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Patrick W. O'Bryon
Writer. Traveler. Europhile, especially Italy and France. Hobbies: rescuing animals from abuse, abandonment and mistreatment, and being sous chef around the kitchen to my chef de cuisine wife.
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Corridor of Darkness, A Novel of Nazi Germany (paperback)
Tag Archives: nature
DAVID, GOLIATH AND LEXI THE CAT
Everyone knows the story, right? Shepherd David, the underdog, takes on the well-armored Goliath to settle an endless war, and fells the Philistine giant with a stone from the sling he uses to protect his flock. A story to hearten any young … Continue reading →
Posted in Animal stories
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Tagged animals, birds, cat rescue, cats, Cranes, David and Goliath, Fat Kitty City, Goldfish, Herons, Koi, nature, Pet rescue, Simon's cat, underdog
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4 Comments
ANOTHER BIRD-BRAINED THOUGHT, just in time for Thanksgiving
Ever since I sat in a movie theater years ago and watched Alfred Hitchcock’s The Birds, I’ve had a strange fascination with our winged co-habitants here on Earth. Not some “birder” fascination, where I might spend hours out in the … Continue reading →
Posted in Animal stories, Outdoor Adventures, Uncategorized
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Tagged birds, cats, Felines, Hitchcock, nature, Raptor, The Birds, turkey, Velociraptor, vultures, wild animals
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2 Comments
CONFESSIONS OF A MONTANA BACK-TO-THE-LANDER: The Bear Facts
All right, ‘fess up. Haven’t you ever wanted to shuck it all and take off for parts unknown, make a grand break from everyday frustrations? So how’s this for a suggestion? Pack up some minimal belongings along with family pets, … Continue reading →
Posted in Animal stories, Memoir, Travel Memoir, Uncategorized
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Tagged animals, Back to the Land, Bear Country, Bears, Black Bears, Composting Toilets, Cross-country skiing, Glacier Park, Going-to-the-Sun Highway, Log Cabin building, Montana, Moose, Morel Mushrooms, Mushroom hunting, nature, Whitefish
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18 Comments
WHAT I’VE LEARNED FROM BIRDBRAINS…a lesson in avian behavior
Summer is coasting to an end and the fledglings are leaving their nests. Go figure. I always thought this happened only in spring. Shows how little I know about avian procreation. And yesterday we witnessed a scene which has been … Continue reading →
Posted in Animal stories
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Tagged animals, avian behavior, bird brains, birds, cats, fledgling, hummingbirds, Mother Nature, nature, nesting, outdoors, robins, wild animals
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6 Comments
DROWNING OFF BIG SUR: A Tale of Stupidity and Survival
I’m not afraid of the water. But perhaps I should be. Let me explain why… As a teenager I was really quite stupid. Not ignorant—I knew a lot of stuff—just filled with the stupidity that makes teenagers do ridiculous things … Continue reading →
Posted in Travel Memoir, Uncategorized
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Tagged Big Sur, Carmel, drowning, family vacation, Hearst Castle, Mendocino, nature, outdoors, Pacific Ocean, riptide, road trip, scuba diving, Sierra Nevada, skin diving, teenagers, teens, undertow
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7 Comments
CONFESSIONS OF A BIGFOOT HOAXER: and How Mother Nature Turned the Tables
Before “reality TV” made them nightly magnets for ridicule and disbelief, Bigfoot sightings, alien visitations and the Loch Ness monster only appeared occasionally in popular magazines and newspapers. In my favorite bookstore of my college days I stumbled upon Bernard Heuvelmans’ now-classic … Continue reading →
ONE MORE REASON TO LOVE ANIMALS: ROXIE AND FRIENDS
Those who know me know I’m nuts about animals. Any kind of animal. That’s why you sometimes duck into the nearest alcove if you see me coming with flyer in hand showing some adorable dog, cat, rat, bird, fish—and yes, … Continue reading →
Posted in Animal stories
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Tagged animals, cats, dogs, foster animals, Foster dogs, nature, polecat, rescue organizations, shelter animals, skunk, wild animals
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4 Comments
LITTLE GREEN MEN: Part 3
Dear Reader: Thanks for waiting. Here comes the conclusion (so go read Parts 1 & 2 if you’re just stumbling across this story now…) RELATIVITY, A MATTER OF PERCEPTION ‘There’s obviously more to it than I thought.” Hunt and Laurel … Continue reading →
Posted in Short stories of the Paranormal
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Tagged alien encounter, aliens, animal friends, Big Foot, fairies, forest denizens, gremlins, leprechauns, Little green men, magical powers, multidimensional universe, nature, outdoors, parallel universe, paranormal, Sasquatsch, trolls, wild animals
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5 Comments
LITTLE GREEN MEN: Part 2
Dear Reader, be sure to read the first installment before continuing… THE DISCOVERY Heather was pleased. Someone was finally taking her seriously. It didn’t happen often anymore, certainly rarely since she had left her closest friend Robin last spring. Her mother had insisted … Continue reading →
Posted in Short stories of the Paranormal
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Tagged extraterrestrials, fairies, forest creatures, forest denizens, forest dwellers, gremlins, interdimensional beings, leprechauns, Little green men, magical powers, multiple dimensions, nature, outdoors, parallel universes, trolls, vegetarian, wild animals
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1 Comment
LITTLE GREEN MEN: A Whimsical Woodland Adventure
Writers such as Charles Dickens used to publish their stories and novels in serial form, so readers looked forward to the next installment, and paid for more newspapers and journals. See what you think…here’s Part One of a short story, then watch for another and … Continue reading →
Posted in Short stories of the Paranormal
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Tagged alien races, aliens, cryptobiology, cryptozoology, forest dwellers, leprechauns, Little green men, nature, outdoors, paranormal
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5 Comments