Snow on the Sangres

New Mexico Snowfall. Bill (spending a couple of weeks in New Mexico) sent this photo, taken from our front deck. The village in the background, at the foot of the Sangre de Cristo range, is Rociada, a tiny, very old community with a church at the center. Before the area was settled by Anglos, the Hispano-Indian people who lived here pastured sheep in the valley and on the mountain, and raised food on plots irrigated by Manuelitas Creek. It snowed in the Sangres on Tuesday night, the night before the storms came through here. No damage here at Meadow Knoll, although I got ready to go to the storm shelter (we call it Archie Bunker), just in case. Lots of damage in Austin, though, especially in Tarrytown, where I used to live. Trees down, windows broken by hail, auto damage. No tornado touchdown, although several funnels were reported. It was a wild night.

I'm back at work on the sixth Cottage Tale, The Tale of Applebeck Orchard. I'm also reading page proofs for Book 5, Briar Bank, and that has helped put me in the right frame of mind. People sometimes ask how hard it is to switch from doing China to writing about Beatrix Potter. That's not hard, actually. What's hard is to switch from all the book promotion I did in March and April--blog tour, live tour, etc--and get down to the business of writing. I'm not going to try to do a separate book blog, as I did with the most recent China Bayles book. That takes too much time. I'll try to keep a running report here, for those of you who find that sort of thing interesting.

Writing Note. In March, I wrote a prologue and part of a first chapter, took it out last week, and put it back again on Friday, edited from four pages to a page-and-a-half. Yesterday, I wrote a couple of scenes, one with the village animals, another with a couple of village women hanging up their laundry. Both scenes set up the main problem of the book, which is the closure of a footpath, which (of course) is associated with various criminal acts--nothing very bloody, since this is a Cottage Tale. Footpath closures and threats of closures were big deals in those years (this book is set in 1910), and Beatrix served on a local footpath committee, to ensure that the paths were kept open and that people did not abuse them. The scene with the women also sets up a subplot and re-characterizes one of the women (these are continuing characters), who is going to be a central figure in Book 7.

Reading Note. "Historically, access to footpaths across private lands had been a controversial issue. Hardwick Rawnsley [one of the founders of the National Trust and a friend of Beatrix and her parents] was a long-time advocate of open footpaths and his views once again influenced [Beatrix's]. Potter's election to the [footpath] committee signified her deeper involvement in local affairs, not only as a large landowner in Sawrey, with herds of cattle and sheep, but as someone with recognizable expertise about boundaries and rights of way, and as an advocate of open access to fields and fells."--Beatrix Potter: A Life in Nature, by Linda Lear (p. 244)

Comments

[andylynne]

Very interesting about the difference between writing about China and Baetrix. I also enjoy hearing about your writing process. There is so much work that you do, way more than just sitting down and putting it on paper. That alone is amazing in it' self.
Glad you weren't hit by the weather, but so sorry for those that wern't untouched. Seems like there will be more wild nigts as spring turns in to summer.

[Becky Lane]

I just finished the best little book, "Garden Spells" by Sarah Addison Allen. It's set in N. Carolina, and the main character is a caterer who's specialty is dishes made with edible flowers from her enchanted garden, which cause people to do unusual things. Delightful!

[Jinni Turkelson]

Susan, I just looked at the Rosemary's Sampler blog and there is a beautiful presentation of a Tea with Edible Flowers! It's like looking at food through a kaliedoscope. Check it out, everyone!

[Becky Lane]

Glad to hear you guys were unscathed this time. I was thinking about you as I stayed up late that evening, watching the news to see which path the storm was taking. Do you have to go outside to reach Archie Bunker? I have to decided in advance whether it's safe to bed down in my upstairs bedroom, which is totally exposed on the side of a hill, and where windstorms just barrel through, or whether I should bunker in downstairs in the storage room, where it's tucked into the hill, since you have to go outside to get from one to the other. Sometimes it's a hard call to make!

[Jinni Turkelson]

What a view from your front porch in NM! Reminds me of scenes we saw in Germany when we lived there. Good luck with the new book. So glad all at Meadowknoll escaped damage from the storm.
Jinni

[Linda Mandeville]

Your post reminded me that it will not be too long before Briar Bank is out! Thinking about a blog tour in September?? Susan, what is the status of Landscapes of Solitude? I see a possible date of 2009--is that what you are still thinking?

[Nature Woman]

The photo Bill sent to you is gorgeous, wow!
I'm always glad to read about your writing progress Susan. I'm glad it's not a tough switch back and forth between China and Beatrix Potter.
'Archie Bunker' - LOL Susan! Glad you didn't have to use it.

[Ann Bevak]

Oh, goody. More Beatrix. I have loved this series and consumed the Linda Lear (encyclopedia) last year, per your recommendation. Knowing the real story of Beatrix just makes me anticipate each new book, Susan.
Some nature notes from a Michigan condo: Two new birds in the yard and at the feeder: rose-breasted grosbeak and ruby-crowned kinglet. Bunnies are gamboling on the lawn hopefully only eating grass, and the other evening a deer wandered through tasting as she went -- the ornamental crabs were in full bloom.
So glad you were spared this recent storm rampage. We could use a little more warmth but it will come in due time.
Ann