My News and Updates

Fall is upon us in Michigan. For the last two  weeks I have not had an opportunity to sit out on the deck early in morning and enjoy my coffee. It has been either too cold or too wet. And I now hear the crunch of leaves when I cut the grass. There really aren't enough to rake, but there will be soon.

Talk around home has turned to school projects, Halloween costumes, and when to put the barbecue away for winter storage. We have visited the local cider mills twice for donuts and cider. And I find myself trying to catch snippets of football games on the radio as I drive around town.

I finished the first draft of my next book, an adventure story for kids. It is longer than I expected. I read it to my kids over the period of two weeks. And although my kids kept asking me to "read one more chapter" before signing off for the night, they told me they did not think other kids would want to read the story. Ouch!

I finished my summer project, which was to make a ring of berms for a winter ice rink for the kids. It took weekends and several days off to haul enough dirt. Now I need to grow grass on the berm, so it won't wash away with Spring rains next year. 

I finally put up our new tent. I expected to go on several camping trips this summer, but my plans were always sidelined by either the weather or my work schedule (plenty of business trips). I figured I should at least learn how to put the tent up and let the kids sleep out in the backyard. But with a little luck I might still get in a camping trip or two.

I was outside one evening last week watching bats. I could see them fluttering over the yard silhouetted against the twilight sky. Earlier in the evening they were not out. And later it became too dark to see them. I had to get out there at just the right time to watch them.

While I can cut the grass or drink lemonade almost anytime during the Summer, there are some activities that I can only do when the opportunity presents itself, like watching the bats, catching fireflies, running down an ice cream truck, or rarer yet witnessing the Northern lights.

It seems like Summer offers more of these opportunities than the other three seasons.Maybe it is because we spend more time outside. Or maybe it is because the days are longer. Or maybe it is simply because people are made for the Summer. I think Autumn will always be my favorite season, but I must admit Summer has a richness the other seasons cannot equal.

After four weeks in a row of business trips I am finally reclaiming my Saturdays..... and not a day too late. I have already been outside twice to cut the grass. And the dandelions are invading the lawn! I have several projects lined up for yard this summer.And I am trying to keep up a pretty aggressive writing schedule.

But I am also planning to do some camping. On a whim we bought a 7-man tent this Spring. We have gone camping once or twice a summer in the past, but my old tent has become too small. I had to sleep in the car the last time we went.This year I would like to go at least three times- once in May or June, once in July, and once in August. But as always, it will depend on the weather.

We took a family trip down to the Mammoth Caves in Kentucky. It was the first time for my kids. We put them on a kids only tour. They got to wear helmets, overalls, and a little light on their head. They told me the rangers lead them off the beaten path through some pretty tight spots which they called “worm holes”. They had a lot of fun.

I did some spelunking in my younger days. I remember squeezing through some tight places, one with water in it. I remember the claustrophobic feeling when you realize all those thousands of tons of rock are above you. If I really concentrate, I can make myself uncomfortable thinking about it. So I don’t like to dwell on it for too long. But it is interesting that these experiences still invoke strong feelings in me.

I am fascinated by caves, although I have not really visited many famous. From what I understand, some experts believe that a good majority of the world’s caves have not been explored or even found. It just shows me that there is still so much about our world that we do not know. And somehow that makes me feel good.

What I'm Writing  

I am still working on my next short story, a science fiction story about a robot. I am planning to publish this on the www.goodstorytoread.com website by February 2012.

I have already started writing the next Cedric of RoseThorn book. I am planning to finish this book in 2012. I am also editing a collection of 12 of my short stories that I intend to self publish.

   What I'm Reading     

A Century of Great Western Stories- An Anthology of Western Fiction

Verses of the Poets Laureate 

 

    What I'm Studying