If a tree falls in the forest...

Looked out the window early this morning and was heartened to see there wasn’t much snow. Enough to tamp down the fires, but not so much to make a mess of things. Then I went out back to the cottage and saw one of the locusts had split in half.

Spent the rest of the day working with ratchet straps and ladders trying to repair the damage. Got it the halves back in place a little after twelve with the help of our friend Solomon, and bolted them together. Everything’s upright again, but we’ll see if the surgery works. Gonna leave the trunk strapped throughout the winter, and hope the graft takes. Meanwhile, gotta look after the bad arm, which was put through more gymnastics today than I would have liked.

Crept ahead with the novel. Too distracted to get much done, but was able to put in some decent revisions. Hope tomorrow goes better.

PT in the morning. Already wincing at the thought of it.

Is this typical?

Snow coming down as I write this. Not much, but something. Hope to wake to a few inches by tomorrow morning. Fires contained.

Good day at rehab. Arm still hurts—hurt all night—but in a different and better way than before surgery. Maybe it’s something I’m just gonna have to get used to.

Anyway, the long piece is coming and the revisions are coming too. Story’s getting cleaner and stronger all the time. Not sure if I’ll have an agent come the end of the month, but that’s no big deal either. Everyday’s a new adventure.

Don’t want to wish the summer away, but it wasn’t much to hang on to and maybe the fall will be better. Once the snow clears, I’m thinking another day on the water. Other stuff. Mostly, want to try and get my energy level back where it was. Can’t believe how early, and tired, I get anymore.

Miss the boys. Wondering if we’ll get out to see them.

Christ...

Fire.

Again.

Pretty good morning at the keyboard, but the day devolved into smoke by early afternoon. Another big blaze, this one up near Ft. Collins.

Spent a couple of hours on the phone with bro Joe while watching the sky turn brown. Hope we get the three inches the weather service is promising, otherwise the year may literally go up in flames.

Looking hard for things to be happy about.

Sunday, 5:47 pm...

Late night revelry. Up late, too.

Dinner under a moonlit chestnut tree, garden to table dishes, good company, a late rise and, despite a bit of fuzziness, a strong day a the keyboard.

Back in the nineties today.

Snow on Tuesday.

Tried a nap, but the arm wouldn’t cooperate. Gave up and went grocery shopping instead. Brats tonight.

Still trying to pull my mind back to the place it belongs. Having a hard time believing mom’s gone.

Navigating the weekend...

Dinner at K’s last night, dinner at John and Karin’s tonight. More socializing that we’ve done in six months.

Got in more good revisions on the new novel this morning. Who knows, might have a reader draft before too much longer. Also close to having a reader draft for the new short I’ve been working on. Feels like things are coming along.

Weather people are predicting snow on Tuesday. Five to six inches. Hard to believe, given it’s ninety-one today, but there you have it. If it does happen, I just hope we rebound into a nice long Indian Summer. Last year’s early freeze took its toll on everything in the yard. Like to avoid that this time around.

Went to a movie today. Rented the theater for S’s birthday, and saw the new David Copperfield release. Nice way to spend a blistering afternoon.

Gotta give my uncle a call, see how he’s doing. Have a feeling tomorrow’s gonna be hectic. Gotta give my brother a call, too. Catch up on family business.

Trying not to think...

Rough night with the arm. Guess it’s healing?

Anyway, up early to work. Got back into the long piece for the next round of revisions.

Worked till 9:00, then off to PT. Therapist feels happy with my progress, says I’d didn’t compromise anything while fishing, but only woke up muscles I hadn’t used in a while.

Stuck around the gym after my session to work out a while. Then came home, showered, and went out looking at new cars.

S’s birthday tomorrow.

Taking it easy tonight.

Busting loose...

Up early after a night of bad dreams. Put in some good work at the keyboard, finishing a respectable draft of a new story.

Was going to start in on the long piece again, but gave it up in favor of a day on the water.

Took a late start up the mountain and spent the better part of the day fishing the Tarryall and South Platte. Couldn’t manage the fly rod because of the arm, but had a nice time spinning despite not being able to access all the places I wanted.

