Hood Ornament

Back home from Kentucky, still trying to get back into my routine.  I've almost caught up on my reading.  Some days it's more fun to read someone else's book than to write your own.

When on my way to have lunch with my gorgeous niece Jennifer I realized there was a lizard on the hood of the car.

I wasn't sure if he was using me for transportation or if he was in one of those wrong-place-at-the-wrong-time situations.  He jumped ship, er...car, about five miles from home. 

It's great to be able to take that leap, even if it is into unknown territory.  Bon chance, lizard.

Happy writing.

P.S.

Inky and I decided not to pursue our writing partnership.  All his plots involved Milk Bone dog biscuits and I wanted hunky cowboys instead.   Plus, he took too many naps.

Writing with Inky, day...

Friday was a rainy, gloomy day in Kentucky.

Inky spent it guarding his ball from maurading villains.  Note the fierce face.

Against my sage advice, he took his ball onto the deck (in the rain) and dropped it over the side.

Can you see it, there between the flowerpot and the basketball hoop, on the outside of the fence?  Guess who got an umbrella and fetched it back?  Good writer. 

Today, Inky amused himself by ripping open his dog bed and pulling out the stuffing.  Bad Inky.

Happy writing.

Writing with Inky, day 2

Another busy writing day for Inky. First, he practiced his fierce look, the one he uses to scare the villains away.

Then he settled in for a nap.

This writing gig is tough on a fella.

Happy writing!

On The Road

I'm in Kentucky this week, visiting family, breaking in a new writing partner and searching out some old haunts.

Who's the new writing partner? His name is Inky and he's an adorable little wildman. Here he is, thinking up new plot lines:

Inky spends a LOT of time thinking up new plot lines.

I took a side trip to Bernheim Arboretum today. Bernheim is probably the most beautiful place on earth, but don't tell anybody. I want to keep it to myself.

Here's Inky in his little doggy house when I got back:

He was a very good dog while I was gone. He got a Milk Bone dog biscuit as a reward. Later he helped me fill bird feeders and water plants. Then he tore a paper towel into a million pieces and let me pick up the pieces. VERY good dog.

Bernheim Forest, where I went hiking, is in Bullitt County, Kentucky, about fifteen miles from historic Bardstown. Since I was there last they've built a new Visitor Center. It's a sustainable, certified green building, almost all windows, tucked in to a wooded area and looks like it popped right out of the ground.

Here's the beginning point of my favorite trail, Rock Run.

Rock Run loops through the forest between trees and around rocks. There's a gully that runs down the middle of the loop, which, luckily wasn't too wet. Sometimes, if I don't have on my hip waders, I have to turn around and go back. Not so today. It was a wonderful walk, mostly.

Here is a picture of the place where I fell the first time:

I didn't bother to take a picture of the place where I fell the second time.

And except for seeing the biggest horsefly I have ever seen in my life (when I heard it coming I thought it was a helicopter) I didn't see any other wildlife.

I hated to leave, but time was awastin' and critters were awaitin'. My last view was of these pink Black-eyed Susans. Don't have anything like this in the yard back in Florida.

Happy hiking.

Happy Birthday, America

This patriotic little plant is new to the world. It was just potted last week. It's young, hestiant and spindly, kind of like America was back in 1776. It has tremendous possibilities, though. With a little care and a lot of water and light, it can become anything it wants (except for a cactus, I suppose). Just wait and see how great it will look by Labor Day.

Here's a shout-out to my dear friend Jim Childress. He's at home recovering from open-heart surgery. Fourth of July has always been one of his favorite holidays and I'm sure he'll be enjoying it, and probably watching 1776 for fun.

Happy holiday!

What I'm Reading

Nothing Daunted: The Unexpected Education of Two Society Girls in the West by Dorothy Wickenden.

From the blurb (that's librarian-speak for the inside front cover text):

In the summer of 1916 Dorothy Woodruff and Rosamond Underwood, close friends from childhood and graduates of Smith College, left home in Auburn, New York, for the wilds of northwestern Colorado. Bored by their society luncheons, charity work and the effete young men who courted them, they learned that two teaching jobs were available in a remote mountaintop schoolhouse and applied--shocking their families and friends. "No young lady in our town," Dorothy later commented, "had ever been hired by anybody."

Nothing Daunted is the story of Ros and Dorothy's adventures in the mountains of Colorado and their lives after returning home.

I was enchanted by the prospects of the story, told by Dorothy's granddaughter Dorothy Wickenden. There was one quote that really caught me and wouldn't let me go. Ferry Carpenter, the man who advertised for teachers for the Elkhorn school, wrote Ros and Dorothy prior to their leaving for the west and advised, "If you have a 22 you had better bring it out as there are lots of young sage chicken to be found in that country and August is the open season on them."

I'm still not sure if that would have made me eager to go or determined to stay.

Happy reading.