Under gray skies...

Well, here it is nearly six o’clock, and here I am still behind on pretty much everything.

The edits on the long piece are getting shorter and easier. I think I’m coming close to where I want to be. Meanwhile, plans for the boys visit need to be taken care of, phone calls and letters need to be made, painting needs to be done, and other, unnamed and unremembered chores need to be addressed.

Punching as hard as I can here, but falling way short of where I want to be. Weather’s part of it. Temps are well into the nineties, and there’s a mugginess is something I haven’t felt since leaving the Midwest.

Went to the gym early this afternoon, but called it quits after a long bike ride. Even there the humidity was too much. Read there’s a break in the heat come Monday, so I guess we’ll just have to wait and see. Meanwhile, gonna make the most of the time in front of us.

Finished Fiskadoro today. Enjoyed it very much. Surprisingly good.

First real dog day of summer...

Slept through the night for the first time in weeks. Woke fresh and went to work with a purpose.

Revisions throughout the morning, letter writing and other correspondence before noon, then off to the gym for a long workout and, afterward, personal time with a book. Doesn’t seem as monumental as it feels, but the weather being what it was—hot, muggy, unbelievably enervating—was pleased to get anything accomplished at all.

Got a letter from young Matt today. What a splendid surprise! Need to call him tomorrow and tell him how it made my day. Also got an early father’s day card from Dylan. Gonna hold off opening that one until the day proper. But again, what a nice surprise.

Gonna kick back this evening and wait for the heat to lessen. Open the windows and look for another good night’s sleep.

Out of the gates and into a new week...

Rowdy day after a crummy night’s sleep.

Got up early to meet my buddy, G, for coffee across town. Had a nice visit. His SYFY show is due to premier in about a month. Excited for him.

Went to work after I got home, getting in a few stray revisions. Wrote a blurb for my buddy S from the gym, too.

Worked out for the next hour and a half, then stopped by the grocery to pick up some things for dinner. Cooked a corned beef yesterday, figure to turn it into Reuben sandwiches tonight.

Close to finishing Fiskadoro. What a strange, but likable novel. Haven’t ready anything quite like it before from Johnson.

Temps are now solidly in the high nineties and low one hundreds. Heard Grand Junction was expected to hit 107 tomorrow. I know it’s going to happen—it always does—but I’m hoping like hell we make it through this heat wave without a fire.

Lots to do this week. Lots of catching up to do, too.

Regrouping...

Beginnings of another hot stretch, I think. Strange day weatherwise. Hot, humid, rainy. Made the most of it, though. Was up early to work, finished the draft/outline of the long piece, then spent the better part of the afternoon painting.

A lot accomplished around the yard over the past few weeks. Happy about that. If we can manage to paint the lower half of the house before winter, I’ll be even happier.

Didn’t get out today. Didn’t workout either. Managed a nap, though, and that was enough. Looking forward to a nice quiet evening, and an early rise for coffee with my buddy, George.

Meantime, breakfast for dinner. Scrambled eggs with trout and hash browns. Does it get any better than that?

Easy, easy...

Dinner at Kath’s last night. Splendid time as always, but maybe moreso because the weather was perfect and the scallops were out of this world.

Up early. Started work on the outline for the new novel. Took a break around noon to work on the lawn and enjoy a quick trip to Starbucks. Spent the rest of the afternoon behind the chop saw, making shelves for the potting shed.

Yard’s looking good. We’ll see how well it holds up next week when the temps work their way into the high nineties. Laid down some turf builder today in the hope of juicing things up.

Brief FaceTime with the boys. Was in the middle of construction so didn’t have as long a talk as usual. Will make up for it soon when they come out.

Beat.

Looking forward to a nice quiet night in.

Amen...

Glorious day up on the South Platte.

Place was quiet, except for the troupe of cyclists who rode through sullying up the late morning with their incessant chatter. Caught and released three rainbow, took home one brown for breakfast.

Don’t know the last time I’ve had so much fun on the water.

Mountains were green and the sky was blue, and the river was low and clear. Glad to have missed the ninety plus temps down below.

Looking forward to a nice night’s sleep.

Things to think about, or not...

Fly rod and vest are already ready in the foyer. Gonna get an early start on tomorrow, and test the fishing up on the South Platte tomorrow in Elevenmile Canyon. Been looking forward to this outing for a long time.

Woke early in the middle of the night with bad dreams and didn’t think I’d get back to sleep. But did, and still woke at a good hour to get some writing done.

Happy with the newest piece. Calling it “Sister Moon.” Figure to have the last of the touchups done by the weekend, push it out the door on Sunday or Monday. Then back to work on the outline/synopsis for the long piece.

Temps hot again today. Low nineties. The grass seems to be holding up pretty well, but it’s taken a new watering strategy to keep it that way. Predictions are for more heat for the foreseeable future, but we’ll figure a way around it, and take what comes, happily, as long as there aren’t any forest fires.

Went down for a nice long nap when I got home from the gym. Would have lasted even longer if the little man hadn’t wandered up and bitten my finger.

Missing my dudes. All of em.

Making plans...

Slipped into an unlikely groove today, and made the most of it.

Early rise, fresh revisions to the newest story, a good workout.

Temps rose into the nineties, but had a nice steady breeze all afternoon to keep things from getting too hot.

Looking to get up to Elevenmile in the next day or so and do some fishing. Be fun to kill a whole day up there.

Thinking ahead to the boys’ visit in July, and the short jog up to the Bighorns after they leave. Gonna be a busy month. Best I finish noodling with the long piece soon and send it off.

So there it is...

Took the day in a slightly different direction after getting up early and revising a new story.

