...Rain. Yes, rain.

…up a little after five to load the pickup. Rousted the boys for an early morning fishing expedition to Lake Manitou. Spent a couple of luckless hours on the water there, then headed down to Green Mountain Falls where we knocked em dead. I caught and released while the boys harvested four nice rainbow for a supper later this week.

Best part of the day, though, was this evening when the monsoons finally blew in. Got a good rain that promises to keep on until morning. Lots of flooding in other places, in part because of the burn scars, but we’ll take whatever we can get. Especially if it keeps other fires from starting. Kind of a sad summer all around, across the country, but maybe not unexpected. We’re just too cavalier sometimes with what we have, and too lazy or benighted at other times to protect it.

...waiting for a break in the weather.

…Ninety-somethning today. Again. Kept inside most of the day to keep from having heat stroke, though I did get up at five this morning and run the stairs in the park.

Gotta say, patience is running thin pretty much everywhere, and the heat doesn’t help.

Gonna take the boys over to the pool in Monument Valley Park tomorrow to get away from the weather. They’ve never been there before, and I think they’ll enjoy it. Fresh air, big shade trees, playgound equipment—the whole nine yards.

Saw the Christopher Nolan Odyssey this afternoon. Meh. Visuals were okay, and he did a better job with some of the creatures/scenes than any I’ve seen before, but it’s always been a better read than a movie. Especially when the film-maker feels the need to moralize for a modern audience.

...Spelunking

Slow hot day. Temps again reading north of ninety. Took the boys to the Cave of the Winds for a break to enjoy a bit of cool subterranean weather. What started out as a reluctant escape from the house turned into the hit of the afternoon.

Trying something new to salvage the lawn before it burns out entirely. Skirted water restrictions by buying some bags of ice at 7-11 and dumping them on the hotspots. We’ll see how it works. Weather people are predicting more brutal heat until late next week. Meanwhile the fires across the state keep burning.

...Blue skies, high clouds, killer temps.

Back from a nice fishing holiday with Matt. (Jack elected to hang back with the women-folk.) Pitched a tent up on the east side of Elevenmile Canyon and camped up there for the night. Made a late camp, and had a slow afternoon chasing the trout, but after dinner went out again and had some good luck on our spinning gear. Cool evening when we got back to camp. Stayed up to look at the stars, then hit the sack and got an early start the next morning. Should have had breakfast, but Matt wanted to be out on the water , so we forewent the eggs and sausages and had a cup of cocoa and coffee, respectively. The kid hasn’t had much experience with a fly rod on a bigger stream, so I started him with spin tackle to build some confidence. He killed it, and by the time an hour and a half had passed we were back at camp dressing our flyrods. Spent the rest of the day, taking some nice fish (brown and rainbow both) on hoppers.

Rehabbed with Brian this morning. A tough session. The shoulder must have gone through too much while we were out in the wild. Took it easy today. Wrote a little on the new story. Kath coming over tonioght for trout almondine. Thinking of taking the boys to the movies tomorrow so we can all sit out the ninety degree weather.

July 12, 6:18 pm.

Spent the early part of the day in the park, dressed as Roman soldiers wielding pikes and arrows and swords. No one died, and a splendid time was had by all. Looking to get all of our camping gear in order tomorrow in anticipation of the overnight in Elevenmile Canyon. Have a new tent to try out, and a new cot. Looking forward to spending a night under the stars, getting up early and catching some fish.

Had a little break this afternoon when the boys went to Aunt K’s for an afternoon tea. Worked on a new short I hope to have ready before long.

Been watching some Marx Brothers movies with Jack. I thought I was the only one left on the planet who liked the Marx Brothers, but the kid is a true afficionado.

Pizza tonight!

...Grandsons, Day 5

All good. Fished the Tarryall yesterday, caught a nice brown, stayed out of the smoke and had a grand time. Today, fished Green Mountain Falls. Got a late start owing to, well, sloth mostly, and was skunked as a result. Even so, a lovely day in the mountains. Got the boys new gear on the way home, upgrading their spinning tackle. Tomorrow, high temps and, if there’s a god in heaven, a nice cool movie theatre to wile away the afternoon.

...Big Day Tomorrow.

…good day, today. Productive. Boys arrive tomorrow, stay for five weeks. Never completely ready for the company, but it always works out.

Up early to mow the lawn, police the back patio, etc. Finished he housekeeping too. Then went back to work on the leather armor we’ve been makeing for the boys “Roman” war games.

Quiet night last night. Only a few fireworks diehards. Happy that, given all the fires. Read this afternoon the Aspen Acres fire has been sixteen percent contained. Good to hear since it’s already burned 89,000 acres.

Skies are hazy, but that’s the summer we’ve been dealt and nothing’s gonna change it. Gotta take what we have and make the most of it.

Working on the novel again. Made some decent headway, I think, between chores. Hoping to make an end of it before the new year.

...coming around to what's next.

…more nice news. My story “Long Player” went live yesterday on the Ginosko Literary Journal website. Unofficially, I believe “LP” to be my 100th published story. Officially, it may be my 101st. I’m not sure. Either way, yay me for surviving this long. I hope to live long enough to publish at least another 50, though that may be a dream too far.

Worked on the boy’s leather breastplates today, staining them a lovely dark brown. The armaments are now in good order, ready for the first battle in the park.

We’re still a long way from where we want to be with the chores, but with the kids flying in on Monday evening we’ll have to take our victories where we can get them.

The forest fires are bad. The Aspen Acres fire down in Pueblo is the worst. The governor has declared it a disaster. 50,000 acres so far. News reports say it won’t come under control for months. Not sure how it will shape the visit with the boys. Skies haven’t looked this bad since the Waldo Canyon fire.

...At a loss for words.

Quiet day. Wrote, ran the stair in Monument Valley Park, and met with my buddy, Solomon for coffee later in the afternoon. Also got a congratulatory email from my grandson, Jack, for the short story collection. Wow. Does it get any better?

Big News...

Submitted the manuscript of my short story collection, “The Outskirts of Nowhere,” to Cornerstone Press a week ago, Monday. On Friday afternoon, was told it had been accepted for publication. Still riding the high. Release date is tentatively set for March, 2028.

Not bad for a Friday...

Good day. Had an end-of-week surge in energy. Don’t know why. Don’t care.

Wrote well in the morning, had a strong workout this afternoon, and took it all home. Only wish I had was that I’d been smart enough to get out on the water today.

Checking in...

Changed my thyroid medication. Or should I say, the insurance company changed it for me. Haven’t felt right since. Been fighting fatigue, darkness, and all the rest. Gotta get back in touch with my PC, see if I can do anything about it.

Picking up lost time...

Looking to get back up to speed. April’s been a month of distractions.

Wrote this morning for the first time in two weeks. Felt good.

Made it to the gym, as well. Felt…not so good.

All in a day’s work.

P.Francis passed. Not sure why, but it got me down. One fewer good men around, I guess.

Pushin on...

Dropped a couple of stitches here, didn’t I.

Time to get myself back together.

Off to see the boys tomorrow. Excited. Excited to get going on some new projects when I get back, too.

Didn’t sleep last night. Hoping for better tonight.

Still need to get in a quiet day of fishing.