A change in the air...

The lazy days of summer are winding down.  Today promises to be the last scorcher as thunderstorms and cooler weather roll in from the west.  It's been a marvelous summer, but September is more than welcome.

The last few weeks have been spent in a mixture of frenzied activity and late summer sloth.  There was the In-law's 50th wedding anniversary.  That had the potential to be frenzied and stressful - and I'm certain it was for some - but the Beynon family came through the celebrations with nothing but fond memories and good times.

We spent some time in the canoe.  And yes, that is the tip of a fishing rod and a container of worms there in the bow.

The kids loved working against the current of a stream filled with beaver dams and speckled trout.

We spent some time on the In-law's farm.  Many cows, lots of cats, long country road walks with the dog at 4 am with suspicious (and large animal type) sounds of movement from the woods beside us and the lofts of a barn with spectacular lighting.

Speaking of mysterious large animals, my nephew found this on a tract of property near my In-law's farm.

I think it might be a bear skull (impressive canines, flat molars for grinding, sagittal crest to support massive jaw muscles).

Closer to home we had a skull mystery of our own on a much smaller scale.  The boy found this specimen in our cedar hedge.

Obviously a bird, but I've no idea what type.

But - summer time draws to a close and a host of back to school and back to work activities await.

Taking stock...

After Christmas comes the New Year.

Happy New Year to all, by the way.

Every New Year we tend to take stock of where we're at and where we're going.

This morning I had a list - yes, a bona fide LIST - of thing to get done to meet the New Year properly.  But before I got to the list I went to the gym.  (Actually, that was kind of on the list, too)

After four and one half miles on the elliptical machine and some stretching and free weights for good measure, I was ready to tackle the list head on.  The first item required a trip to nearby Guelph (printer ink and a replacement for my CPAP mask which succumbed to a design flaw last night).

Now I'm back at the desk tackling yet another list item.  Once I'm done typing this I will be taking inventory of what's in development and working out a schedule (yes, it frightens me, too!) to move them out of development and into the light of day.

After the schedule, I will be working on two new things - one, a hunk of novel length fiction I started as the holidays began - and the second is to write down a scene which I half thought up - half dreamed a few nights ago about a guy awakening from a bicycle accident.  I don't have a whole story about the bicycle guy, yet, but I want to write down the scene before I lose it.

With that said, HI HO, HI HO...