Well it’s fall…

More importantly, it’s fall here in town.  I’m trying to remember the last time I spent fall in a city or town, and I’m coming up with somewhere around nineteen eighty.  Autumn is different in town that it was on the mountain, and different again from autumn on the island.

On the island seasons were subtle, especially the turns from summer into fall.  A few leaves drop, but the trees that are still standing don’t really turn colors like in the rest of New England.  The temperature change is more subtle there, as the water slows down the cold drops like a blanket over the rest of the East Coast.

What is missing from this picture? People.

Notice the absence of boats in the harbor

Down here in Virginia the mountains flame as brightly as any in New England.

 But when the leaves drop upon House Mountain they stay where they fall until the wind blows them somewhere else.  Here in town I see piles of leaves in yards, bagged on sidewalks, huge piles blown into gutters for the city to come by and pick up.

The whine of leaf blowers is gradually replacing the clatter and whir of lawnmowers and weedwackers, and I am still not used either sound.  Autumn on House Mountain was the ping of acorns dropping on a tin roof, the rustle of deer sheltering from hunters among the oaks, the sound of wind whistling through bare branches.

I miss the silence.  I miss being able to notice a full moon without having to look up.  I miss the stars.  I really miss being able to just let the dogs out to poop in the woods, without having to worry about picking up after them.

On the other hand, I can walk to the library, my drugstore, the movies, a coffee shop.  We ordered a gluten-free pizza from Domino’s and had it delivered.  If I forget something at the store it’s only three minutes away.  This tiny plot of land is a constant source of wonder.  I don’t know what’s planted here and new surprises keep popping up.

And although I don’t see this on my walk every morning –

I’m never going to see anything like this on House Mountain –

Oh my God.  For the first time in my adult life I’m going to have to buy Halloween candy.

Yes, it's been a while . . .( Recipe included! Don't stop reading!)

But I've been just a little bit preoccupied with this whole book publishing thing.  Well, actually not the publishing part so much (I have a publisher who's doing that) as the publicity and marketing part.  There's a hell of a lot more to this than I realized, and it takes a lot of time and energy.  

I'm telling you, it would really be so much easier on me if I could just say, "Hey, did you know my book Coyote Summer is out now?(which it will be any day, i promise)  Why don't you go and buy a copy?  And while you're at it, why don't you buy a copy for your local library?

Or your child's school library?"

Or actually, you can just go into the library and request it, and most of the time they will order it for you.  Not that you wouldn't want your own copy as well.

That would be so easy.  Then everyone would go out and buy a copy, and they would be like, "Wow, what a great book!  I think I will recommend this to all my friends and neighbors!"
And that would be that.

But I'm told it doesn't happen that way.  Which is annoying, to say the least.  Because I would much rather be writing new books than trying to get you read the ones I have already written.  Frankly, I'm kind of tired of those books already.  I mean, I'm not one for re-reading a book anyway, here I am forced to read my own writing over and over again.  It's a good thing I like the way I write.  It's an even better thing that I find me funny and amusing.  Often when no one else does.

i really are funny

So anyway, I've been proofing and making up teacher worksheets for the book so teachers can use it for reading or science assignments in class if they want.  Even though it's fiction, the facts are real.

 And I've been writing people asking them to write one or two line blurbs for the cover of the book.  People I don't even know, which I hate.

So with all this going on, can you blame me for ignoring my blog?
Of course you can.  Mea Culpa.  Have a recipe.  It's on the house.

BLACK PEPPER PARMESAN DRESSING

 Mayonnaise                       1 gallon

Sour cream                         ½ gallon

White vinegar                    ½ cup

Garlic, chopped                 2T

Cracked black pepper     4T

Worcestershire sauce    ½ cup

FRESH grated parmesan 8 cups

Mix all ingredients. This is a base recipe. Thin for service with milk. Approximately 1 cup milk to a quart.

(Yeah, I know, it's got that gallon thing going on again. but this one is an easy conversion.  Just divide by 4 and use quarts. Or send me a note to show you really care and I will do the conversion for you to your personal requirements. Now there's an offer you don't get every day.)