Six Sentence Sunday

“You don’t have to thank me for anything,” Will assures her, and he gently pets her hair at her shoulder, as he would one of his dogs.

“I will anyway,” she says, and there’s a smile breaking through the solemnity of her words. She disentangles herself after a few seconds, and she turns, and there’s the slightest moment of hesitation before she reaches out and hugs Hannibal too. “Thank you.”

Hannibal wraps his arms around her lightly, mindful of the angle of the blade resting along his forearm. “You are most welcome, Abigail, and entirely deserving of any life you desire.”


Wow, and actually is six for once!

Salamander!

After 15 years in this house, we're still finding new creatures that share our garden with us. This time it's a western red-backed salamander, that was unimpressed when I moved the piece of wood it was hiding under.



Yes, it's a bad photo, poor light and a moving subject, and I only held it briefly before I wetted it down again and put it back where I found it.

No, it doesn't have a red back, just a suggestion of a yellow stripe on the tail. Western red-backed salamanders come in a ridicuous array of colours and patterns, everything from all orange to all black. I had to ask the denizens of the bird-watching email list what species it was, because I would never have recognised it from a picture of one with a red back...