Labors of Labor Day weekend...

Swore I'd never ball a sod-cutter again and meant it. But half an hour into tearing up the lawn with a shovel, knew i couldn't work fast enough to get it done without some heavy artillery. Many hours and two trips to Rocky Top later, most of the lawn has been turned to dirt. Have some edge work to do, some roto-tilling and soil mending, and I'll be ready to lay sod.

Young J said he "needed some trout." Gonna try and oblige him tomorrow. Can't drive far, so might give Fountain Creek a try. Some nice runs and pools there, though I've never tried it before. We'll see.

Spend the whole day on the lawn. Hope it's worth it. Gonna hang back now and relax.

Check this space...

New story coming along okay. Gets bumpy six pages in, but the form is there and themes are in place. Need to put it away for a few days and get on to something else. Some commercial work, maybe. No word from the TA Ranch folks, but that's okay. Plenty to keep me busy. Spent a few hours looking after small stuff, then made a break for the gym. The bank, later, for the HSA debit card I never received. Sprinkled a bit while I was downtown. Cooled things off. Supposed to be in the seventies tomorrow and maybe into the long weekend. Be nice to get some fishing in, but don't want to hazard the drive over the holiday weekend. I'd spend more time on the road than on the water. Looking to dig up that ugly bastard of a lawn instead. Dig it up, haul it away, and start over. 

A toothsome thought...

Day of ups and downs. Much wasted time. Out early to the dentist for repair of a broken crown. Bummer. Home for a coffee, a few revisions, etc. Long conference call this afternoon regarding TA Ranch project. As always, fingers crossed. Tomorrow, looking after little things. 

Is it poor planning on my part, or the world's? I don't know. Just can't seem to catch up.

Need a second wind...

Wild and wooly day. Up early to the keyboard to make a few revisions on the new story, then off to look after little things. Made the gym late afternoon, but bogged down afterward. Hoped to get a little more reading and writing in, but it wasn't in the cards. A weird sameness to everything right now. Can't explain it, but it's there. A kind of emotional flatline. Gotta get back to my buddies B & S tomorrow. Start throwing leather again.

Still punching...

Been losing track of time. Not sure why. Everything's in a state of suspended animation. Or close to it. 

Woke up to gray skies, expecting rain. Two hours later the sun had come out. Feels like fall, and for the first time in a long, long time I'm not looking forward to its coming. Not yet, anyway.

Had a good meeting with the media folks handling the TA Ranch gig. Script discussions, etc. Still not sure if the job'll go through, but we're making headway on the negotiations. Another conference coming up, Wednesday.

Progress on a new story. Figured it to be dead in the water, but a second look after a long hiatus, and it may have promise. Does have promise.

Quiet at the gym today. Got in a good workout.

 

Easy peasy...

Still working my way back into the groove.

Got some new writing done this morning. A few revisions, too. Also a little research. 

TA Ranch project may come through. Looks like a phone conference on Monday to discuss script, scheduling, etc.

Warm day today. Blue skies and a breeze. Looks much the same for tomorrow. Like to get in another day of fishing before the weekend.

Feeling old. Why's that?

 

 

Friday, yeah...

Getting back into the swing.

Wyoming was, as always, wonderful. Watched the solar eclipse from high on Deadman Butte. Haven't been up there since D and I climbed it some twenty, twenty-five years ago. Arrived an hour or so ahead of the event, and found a nice shady spot under a huge red rock. Was inspired to quote Tom Eliot. "Come in under the shadow of this red rock..." Day was warm, but by the time the lights went out the temp dropped significantly. Never seen so much traffic on Highway 20 on the way into Casper. Ever. Glad we didn't leave until Wednesday. Even the Casper airport was overrun. Corporate /private Lear Jets lined up down the tarmac. What a sight!

Gave young J the last of the rainbow trout I caught up on the Middle Fork of Powder River. Watched him snarf it down before my eyes. Caught some nice brown, too, and a big beautiful brook, which we ate on the mountain. Treated our wonderful neighbor to the other two rainbow. Cabin already seems like a million years ago. 

Oh, Wyoming...

Been racing along here, trying to punch things out the door. Lotta long format to contend with. Up at 4:00. Worked on Broadmoor script revisions, the reader draft of the Propaganda piece on "Heisenberg," and the critique of a new story submission for N.

Heading up to Wyoming tomorrow. Been thinking a lot about my dad lately. Had some good times with him up there. Glad to be going back. 

Gonna take it easy tomorrow. Get up early and pace myself. Don't want to forget anything. Got the glasses for the big eclipse, a meaty stack of reading material, so that's half the packing right there.

Expect to be off the grid for a while, but that's the way it goes. Will miss my boys, but feel good knowing they're in loving hands. 

