A short update

It’s been hot here in Idaho. Ungodly hot. The lawn is suffering, but my fruit trees seem to be loving it. At the office, the wildlife has all but disappeared.

This little beauty built a nest on the outside of my window, so she’s about all I have. She tends to back into her silky house during the heat, but runs around in the cooler hours of morning.

She’s on the outside of the building, so I’m not worried about her as I work.

Today marks the first day of vacation for me. I don’t know what I might wind up doing, but reading, movies, and writing are on my list. I really don’t have an agenda, but maybe Old What’s Her Face and I can do some things together. I’d still like to see the Stellar’s Sea Eagles at the zoo. I based the Omcrom off them in HMS Lanternfish, and it would just be cool to see them in person. If we go, I’ll snap a photo.

I managed to send a chapter to my critique partners this morning. I also added some new words, but don’t really have a target. If I decide to stop for the day and do something else, that’s fine.

Rumor has it that a couple of bulldogs need a bath, so that’s probably on my list this afternoon.

Mostly, it’s time for a change of pace and scenery. I don’t think I’ve taken more than a day or two off in over a year, and it’s overdue.

Trying not to be a writer

I’ve mentioned before that I’m trying to tone things down during the summer months. My writing pursuits can wait until winter for all I care. I just want a good outline when I start.

To that end, I’ve been dabbling in related projects. None of them are really serious.

I called my parents, like I do every Sunday. We talked for about an hour and a half. No real topic, but the killer hawk is defending its nest in Mom’s front yard again. I told her she should start carrying a salmon net. Maybe she can train it to leave her alone.

When we finished, I added some cards to the remaining outlines I didn’t work on the other day. I’m considering a gender swap for one of my characters. Maybe “she would do anything to save her man” has better punch than the other way around. They’re still the bad guys, and I need to manipulate the fealty readers will have for them. It still doesn’t feel quite right.

The whole time I was doing this, I felt like I was being watched. Something made my senses tingle, but I was just being silly.

Maybe my new blood pressure medicine has something to do with it. Like I said, I’m not taking things seriously this summer. I spent some time throwing my virtual goat out of a catapult.

Good air on this throw

My daughter got up and decided to make us some breakfast. She got scared by a large spider in the kitchen. Maybe not a big deal, but it was the morning for creepy stuff. Breakfast was good. Egg burrito with chipotle sauce.

We talked for about 45 minutes before she had to go upstairs and start getting ready for work. I went back to another project. I plodded through two chapters of an old book and corrected a couple of typos.

My Spidey senses tingled once more. I turned in my chair so my back was to the wall.

My daughter leaned over the stair rail. “Holy crap! What is that?”

I leaped up and looked out back.

I want your nuts.

My nuts are just fine where they are, thank you very much. I think even the old pit bull could have caught this one. He was asleep beside the air conditioner duct, and we gave this squirrel a pass.

Not a lot of writing related projects today, but some. I need to clean up the sauerkraut crock before it’s cabbage season once again. I also need to deadhead some roses. Maybe I’ll do that this afternoon. I’m keeping an eye on my nuts though.