Summer's Done, Fall's Begun

I have a great group of kids that I'm teaching this year. It makes going to work most enjoyable.

But to summarize the past few weeks......We had a busy summer. My fellowship award took me to Philadelphia, we all worked summer jobs, we had a family vacation, we trekked part of a pioneer trail, and I grew a garden. With the harvest in, yard and garden beds put to rest for winter, the house painted (I did it with a 2 inch brush, I'm a stickler for detail, but it took forever), we're ready for winter.
Last April, after an unusually long and colder-than-usual winter, we ran out of firewood. It was still cold in April. To insure that this didn't happen again, I began my firewood project in June. Gas prices were high and so going to the mountains didn't make sense. For years I've scrounged around for firewood, but this year, it was more difficult. However, scrounging and working on weekends, by the end of July I had enough for the upcoming winter. It was at this time that I noticed that the roof of the school where I teach was having a new roof installed. All the metal came on wooden crates from Wisconsin. Having lived there two years in my early 20's, I know something about the fabulous hard woods of Wisconsin. I asked the construction crew if I could have this wood that they were throwing away in huge dumpsters. They readily agreed, but warned me that it would take a lot of work, getting nails out, etc. So from August until now, the middle of October, I've been going out nearly daily after school, and harvesting wood. Yellow pine to be specific. Transporting it 15 miles home, it then needed more nails bent and/or removed before we cut it up and stacked it. It's taken a long time, but we now have 2 years of firewood! Teachers watching me would sometimes laugh when I told them I was using this for firewood storeage. Some teased me calling me Noah. I laughed back, remembering that the real Noah took some kidding too, but in the final outcome, he had the last laugh. :) Anyway, it's done. Whew. There was even enough higher grade 2X4's available in the salvaged wood that my son and I are building a small structure to be used as my studio for writing, artwork, stained glass, and practicing the cello. We actually started that project just today.

I'm currently involved with a local community and college string instruments ensemble. My cello playing still isn't great, but membership in this group affords me the chance to work and get better. We're currently working on our Thanksgiving Concert repertoire, including works by Bach and Mozart. Additionally, I likewise belong to a fine Chorale, directed by an amazing director from New York City. We too are working on different Mozart piece, in Latin, for our Christmas Concert. I enjoy working/performing with this group as well.

I'm still working on learning Danish. My "Rosetta Stone" software program is good. I spend 20 minutes a day on it, not a lot I know, but enough to help me move closer to my goal of at least reading Danish better. Speaking it? The Rosetta Stone program has a great component to it that does that too, but it's a difficult language to speak, at least for me. Still, I'm having fun.

My children's book, "The Chicken Soup Gargoyles" has been picked up by an agent that is representing me. At present, four different publishers in New York City have the manuscript. I'm learning that publishing happens at a glacier-like pace. I had hoped by now to have had an illustrator on board, etc., but as it is, I'm still waiting. I'm currently writing a sequel to this, dealing with the same Upper West Side New York City neighborhood, (my favorite part of the city,) titled "Phil, Phil: the Real Deal". It's about a real albino peacock that resides at St. John the Divine Cathedral. He was named Phil (after white-haired t.v. celebrity Phil Donahue) by the ground crew of this amazing Cathedral. My son and I saw the New York Philharmonic Orchestra perform there a few years ago, the night before we went to a great New York Yankees game. It was a great trip. These two books are written and inspired by that 1st trip, of many since, to NYC.

I'm recently completed an original stained glass design. I'll now begin the actual stained glass piece titled: Raven. It's a totempole image based on the numerous various Pacific Northwest Native American tribes relationship to the Raven. The Makaw Tribe of the Olympic National Forest area, specifically Neah Bay and the Strait of Juan de Fuca, influenced my work. My son and I visited the Makah a few years back. A whaling tribe, I found them to be extremely interesting. The ferry trip from Port Angeles to Victoria, British Columbia was fun, and Butchard Gardens and Victoria were equally enjoyable. Hence, I'm currently doing stained glass and Prismacolor pencil drawings/paintings reminiscent of that time & place.

Finally, I ran a great race recently in near-by Pagosa Springs (Colorado). The Mountain Chili Cha Cha was a fun, but difficult all-mountian trail race. I ran it with my good friend, the Bishop of my Ward, we had a great time! I found it difficult running uphill, but managed to keep up at my goal pace. To my surprise, going downhill was the part I had the most trouble with however. I had a difficult time controlling my speed, grabbing on to Aspen trees to slow me down. The ruts in the trail could have easily caused a twisted ankle, and had I fallen onto boulders I could have broken bones. So at age 50, I've decided to stick with flat road races. Safer at this point. But then, safety is relative, having recently gotten bucked off our faltering 10-year old tread mill. (We just got a new one to avoid this happening again.)

So that's a run down of what I've been doing, am doing, and hope to continue to do. Rather than hate Fall the way I use to, I've learned to embrace it. About 3 or 4 years ago now I traveled to New England. There in New Hampshire, on Squam Lake, where "On Golden Pond" was filmed, I boat-toured that magnificient lake with Loons nearby and decided that Fall was a pretty time of the year. The reds, purples, oranges, and burgandy Fall colors of Maine, Vermont, and New Hampshire trees were beautiful. But none compared to the vivid, bright yellows of our Colorado and New Mexico Aspen and Cottonwoods here at home. I've not taken them for granted since.

On the lamptable......... I'm reading "The Best of James Herriot" again. These Yorkshire/Dales vet stories of the 1930's/40's/& 50's are heartwarming. It's a fine read. I recommend it to anyone that enjoys animal stories.
Be well, do good...