Hit the gym around ten, then went off in search of drugs, blood tests, and food. Managed a couple of long phone calls in the midst of all of this, and pushed some paperwork along the way.

Hot one again. Mid-eighties or higher. A forecast of ninety tomorrow. Would like to get some grass seed and turf builder down, but think I’ll wait until Friday when temps are supposed to dip back down into the seventies.

Everything feels slightly out of kilter, but hey, maybe it’s me. Or maybe it’s just Monday.

Time to buckle down.

Getting warmer...

Good day. An early rise, a good chunk of writing time, and some yard maintenance in between.

Cleaned out most of the dead wood around the house, trimmed the hedges, and spiffed up trees with a bit of pruning. Made a stop at Rick’s, too, and picked up a couple of new shrubs for the refurbished flower box in front.

Took off for the theatre around three to see the re-release of Raiders of the Lost Ark. Great time. Amazing how well that movie holds up after forty years.

Home now, looking at an easy evening. Will pick up tomorrow where we left off today.

Temps in the high eighties for the foreseeable future. Summer is definitely here—until it isn’t again.

Ready for the weekend...

Up a little after six, then off to the cottage. Got in some good revisions.

Went to the gym a little after ten, and spent the rest of the day driving back and forth to Denver. Long afternoon.

Cut and trimmed the lawn when we got home, and that was the last of the energy.

Gonna sit back and take it easy tonight. Hit the sack at a decent hour and see if I can’t catch up tomorrow.

Pretty day today. Hot at times, but nice. Blue skies and only a few high clouds. Still snow on the mountains.

Nothing in particular...

Another early rise.

Hit the cottage at a good hour and went to work on revisions. Made a few submissions, too.

Took off mid-day to run a few errands, and managed to kill the entire afternoon without meaning to. Just the way it goes sometimes.

Filled up the Jeep in anticipation of tomorrow’s run to Denver. That trip ought to consume the whole day, so glad I got the roses planted when I did.

Hot and sunny today with temps in the eighties. Supposed to be a carbon copy tomorrow. Looks like summer’s finally here.

FT’d with the boys just before noon. Won’t be long before they’re out here. Looking forward to seeing them again.

Between times...

Beat. Long day.

Up a little after five, and out to the cottage. Worked until noon, then headed out to the gym. Home to plant the new rose bushes and sky pencils.

Everything took longer than expected, but that’s okay. Managed to get a lot of work done.

Been back two days and have already lost track of time. Not sure why that is except to say I think I’m spending more time in my own head than I ought to.

FT’d with Jack and Matty this afternoon. Short but sweet.

Hope to make another good push tomorrow.

Calling it a night...

Good day back at work. A few ups and downs, but a smooth day for the most part.

Put the finishing touches on one of my new shorts, “Born Blue,” and started the submission process. Also put in some good edits on the other two new pieces.

Hit the gym early, and that went well too. Didn’t push things as hard as I might, but figure I’ll need the whole week to build up to it.

Rocky night’s sleep last night. Gonna shoot for better tonight. Lots to catch up with.

Good chat with my old buddy S this afternoon. So much seems disconnected right now, It’s nice having a familiar voice in my life.

Back in business...

Back after four days in Pittsburgh visiting the boys.

Didn’t write, didn’t edit, didn’t email. Spent the whole time building battlements out of pillows, storming castles with stuffed animals, launching arrows at invisible dragons and dueling with broadswords in the backyard.

Also managed a day of swimming, and another day building and painting a brand new bird house.

Took a year of masks, social distancing, and vaccinations to get there, but man, was it worth it.

Happy to be home, but happier still to have been able to go.

Time to settle in now, and get back to work.

Rebuild.

Taking stock of what's good...

Recharged a little bit today with a couple of catnaps.

Was up early, revising. Made some quick changes on the long piece, then set it aside and spent a while making light revisions on the last short I wrote. Think I have some good things going on.

Quit work a little after two and headed out the gym. Another light workout day, but I’m working up to bigger things and figure to start some real cross training when I get back from Pittsburgh.

Beautiful day today. Cool, breezy, the trees and flowers all inching toward full bloom.

Need to start making plans for more early morning when I get back, too.

Been thinking a lot about my mom and dad lately. Sure wish they were still around. If I get up to Wyoming this summer, it’ll be the first time I’ll have crossed that border with both of them gone. Doesn’t seem like much of a milestone, but it is. Some of my best memories of them are there.

Flying out of here in two days to see the boys. Can’t wait. We’re gonna have a great time.

I'll take it...

Well, did okay with this one.

Worked early, went to a movie this afternoon, and even cooked up a pot of soup.

Squirrely day, weatherwise. Sunshine, clouds, big deep cool breezes and a little bit of rain.

Leaving for Pittsburgh to see the boys on Thursday. Can’t wait. Meantime, gonna keep my foot on the gas. See what I can get out the door before we leave.

Yes, it's Saturday...

Good day writing. Up early, working early.

Even got to spend time on the front porch drinking coffee.

Went to Starbucks early this afternoon, and was caught in a hailstorm on the way home. Luckily, we found some shelter under the trees and kept the Jeep from being dinged.

Put in a decent workout at the gym, came home and did a little more work. All in all, a pretty productive day.

Sky looks overcast at the moment, so maybe the rain isn’t finished. Be nice to get more overnight. Grass is looking better all the time.

Sky pencils arrived today. Waiting for them to acclimate before planting. Should take a week or so. Figure to get them in their pots the same day the roses arrive. Meanwhile, need to pull out the hedge trimmer and get to the euonymous and barberrys.

Maybe a movie tomorrow. We’ll see.