First off, thanks to all who have written to ask if I'm okay! There's been a long silence on this blog, mainly because of my despair over our drought situation but also because I've been working on my stealth project, and my writing time and research energies have mostly been spent on that project. Here's an update on what's been going on at Meadow Knoll.
A Little Bit of Green. The photo shows a typical harvest for a 3-4 day period in the garden, the only green spot in an otherwise drought-burned landscape. Now that October is here and the weather is cooler (90 here most days this week, which may seem hot to you, but actually feels cool to us), I'm getting zukes, cukes, squash, and mini-melons--oh, and okra, of course! The melons, like most produce this season, are dwarfed by the heat. The sweet potatoes are stressed, only about half of my fall Irish potato planting actually came up, and my two tomato plants are blooming but not fruiting. Recently planted: lettuces (several kinds), spinach, chard, kale, carrots.
Drought Update. Blessedly, it rained on us last weekend--3+ inches! But since we're two feet (of rainfall) behind for the past twelve months, three inches didn't dent the deficit. You can see on the current drought monitor map (click to enlarge) that much of the area is in "exceptional drought." That's the very worst category the weather service has come up with--yet. Maybe super-exceptional? Stay tuned.
The lakes (Travis and Buchanan--the water supply for Austin and Hill Country towns) came up about 2 feet after last week's rain but began falling again immediately. Travis (Austin's water supply) is 39% of full. If you're a Barton Springs fan (who isn't?) the status of the aquifer that feeds the pool is "critical." Nearby Georgetown has been pumping water from Stillhouse Hollow Lake in Bell County to Lake Georgetown in Williamson County, but the pipeline failed and the city is on an emergency status.
And of course, there's La Nina, currently forecast to be moderately strong through late winter 2012, which means a drier/warmer winter than normal. Which seems to be the new normal for us. What else can I say?
Stealth Project Update. I've mainly been working on my stealth project, which is now in the hands of an agent. If she decides to represent it, she'll "shop" it to publishers who might be interested. I've been keeping it secret, but I carelessly mentioned it in a talk I gave in Seguin, in the hearing of a newspaper reporter, and next thing I knew it was out there on the web and people were noticing. (That'll teach me!)
The book has the working title of Laura's Rose: A Novel. It's the true story of the crafting of the Little House books, which were written in collaboration by Laura Ingalls Wilder and her daughter, Rose Wilder Lane. Yes, the collaboration is a true fact and has been gradually seeping into the awareness of Laura's millions of fans over the past few years. I'm sure it comes as a shock to many, though, in the same way that it's a shock to learn that there never was a real Carolyn Keene. (I can say that, my dears, because I am--rather, I have been--one of a number of authors who worked under the pseudonym of Carolyn Keene. You knew that, didn't you?) But unlike Ms. Keene, there was a real Laura and a real Rose, and together they wrote the eight books you've loved since you were a child.
I'm writing Laura's Rose as a "nonfiction novel," or "creative nonfiction." That is, I'm staying as close as I can to the facts of the matter, drawn from Rose's journals, Laura's letters, and the good work of several biographers and researchers like the astonishing Nancy Cleaveland, who owns the website Pioneer Girl--all things Laura. But I'm telling it as story, creating scenes, dialogue, setting, flashbacks and so on--using the whole novelist's bag of tricks.
Meanwhile (while I'm waiting to hear from the agent), Bill and I are taking a few days to drive up to Mansfield MO to visit Rocky Ridge, where the Little House books were written. I've been there several times at different seasons of the year, doing research. This will be the first autumn visit, and I'm looking forward to seeing some fall foliage--something other than half-charred, drought-induced brown. And no, we are not taking the dogs or the cat. They've already been booked at a nearby doggie Hilton. This is a people trip. Back next Friday, if all goes as planned.
Reading note. The secret of patience is doing something else in the meanwhile.--Anonymous
