A small group hurried through the temporary tent city erected on the stream’s north bank. A local politician assigned to help run the outfit, a big cat expert, two security officials from the national government, and the Syphon. She had been the country’s Syphon for four years, and she’d already seen more action than the first dozen Syphons combined.
A shiver ran through Woodrow as he settled in for his watch. He kicked off a few bits of snow before he decided the endeavor was hopeless. Snow was everywhere, it was freezing, and he was just going to have to live with it. At least he’d come prepared.
A voice crackled in his earpiece. “I have a question.”
“It had better not be about my sweater,” replied Woodrow.
“Were you able to haggle down at all, or was Cruella de Vil pretty firm on her price?”
http://photography.nationalgeographic.com/photography/photo-of-the-day/do-fishing-craft-vietnam/
In ages past, the Voken harvest was the spring’s second major festival after the celebration of the seed planting. The entire town would turn out shortly after dawn exactly one week after the seeds went into the ground. Kids would bustle about, making a game of spotting the tan and brown husks. With groggy parents in tow, children would dash from house to house in a frantic search. Behind them, mom or dad would gently cut down the stiff cocoon and toss it into their basket. Most clung to the bamboo gutters that lined the houses in town, but occasionally they would turn up in the temple rafters or under a tent in the market.
Internal Memorandum
Site L.I.P.
Location #17 – 45° 30′ 10.5″ N x 7° 08′ 48.6″ E
Scout Lead: P. Fawcett
Viability: FEASIBLE – Strongly consider
Project: Rodin Gate
Mission Purpose: Scout location for Rodin Gate project. Lab work has reached it’s final stages. If we’re going to establish the connectors to heaven & hell, we need a removed place to ingest and house divine/demonic entities. Requirements include space, relative isolation without being inaccessibly remote, water source. Should the Gate succeed as a pathway between the two afterlives and Earth, we will require space to engage in diplomatic relations, to temporarily or semi-permanently house OtherWorlders, and act as a de facto seat of government.
http://photography.nationalgeographic.com/photography/photo-of-the-day/south-africa-lion-cubs/
A hush spread among the few gathered observers. They stood behind a low fence under enormous umbrellas that were opened to protect them from the punishing sun. Only an hour after dawn and it was already pushing 90 Fahrenheit. Two distressingly young girls fanned the group with gigantic green palm fronds. It did little to provide comfort, but the two guests of honor thanked them repeatedly anyway. Catholic guilt was a strangely applied phenomenon.
In the pen before them, two lion cubs circled one another. Ears pinned back, their butts rose up in the air as each tried to make himself as big as possible. One growled a low warning, and the other responded in kind.
Venice in early summer was a place of light. At 9pm, the sun still clung to the sky, its withdrawal beneath the horizon a protracted affair. In a month’s time, tourists from the Far East and the US would descend on the city. Its waterways would overflow with gondolas rented at peak rates, their occupants defying the city’s elegance with fanny packs and khaki shorts and selfie sticks. Their noise would reverberate off the stately old facades, roll across the canals and infect the twilight peace that lit the city, if only briefly, with pure magic.
http://photography.nationalgeographic.com/photography/photo-of-the-day/horse-arabian-mare-egypt/
Theo sat in his father’s store at the edge of town. Wind knocked the saloon doors back and forth. Dust kicked up and gathered around the entrance. With a sigh, Theo stood and grabbed the broom from the back wall. Dirt couldn’t get into the guitars, or it would ruin their sound. So why did the guitar store have saloon doors that did absolutely nothing to dissuade the invasion of dirt?
They were on their fourth and final day of surveillance duty. Of all the various tasks their employer assigned, surveillance was easily their least favorite. They had to sit around in a tree, watchi the same spot for days on end; it was anathema to the free-wheeling, fun–loving lives they had convinced themselves they led. Still, they weren’t prepared to openly revolt against their employer. Initially, they’d gone to task with admirable dedication. Over the four days, their concentration had mostly eroded.
http://photography.nationalgeographic.com/photography/photo-of-the-day/palm-beach-miami-steinmetz/
Proxima Apollonia – New Luxury Development! Affordable Grandeur!
You have a new job, a new spouse, and a new life to build together. Start it somewhere new in your own home.
TMR,
It appears that the potion has maintained its efficacy in a higher dose. The trials on the mice, peacocks and pigs each showed similar endorphin spikes at 24 hours, 72 hours and 148 hours. There’s reason to believe the augmented endorphin spike may help inspire natural endorphin production.
The Tall Tale Year 