writing should be rich with descriptive, picture-haunting words. And writers should not be stingy with their use.

But what about using outdated words?

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