Sunday was our annual hike up Seneca Rocks in memory of my cousin Ben. Ben died in 2012, and every year since then we’ve hiked up Seneca Rocks on his birthday. And since we’re doing it in memory of Ben, we have to go all the way to the top without stopping.

—

I was chatting with Tania the night before, and she asked if I was still mad at Ben. I said much less than I had been.

I changed my mind about 2/3rds of the way up.

I’m not as mad at him as I used to be (once I catch my breath, that is) but it’s still hard for me to accept. And it most likely always will be.

—

Although there was rain throughout the day, it held off for our hike, as well as while we were enjoying the view.

Location: Seneca Rocks
Distance: 3.6 miles
Elevation: 1546-2407 feet (919)
Temperature: 75 F

Hike up:
Distance: 1.2 miles
Elevation: 1578 – 2319 feet (740); 11.6% grade
Time: 32 minutes

Day is done, gone the sun,
From the hills, from the lake,
From the sky.
All is well, safely rest,
God is nigh.

Go to sleep, peaceful sleep,
May the soldier or sailor,
God keep.
On the land or the deep,
Safe in sleep.

Love, good night, Must thou go,
When the day, And the night
Need thee so?
All is well. Speedeth all
To their rest.

Fades the light; And afar
Goeth day, And the stars
Shineth bright,
Fare thee well; Day has gone,
Night is on.

Thanks and praise, For our days,
‘Neath the sun, Neath the stars,
‘Neath the sky,
As we go, This we know,
God is nigh.

Taps, by Gen. Daniel Butterfield

We’d hoped to spend some time hiking in the southern part of the state after I finished teaching in Charleston, but thunderstorms nixed that plan, so we came home, and had a day trip to Canaan.

This is one of the places we go frequently, because it’s relatively close to Morgantown, and there are SO MANY places to hike.

Location: Canaan Wilderness
Trail: Lindy Run, Plantation, Fire Trails
Distance: 4.0 miles
Elevation: 3459-3652 feet (397 feet gain)
Temperature: 82 F

Wet trail.

Wet crossing.

Dry trail.

Gorgeous creek.

Our original plans for the weekend were thrown into disarray, so we went to Canaan Valley on Saturday for a little hiking, and to see what spring wildflowers were out.

Answer: lots and lots.

I really want an app that gives me the forecast for the state and tells me where it will NOT be raining over the weekend. Is that really so much to ask?

The forecast looked least wet in the Berkeley Springs area, so we headed east to do some hiking at Cacapon.

Irises

Pink Lady Slipper

FUTURE SNACKS!!!!

Here’s a question for you: What is horror?

Specifically, horror in books.

What qualifies a story as horror? Is it a feeling it gives you? Is it the presence of monsters? Is it terrible things happening to characters?

I’ve always had an odd relationship with dark fantasy and horror. I’m fine with monsters and murder (though not with details about torture) but because of my hatred of horror movies, I’ve always avoided anything categorized as horror. I am easily started and HATE that feeling, so I’ve always associated horror with monsters jumping out from behind doors.

But I’m not necessarily sure what I’ve been avoiding is the thing that I hate so much.

I love Simon R. Green and Thieves’ World. Mike Carey’s Felix Castor and Paul Cornell’s Shadow Police series are full of demons and monsters. And I think the movies based on Sergei Lukyanenko’s Night Watch series were classified as horror.

On the other hand, one of the most distressing books I’ve read was Joyce Carol Oates “Blonde” which was the fictionalized story of Marilyn Monroe. And I’d rather stab myself in the thigh with a fork than ever read China Mieville’s Perdido Street Station ever again.

Are those horror? I found them both horrific and they both made me completely and utterly miserable.

I enjoyed “The Sandman” comics but really disliked “Preacher”.

So what is horror? Have I been missing things I might have liked because they fell under the umbrella or horror? Or have I mostly been avoiding things that would make me miserable?

Finally! Decent weather! That means less reading, but I’m OK with that.

I managed to read some new releases this months–including books that were published within the month!

So what did I really like?

Some very good historical mysteries, including the new Sebastian St Cyr mystery: Secrets in the Mist by Anna Lee Huber (Rating: 9/10) Who Slays the Wicked by C.S. Harris (Sebastian St. Cyr) (Rating: 8.5/10)

I am really enjoying Josh Lanyon’s writing, and I hope that this is actually a series:

The Haunted Heart: Winter by Josh Lanyon (Rating: 8/10).

And in the LGBT romance line, I want to mention a book that I really enjoyed, even if I don’t think it was that good of a book. How to Be a Normal Person by TJ Klune (Rating: 6.5/10). This book had one main character who was an ace, another who was probably along the autism spectrum, and some AMAZING supporting characters, including an elderly female biker (Vespa) gang. There was also a fair amount that annoyed me, including one of the characters being a hipster and smoking a LOT of pot. But it DID make me laugh out loud on multiple occasions. So I don’t know if I could read it again, but it was definitely worth reading once.

So what made the ranks of the read this month?

Mystery, LGBT

Hazard and Somerset
Reasonable Doubt (2018) Gregory Ashe (Rating: 7/10)
Criminal Past (2018) Gregory Ashe (Rating: 2/10)
Digging Up Bones
Bone to Pick (2017) TA Moore (Rating: 7/10)
Skin and Bone (2019) TA Moore (Rating: 8/10)

Mystery, Historical

Secrets in the Mist (2016) Anna Lee Huber (Rating: 9/10)
Who Slays the Wicked (2019) C.S. Harris (Sebastian St. Cyr) (Rating: 8.5/10)
The Potter’s Field (1989) Ellis Peters (Brother Cadfael) (Rating: 8.5/10)
An Artless Demise (2019) Anna Lee Huber (Lady Darby) (Rating: 8/10)

Mystery, Police

Death at Sea: Montalbano’s Early Cases (2014/2018) Andrea Camilleri translated by Stephen Sartarelli (Rating: 8.5/10)

Romance, Thriller

Scandal Never Sleeps (2015) Shayla Black and Lexi Blake (Rating: 5/10)

Romance, LGBT

The Haunted Heart: Winter (2013) Josh Lanyon (Rating: 8/10)
Wolfsong (2016) TJ Klune (Green Creek) (Rating: 7/10)
How to Be a Normal Person (2015) TJ Klune (Rating: 6.5/10)

Romance, Historical

Castaway Dreams (2012/2016) Darlene Marshall (Rating: 6/10)
A Modest Independence (2019) Mimi Matthews (Parish Orphans of Devon) (Rating: 8/10)

Fantasy, Supernatural

Inspector Hobbes and the Gold Diggers (2014) Wilkie Martin (Rating: 6.5/10)

Now: THE STATS!

All ebooks this month! I couldn’t find anything I wanted to listen to, so I’ve been listening to podcasts while I walk and do housework. And only one re-read this month!

eBook: 16
Re-read: 1

Oddly, almost no fantasy. Lots of mystery and lots of romance though.

Fantasy: 2
Mystery: 12
Romance: 10
Boinking: 8

Even more strangely, I read a fair number of male authors! However, when you take pseudonyms into consideration, I still read more female authors.

Male: 6
Female: 5
Initials: 3
Male Pseudonym: 2

As far as character breakdown, lots and lots of white characters. Not surprising considering the number of British historical I read, but still, very white. And very few female leads this month, which IS unusual, but then I have been reading a lot of LGBT romance.

Male: 11
Female: 2
Ensemble: 3
White: 16
Minority: 2
Minority 2ndary: 1
Straight: 11
LGBTQ: 5

So there you are, the books of April.

Did you read anything fabulous this month?