Fall is Coming

A light mist lent an otherworldly atmosphere to the field outside of my house this morning. Like a blanket, it lay across the expanse of grasses where deer graze under cover of the high growth. It is that time of year when nature shows small signs of a season change. The mornings are cool and then warm up swiftly. There seem to be fewer insects in the evening, allowing for more comfortable outdoor dining. My sailboat was late to the action this summer due to continually low water in the pond. But now, after some heavy rains, the pond is higher, and I need to make time one afternoon to find a wind that will take me across the water to the ocean side. I leave for Campobello this weekend for a few days of writing and then off to my camp in Maine for a meet-up with friends and my painting teacher, Ted Matz, who is going to lead a watercolor workshop for us. In September, I have scheduled a short trip upstate to visit my Rochester high school buddies. We will share a large farmhouse and spend plenty of quality time together, mostly waxing nostalgic. I may stop midway in the Finger Lakes area, where I attended summer camp as a youngster. I will also return to Maine in September – my goal is to finish 100 pages of the first draft of my next book while I am there. It is a busy time all around between writing, the demands of the office, and family time, but I am optimistic there will be opportunity for all of it.