A sleepy Saturday...

Just back from young M's first birthday party. Hard to believe he's a year old. Remember this night a year ago as if it were yesterday. Strange thinking so much time has passed. Strange, strange, strange.

Up later than usual this morning. First long night's sleep in ages. Took to the keyboard late as well, but managed to pump out some decent revisions on "Frank the Redeemer," the story I yanked from circulation a month ago. Might have the last of the changes in place by tomorrow with a little luck. Knocking wood as I say this. Been a while since I've been able to spend any time on the fiction. Felt good.

Worked till noon, then made a brief jaunt downtown to do some shopping. Nice day for walking. Warm, sunny, and a touch of breeze. Didn't rain until we came home for dinner.

Weather forecast for Casper the day of the total eclipse looks rosy. Hope it stays that way. Gonna be cold up in the Bighorns, and don't need to complicate things with rain. Some big fires up in Montana, but Wyoming looks clear.

Not sure what tomorrow's gonna bring. Hope it's good.

 

The eve of destruction...

Off the grid for a few days. Busy entertaining mom. Kept a low profile for the most part, but had a nice time despite the fact we couldn't seem to shake the rain.

Woke up this morning wondering if we'd be looking at nuclear night. Did the president really threaten the N. Korean's with war?

On the outside possibility the weekend is still in front of us, I spent most of the day at the keyboard working on another N. review, and an upcoming article for Propaganda. Got mom on the road by 10:00, then steamed ahead. Hit the gym late afternoon, but didn't have much in the tank. Tired from all the socializing.

Need to get off to a strong start tomorrow.

Providing there is a tomorrow.

 

 

The Weary Blues...

Hoping to have the Broadmoor script finished today, but it wasn't in the cards. Close. Very close. But no cigar.

More rain. Read in yesterday's paper it's a record July. Glad to put up with it if it keeps the fires in check. Wish I could say it's doing anything for the lawn, but can't. That particular tragedy is still month and a half away from being addressed.

Look forward to getting back to some fiction. Haven't even had much time to read. Trying to look at the hiatus as something productive.

Tired. Calling it a day.

 

Out with the old, in with the new...

Bummed. Sam Shepard dead. Moved on last Thursday, but it wasn't announced until a little after noon, yesterday. Quite the talent, he had. And was. Will really miss him.

Got the Broadmoor script in decent shape today. Should have it out the door by tomorrow. Hoped to have it finished sooner, but too much material to organize and too many distractions.

See there's a new Don DeLillo story in the NYer. Gonna save it for a quiet moment. Tonight, babysitting the neighbor's new twins.  

Small doings...

Another day--half day, anyway--with the Broadmoor project. Knocked off early afternoon to have a latte, and a brief trip to the gym. Dinner at K's afterward, and some time with the boy's. Rained like hell. Muggy again. Not a whole lot else to write about.

Settling in, looking ahead...

This one slipped right though the fingers. Into the cottage, early, to work on the Broadmoor script research, and didn't finish until 4:30. Then went to work on drafts of the N. critiques. Lotta time at the keyboard. Can't recall how the day started out, but overcast now and spitting a little. Might get another good rain tonight. Have to wait and see.

Text from P. Mom's coming up next week. Week after that, it's Wyoming, providing the weather stays clear enough to get up the mountain. Take that back. Wyoming's happening either way. It's making it up the mountain that's in question. Not driving that gumbo ever again if I can help it.

Missed getting over to the gym today, but glad to have finished the office work. Neck a little tight from sitting all day. Think I'll go hunt down a beer and relax. 

Need me a cold beer...

Full circle. Day started out cloudless and sunny, ended up with thunder showers.

Spent most of the day reading the Broadmoor book. Don't know what, exactly, Fitzgerald was getting at when he said the very rich are different than you and I. But Hemingway's retort (Yes, they have more money) only scratched the surface. What a bunch of self-congratulatory jerks S. Penrose and his buddies could be...

Wait. Not going there. Gonna try and not think about that tonight. 

Gonna try and be happy just to have working coming in.

 

Pushing the envelope...

Keep wondering why it is I've been so gun-shy about launching into a book-length story. God knows I crank out the words on the short pieces. It isn't the work. I can manage that. It's the mindset it takes to carry a new voice that far. The fear of failing, I think, once you've committed so much time and energy to paper. It's tough enough pitching 5,000 words in the trash. A lot harder to throw out 100,000. Still, the lure is there and maybe I just need to suck it up and take a chance. Have two pieces--maybe more--that might bear up under the strain of an expanded narrative. Should probably just leap in and see where it goes. Long format. That's where the money is. Craziness too. What have I got to lose except my marbles?