I've been somewhat remiss on working in journals lately. Autumn and Spring do that to me, I guess. I'm too busy getting things done to sit down and write about it. I haven't written in my personal, handwritten journal since this summer. I've learned, over many years of keeping journals, that I'm just not the sort to record every single thing that happens to me every single day. My dad was. He wrote something every day, even if it was just a quick weather and health report. I've found that I'm much more successful if I just write whenever I have the urge.
I have been busy, however. This week I finished "Father Patrice Hears Confession", my Louisiana werewolf story, polished it up a bit, and sent it out into the wild. Hopefully I'll get a sale on it before Christmas. We'll see.
Some news to report as well. I've decided to move this blog over to WordPress. I've been thinking about it for a while now, researching a bit and reading what other people who use it have to say, and I think it will be a nice fit for where I'd like to go with this blog. I imagine I'll keep this one live, as an archive, if nothing else. Of course I'll link back, and send out an announcement when I've made the change.
In the meantime, Autumn marches on, even down here in the semi-tropics. It's a bittersweet time for me - on the one hand I love the relief from the oppressive heat of August and September, but it's the start of the time when I'm cold (literally, my hands and feet are freezing) all the time. I can never seem to warm up in winter, no matter how many layers I pile on. It's a constant battle to keep my blood circulating to all my extremities properly. So, while I love the season, I hate the cold.
We do, I'd like to point out, get some beautiful fall color down here in Louisiana, despite what many think. We just get it much, much later than our neighbors to the north. Whereas their leaves begin to turn in September, we usually have to wait until November before things begin to get colorful around here. In the meantime I've been perusing garden blogs from more northern climes, hearing about early snowfalls and enjoying their beautiful foliage pictures. When our leaves begin to turn, I'll post some pictures of my own.
In the meantime, here are a few pictures of interesting mushrooms I snapped at the Renovation Project last weekend. We've had an unusually wet October around here - it's normally our driest month - and as a result, lots of interesting fungi have been sprouting up.
October 23, 2009
Autumn At Last
I can normally feel the first tiny breath of Fall. Even here, in hottest tropical Louisiana, sometimes at the height of hurricane season when the weather is hot, sticky, and miserable, a day usually comes when that smell starts, drifting down from northern parts unknown. It is subtle, only the smallest of hints, a breeze that brings with it memories of cool nights and dreams of crisp mornings. This year I smelled it in the middle of August, and I thought, that can't be right - Autumn is weeks away. The same week a swarm of love bugs, our twice-yearly scourge, dropped in. My ex-father-in-law used to tell us that when the love bugs come, a cold front is only two weeks away. It had always held true, but this year I was doubtful. A cold front, at the beginning of September? Unheard of here. Can't be.
My senses and his folk wisdom proved true, however, because during the week between Gustav and Ike when we were cleaning up, lo and behold in floated the cool air. It was a nice break, but unfortunately a short one, as Ike arrived a few days later with more flooding and another blast of hot, sticky Gulf moisture.
Since then, however, Fall is slowly but surely creeping back in. Last week a very weak cool front pushed through, not lowering temperatures but bringing in dryer air, a welcome relief here. Monday was the Autumnal Equinox, and, right on cue, yesterday the north wind picked up once again and brought cooler air this time - when I woke up this morning the temperature outside was 61F. (For Louisiana that is cool) As Fall is by far my favorite season, I am happy and my soul is at ease. Good weather for writing. Also for a big pot of gumbo.
1022 words on the novel yesterday, along with more research, thoughts about themes, and the beginnings of a new short story. I'm trying to work up to a daily average of 1500 - 2000 words, but all too often real life intrudes and I have other obligations. Still, progress is progress.
And Autumn has arrived, so it's all good.
