Happy September Eve, everyone! I’m always happy to see August come to an end. Are you? Even though we’ll no doubt have more hot, humid days, there’s just something about flipping the calendar to September that makes me wanna dance. I also feel a little melancholy about the things I never got around to doing. That summer bucket list I wrote? Yeah, I didn’t tick off everything, but I suppose technically I still have time to do a few more things.
Do I dare do a fall bucket list?
Of course.
But not yet.
Maybe when fall officially rolls around. Right now, I’m living in those in-between days still savoring the things I love about summer (like nectarines and walking barefoot) yet looking for fall in the dogwood leaves already tinged with orange.
Rice harvest has started in the Arkansas delta, and that’s a beautiful thing with dust flying and combines cutting in staggered lines. For most of the farmers I know, this summer has been an unusually tough one with spells of too much rain followed by excessive heat, followed by more spells of too much rain. I bet they’ll be glad to close the books on the summer of 2016. Am I right, farmers???
photo courtesy of Scott Matthews Farms, Poinsett Co, Arkansas
For me, being a non-farmer and all, my summer was stellar with lots of book marketing travel all throughout the South. And a family vacation to Lake Norfork. And a trip to NYC with my sister and niece. Hard to top seeing Hamilton on Broadway!!!
The gardener side of me hasn’t been too pleased with my pepper plant (yes, singular). So far, a critter I’ve yet to identify has eaten every pepper before I’ve had a chance to pick even one.
The most exciting thing happening in my world right now is that I’m almost (knock on wood) finished with the roughest of rough drafts for my second novel. For those of you waiting on a Gracie Lee sequel, I hate to disappoint, but this isn’t it. This is something altogether different. Something I began writing before I wrote word one of The Accidental Salvation of Gracie Lee. I’m completely consumed with this project, so much so that coming up for air to write this post took effort.
Not that this is much of a post.
So cheers to September Eve, to the end of summer and the beginning of fall, to harvest, to being high on writing new words, to sneaky garden critters who gotta eat too.
Grace Grits and Gardening
Farm. Food. Garden. Life.
P.S. Don’t forget to ORDER your Gracie Lee fall t-shirt before they’re gone like summer.?
Musical Pairing:
Brett Eldredge, Wanna Be That Song
Don’t underestimate yourself Talya! This is a very interesting post, especially about a new novel you are working on. I’m looking forward to Fall too. I’ve totally given up on gardening including flowers. With all of our wildlife here, some known and some unknown, nothing is safe from being eaten.
Thanks, Colene!! I love seeing all your wildlife pics!
I am so excited to hear of the new novel. I will be glad to put this summer in the books. Fall is upon us! Yay…
The only word I have for today is stressful. September 1 is deadline for Ozark Creative Writers Conference contests. Out of 31 contests only 3 are poetry, one of which I can’t enter bc I won the same one last year. So the other 29 are prose, most 1,000+ word limits. I don’t even know why I’m stopping to post this. ? ???
Did you see that the deadline has been extended???
Grrr….I hate when I forget to do something simple (like sign in or whatever) and have to re-type the whole message. Not that it’s even that important – but I’m just in the mood to do it anyway! I can still Grrrr while I’m doing it. 🙂 — As usual, your post touched me like a big ole breath of completely FRESH air with a hint/scent of cotton – love that smell. We have similar senses of humor – guess it might be a family thing. Loved the last line about critters “gotta eat too” – laughed out loud. Can’t wait to see you all later in the month – until then – HUGS!
To answer your opening question…my favorite season is autumn. Yet, I am always sad to see summer go. Perhaps it dates back to my school days when the beginning of school marked such a passage. We talk about “the end of summer” in a way that is unlike the closing of other seasons. Is it related to the ‘end of innocence’ or the ‘end of playfulness’ during summer’s less scheduled time and more freedom and discovery? I’m not sure, but the end of summer always makes me a little sad, even though what follows is my favorite season…
Well said Lyn. I think you conveyed what I was trying to say:)