Going on. Many thanks to all of you for your comments and emails. Bill and I appreciate it more than we can tell you. Our animal companions fill such an important place in our lives--it's good to know that so many of us have shared that kind of love, and that we can go on when our friends have left us.
So we are going on here. This morning, Toro (our heeler) and I were heartened by the sight of huge swarms of bees--many natives, but some honeybees--on the sumacs, which have just come into bloom along our morning path. After a long bee-drought, this feels like a blessing, a message from Sister Earth that the daily round of life and death, blossom, bee, and fruit--it all goes on, even though losses leave us lonely.
I'm leaving a little earlier than I had planned to join Bill in New Mexico. With luck, that will be tomorrow. Lots happening here today. For one thing, Peggy and I have just launched Story Circle's online class program--a project that's been taking up my spare time for some months. You can check us out here. For another, I'm packing and collecting stuff for the trip, including a box of to-be-read books I've been saving. And Peggy and I are putting together the herbal eletters that will go out while I'm gone. So today's busy. And hot. Yesterday, our digital thermometer told me it was 104.6, in the shade. It may be a couple of degrees high, but who's counting when the temps go over 100?
Book report. Yes, I'm finished with Applebeck Orchard. Well, more or less. One more pass through (probably about 5-6 days work), and then print and mail.
I'll be doing one book talk while I'm in New Mexico, on August 9. Las Vegas (NM) is an interesting old town, with lots of history. If you're in the area and looking for a Saturday field trip, it's a good place to go--and of course, you're invited to join me that evening, at Tome on the Range.
I'll try to blog while I'm gone, but we're on dialup in the mountains, and the line is verrrry verrrrrrry slow. I'll try to keep you posted.
Reading note. This earth is my sister; I love her daily grace, her silent daring, and how loved I am. How we admire this strength in each other, all that we have lost, all that we have suffered, all that we know: we are stunned by this beauty, and I do not forget: what she is to me, what I am to her.--Susan Griffin