September was an adventurous month. There was lots to do, none of which was very productive, although it was definitely restorative. Mostly. I got zero writing done, which led to missing the Q4 deadline for this year’s Writers of the Future contest. On the other hand, my story The Fifth Law garnered an honorable mention from the previous quarter. That ain’t awesome IMHO, but it ain’t too shabby either. Coming off a semi-finalist from before (The Keeper of Bordertown), I was hoping for better. But I’ll take it.
Lots of work-related stuff this month, which really kept me from writing. We had a surprise conference this week in New Jersey, which lasted four days. I was hoping to get some writing done and finish up my story by the September 30th submission deadline. But between prepping my presentations for the conference, all day workshops, and late-night group dinners, there was just zero time. My hotel room had a splendid view of New York City though, which was lovely. Also, three of my co-workers quit this month, resulting in lots of extra work for the rest of us suckers sticking around. Hoping they find replacements soon.
Wendy and I managed to slip away for another backpacking trip, this time at Indiana Dunes National Park. Not exactly a backpacking trip, per se. The park doesn’t allow camping outside designated group sites, which is totally ridiculous if you ask me. So no real backpacking. But we loaded up our day packs and hit the trails every day. I think we ended up trekking somewhere around 35 total miles for the week. It was super fun to hike all day, then hit the beach for dinner and sunsets in the evening. We even managed some swimming and kayaking.
So here we are kicking in the walls of the last quarter of the year and poking our heads through to see what fall and winter might have in store for us. It’s already getting colder, and the leaves are turning yellow and twirling to the ground. It’s that weird in-between weather right now in this part of Ohio — jackets in the morning, tee shirts in the afternoon.
Enjoy some colorful pics of our trip, and the last bits of warmish weather while it lasts. Won’t be too much longer before we’re all buried beneath a greenhouse glacier!
Love this