I have been watching our very busy squirrels lately. A large hickory tree stands in our front yard and seems to be the home of numerous squirrels. Some can be seen scurrying around the trunk in apparent play or along the ground gathering, cracking or burying nuts. When they can't be seen, they can still be heard either by their chittering or by the near constant sound of nut casing pieces being dropped to the ground.
We have been wondering if their behavior is predictive of a harsh winter. If you following almanacs and old wives' tales it is. Kind of makes us curious to see what's coming.
I have read many books of suspense over the years. It seems you can take two different tacks. One method is to lay out little bread crumbs, little hints of what is to come. The other one is to totally blind side someone with a surprise they weren't expecting. I think the first of the two is the harder one to successfully pull off as a writer. After all, you are telling someone what is going to happen and yet, you don't really want them to actually figure it out.
I'm not sure which method I enjoy reading more. There are benefits to each. However, I am preparing for a hard winter.
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