Caught a smallish brown on the Tarryall, and rolled snake eyes in Elevenmile Canyon. Thought I might have enough in the tank to make a late afternoon of it, but the arm started hurting and had to call it quits. Even so, a beautiful day. Lots of good memories of that river. Someday, maybe I’ll write about them.

Good to be outdoors. Great to be outdoors, actually. Gotta start planning a new trip, this one with the fly rod.

Yeah, yeah. I know...

Seem to keep losing ground here, and don’t know why.

Up early to work. Sunrise is coming later than usual, so maybe fall’s finally on the way. Been plugging away on a new short, and have it pretty well in hand. Which means I can get back to the long piece again.

Was pushed out of the office early, and made an attempt at a walk but was turned back after a few blocks owing to the cool air. Came home and wrote to the boys instead. Then went off to the old office to pick up a mysterious package that turned out to be a self-help book mistakenly mailed to me. Or at least I think mistakenly. Anyway, not the most efficient of days.

Thought I might get to the gym, but had to scuttle that as well. Ended up taking a long walk around the hood. Better than nothing, I suppose. With luck, maybe I’ll get in a good workout tomorrow after PT.

Read the Broadmoor’s now seen its first COVID cases. Even in Arcadia, right?

A brief comeback...

Lost a few days. Can’t honestly remember where they went. Guess I was busy.

Best thing that’s happened in a while is the smoke’s dissipated. Sky looked blue this morning, and while I can’t vouch for the official air quality, things seem to have improved.

Should probably be scared I can’t recall what I’ve been doing over the past forty-eight hours besides sleeping, writing, and going for walks, but have come to embrace the nada of nada.

Making plans for a late month trip to Wyoming to scatter mom’s ashes. Also scheming to get out on the water this coming week and attempt whatever pass at “fishing” my surgically repaired arm will allow.

Long, long visit with Jack and Matty on FaceTime today. Redeemed the whole week.

Feeling crowded...

Calling this one a split decision.

Up early, some good work at the keyboard, then off to PT. Arm hurts, but seems to be gaining in motion. Worked out a while, took a break for some private time. All good.

Met with a house painter later this afternoon.

Pushed some paperwork out the door.

God, what a life this pandemic has left us. Need to get out on the water. Forget the rest of this stuff for a while.

Not perfect, but not bad...

Yeah. Up early.

Started revising some short pieces today after putting the novel aside.

Took a break for the gym just after one, and got in a nice solid workout.

Air quality still toxic, but nothing looks to change there for another four or five days. Still, did a little yard work when I got home.

Had some FaceTime with Jackie. A nice long talk. Miss the hell out of those boys, and can’t wait to see them again. Need to send a letter off tomorrow.

Calling it a night.

Seeing it through...

Rose to smoky skies. The fires have gotten worse, and the haze they’ve caused is like nothing I’ve seen since the Waldo Canyon fire. At night, after the sun’s gone down, it looks like a city under a heavy mist.

Worked hard all morning on revisions, then went off on errands. Picked up furnace filters, ink cartridges for the printer. Stopped at Starbuck’s too, which I haven’t done for a while.

Gym was completely empty, so took all the liberties I could. Arm was sore again after last night, but figure it to be that way from here on in. Will settle for getting my strength and range of motion back.

Talked to my uncle for a long time tonight about Norman MacLean’s Young Men and Fire. Will try and find a copy for him, though will probably have to settle for an audio book as I can’t seem to locate a large print edition.

Going into the new week with a good attitude. Fingers crossed it pays off.

Break on through...

Woke to a sore arm, but made the most of the early rise by getting out to the cottage and revising a couple of old manuscripts.

Some long conversations with siblings in the interim. Looking ahead to more peaceful days when the estate stuff is over.

Broke off for a nice workout at the gym a little after noon. Going for core stuff now until I can get the arm back in action. Range of motion improves all the time, but with it there’s more pain. Be nice to find a balance again.

The big fires are still burning. Air quality is off-the-charts bad, the sky is a yellow brown, and haven’t seen the mountains in two or three days. Read today containment was improving, but with the week ahead in the high-nineties every day, who knows how long it’ll last. Just gotta hope for the best.

Gonna hope for a quiet night, good night’s rest, and another early rise. Minimize the distractions and move forward.

