Happy New Year!

Welcome to Magnificent Monsters... the blog for matters arcane and arresting. It's named for the special exhibit garden that Sandy Lohm is busy creating when the unfortunate events involving Claude Hopper transpire at the Santa Narcissa Zoo. I've always felt that gardening and writing are parallel pursuits. Ideas are like seeds—some germinate, some don't. In some cases they are predictable and tame, developing into concepts that fulfill their intended purpose. Others grow into huge, weedy notions, invasive and sprawling. Others are small, precious surprises. Often, when I'm out in my yard weeding, I feel that I'm editing my garden: deleting unwanted plants or those that no longer work in the landscape, clipping and trimming to show off the beauty of other specimens, rearranging the layout to show off more clearly the content of the garden. Sun, rain, pests, and pollinators come and go, outside forces of change. I hope you'll follow me down the garden path for a while...