Midsummer Dreams

Everyone gets tired of winter... such as my characters in THE GROUND HOG MYSTERY, just released from Earth Star Publications. But practically nobody gets tired of summer. That's probably because summer is so short... or so it seems.

Here we are in mid summer and it seems like it was just yesterday when all we wanted to do was stay warm and try to keep the heating bills low.

So far, it's been a very busy and chaotic summer for me and my partner Doug. In May we moved from a rental in Bayfield, Colo., to our new home, "Sunny Brook," here just outside beautiful Cedaredge, Colo. We have a nice big house and 2 acres plus two garages and a shop, along with two pastures and a loafing shed in back.

It is a lot to take care of. We found out the hard way. Unfortunately, there's no going back. We are committed. But I truly believe things will get better. We are starting to understand the irrigation system better, although we are still the "newbies" in the subdivision, and we finally fixed some pipes so that we can finally use the free well water that we have for garden and lawns.

There has been an abundance of fruit this year ... cherries, now apricots, soon peaches, plums, pears and apples. The garden, which I barely got planted in time, is now thriving with sweet corn, green beans, squash (including the unconquerable zucchini), peppers, potatoes, cucumbers, watermelon, kale and lots of tomatoes. Trying to keep up with the weeds and the watering has proven to be a challenge ... but on the other hand, garden "therapy" is wonderful after you've put in a long day of computer work, editing and Web updates.

The good thing about being here is that I am closer to my sons. One lives nearby, outside Cedaredge, and the other (including my grandson) is not far away as Gunnison is less than two hours from us and they may be moving closer soon. I still have a son in Europe, but hopefully he and his wife will be returning home soon.

The early part of summer is my favorite because I just love the birdsong and the activity surrounding us as avian life is busy nesting and fledging their young. We had a mama western kingbird who took up residence and built a nest on top of our front porch light, just over the entryway. I didn't have the heart to evict her. After all, she was there before we were. Her brood has finally left the nest and I took the mess down last week. Mama still returns at night to roost because there is "evidence" on the concrete.

In mid June we brought baby chicks in, a mixture that includes 8 Ameracaunas, 3 Rhode Island Reds, 2 Buff Orpingtons, a Polish exotic and a surprise bird that looks more like a baby ostrich ... well, maybe that's what it is! Anyway, the babies have been introduced to the outdoor chicken run, but they still prefer the safety of their coop. Time will change that, I know from experience. I'm happy to have chickens again, and we look forward to their delicious eggs in November.

My midsummer dreams include a dog ... a new dog in our lives to raise as our own. I am interested in Belgian shepherds for some reason, and Doug agrees we should get one at some point. It will help alert us to intruders (four-legged or two-legged) and we also feel we need to get a barn cat or two to keep the mice down in the shop. But that dream of having domestic pets has not yet materialized.

Between mowing the pastures and lawn with my tractor, irrigating, working the garden, canning cherries and raising chickens, I still manage to get creative and perform my labors of love which include editing/publishing other people's books, doing my two publications that come out on alternate months (Wisp and The Star Beacon), and getting ready to work on some other stories for future publication.

This life experience is similar to one I had a decade ago. The synchronicities are astounding and perhaps I'll get into that another time. The important thing for me to remember is how I manifested this dream... and here we are. Now for the next dream...