Taking notes as I go along...

Behind again.

Busy day on the phone, running errands, driving to the doc.

Big ms keeps coming along, and I should make the end again tomorrow with any luck. Be glad to finish this pass and get to work on a new short story or two.

No time to hit the park today, or even the gym. PT tomorrow afternoon, so that should open things up.

Been getting some rain the past couple of days. A welcome relief from the hot weather. Hope some of the moisture finds its way into the mountains to help the fire fighters.

Arm’s feeling stronger all the time. Still hurts, but in a good way. Gonna be a while before I can start doing anything serious with it, but at least it feels better when it’s out of the sling.

Over and over and over again...

Missed a post yesterday. Didn’t have any juice left after four hours on the phone with family members.

Went to be late, but got up early owing to some new pain the recovering arm. Nothing to get concerned with. Just rehab-related soreness.

Made good progress with the revisions on the new novel, working until 11:00, then went off to jog the stairs at the soccer field. Glad I got in a workout before the air went to hell. Both the Grizzly Creek and Pine Gulch fires are burning out of control. Sky’s been stained brown for days now.

Working through the ups and downs, looking for more consistency from myself. Six months into this pandemic, you’d think I would’ve landed on a routine. But not so. Only thing I’ve been able to count on is my time at the keyboard.

Tomorrow, right? Keep starting over. Reset, and try again.

Here we are again...

Slept well, off an on, but rose a little later than usual. Did some work at the keyboard, then drove out to the Covid testing site for a culture. Slept when I got home.

No workout today. Air quality alert. Skies are grey and brown and ugly, and to make matters worse, the heat and humidity are miserable, too. Would’ve been a great day to go to a movie—if there were movies.

Had a half hour of FaceTime with the boys. The highlight of the day, as always. Jack was very sweet. Offered his condolences over Gramma Bobbie’s passing. He’d been working on a breakfast cereal concoction he’d hoped would cure her. He was sad he hadn’t been able to get it to her in time.

Not sure what the rest of the weekend will bring, but again, am happy to be able to lose myself in my writing. Too many things to think about, and little to do about them anyway.

Maybe I can swing a day fishing soon, now that the sling is off.

Adrift...

Slept without a sling last night. First time in six weeks.

Put in some early revision time, then went off to PT. Rough session. Shoulder’s working to make the transition, but it isn’t easy and it isn’t fun. Been walking around with a sore arm all day.

Weather’s like a blast furnace and the two big fires north are burning away. Air quality’s gone to hell. Forced to stay inside today, except for a short workout at the gym after therapy.

Talked to my uncle late this afternoon. My buddy B earlier. Spent the rest of my time answering emails and sending out long overdue correspondence to friends.

Gotta get up early, come at things from a different angle tomorrow. Shake off the blues, and look for the horizon.

On a thursday...

Long day. Started at the orthopedics office where I was told the arm was coming along better than expected. “Ahead of schedule” were the words. Was told I could abandon the sling around the house and keep it for special occasions—like trips to the grocery store. Anyway, a good start.

Wrote a little bit when I got home, then went off for a walk. Hot day, today. Took a nap when I got home, then showered and took care of some correspondence.

Talked to my bro, Joe, later in the day. Questions about family matters.

Looking forward to a clean start tomorrow.

Best not to think about it...

Fires burning around the state again.

Up early, revising. Later, coffee with K and S, then off for a long walk.

Figured to catch up with the boys early afternoon to wish Matty a happy fourth, but the call fell to later in the day. Quick hello was all.

See the PA tomorrow about the shoulder. Thought it would be the doc, but I guess he’s too busy making money. Rehab’s coming along. Arm still hurts, sleep’s still hard to come by, but all in all, I think things are moving forward.

Revisited DeLillo’s opening to Underworld last night. Parts of Falling Man, too. Gotta sit down with both again soon for a long, quiet read.

Meantime, breathe.

Still here...

Went for a long walk this morning after getting up late and putting in an hour or so at the keyboard.

Spoke to my sister later in the day.

Everything’s moving around, trying to find its place again.

Matty’s birthday tomorrow. His fourth. A lot of fond memories to hold onto.