August Rain, the Last Days of Lavender and Bobcats, Considering the Female Midlife Crisis Novel, and When You Know a Manuscript is Ready

Sunflowers and Blue Skies

August Rain and the Last Days of Lavender and Bobcats

It’s been a rainy, cold week that reminds us again fall is on its way. For the pictures today, they were mostly taken on the one sunny day we had! But I liked the return of the rain, and so did my garden, mostly (I lost a couple of dahlias that snapped under the weight of the rain). We did have a brief visit from an adult bobcat, and I snapped a couple of shots of hummingbirds and goldfinches, but the birds are getting ready to molt and/or migrate. Fall/winter/spring here in the Pacific Northwest all bring out different wildlife and beauty, but it’s hard to not be a little sad about the flowers winding down and the swallows and Rufous hummingbirds leaving.

The Lavender Garden down the street is closing for the year on the last day of August, so we’ve been trying to get out when it’s nice to enjoy the last week of sunflowers, dahlias, and lavender. A pumpkin farm in roughly the same location will open up in about a month, so can’t wait for that. We also stopped by a local winery—but here’s a funny thing—three places we tried to go today were “closed for private events,” including the Seattle Zoo. Sometimes having a lot of millionaires (and 15 billionaires) in your town is kind of a bummer, because if you’re not in the 1 percent, everything is closed to you. I can’t afford to buy out a zoo or a winery on the only sunny day of the week at the end of summer! And there are three new snow leopard cubs I’m dying to see. (And if I was disappointed, imagine all the children parents brought to the zoo today only to find “closed for private event” at the door. They also closed down the main bridge out of the East side over the water for construction (which they’ve been doing since, oh, no exaggeration, 2008.) So we stayed around Woodinville. Sometimes the universe says “stay where you are!” LOL. Anyway, we did walk around and enjoy the sunshine, even if we couldn’t leave the area, so can’t really complain, can I?

I’ve been trying to get back to a regular sleep schedule (who knew sleep at night could be this elusive?), but I’ve been spending my nighttime awake hours reading. I’m still a little under the weather too, so spending time under the covers while it’s raining outside is okay. At the same time, I’ve been struggling with problems with my web site, for unknown reasons. I wish I could reboot my body to fix things as easily as easily as rebooting a server. Anyway, this is the bobcat visit below.

Considering the Female Midlife Crisis Novel

When I wake up from a nap…Charlotte

Speaking of bodily reboots, I’m thinking about the female midlife crisis novel/memoir/autofiction, which seems to be everywhere right now. Maybe there’s also something in the air with the Republican animosity towards “childless cat women” and “women’s bodily autonomy” but it’s sort of a counterpoint to decades (and centuries) of men’s midlife crisis books, too. Miranda July’s All Fours is all the critics are talking about, and they’re like “a novel about perimenopause for the first time ever!” which is definitely not true, because you could consider some of Virginia Woolf and Doris Lessing’s books that dealt with similar subject matter, and I know Lesley Wheeler wrote a fascinating book about the subject that didn’t get enough attention called Unbecoming that came out about year or so ago. (Totally worth reading and much more fun than some of the other books I’ve read!) Also read Liars by Sarah Manguso, which belongs in the same category and came out recently, but I could also include Maggie Smith’s You Could Make This Place Beautiful and Sabrina Orah Mark’s fairy-tale autofiction/memoir book Happily. I mean, not all of these books are exactly the same, but they circle around some of the same subject matter – women at midlife reconsidering being a wife and/or mother, dealing with lack of fulfillment in their work and home lives, reckoning with their achievements, illnesses, choices, etc. All Fours and Liars both talk way more about masturbation and sex and other bodily functions, maybe (but probably not more than Doris Lessing?) but this has been something that’s been a palpable movement in the world of memoir and literary fiction. A LOT of these books seem somewhat depressing to me—the subject matter especially of terrible husbands who cheat, then leave, but it turns out they were always terrible—not empowering, which is what I guess I would like to see instead? But hey, these things take time. The critics are right that this kind of novel is sort of…novel in the world of midlife crisis memoirs and novels. But can a woman’s midlife and perimenopause/menopause be an empowering time? I hope the answer is not NO, as I am still in perimenopause and wondering if the sleep disruptions are part of it, or any time I feel grumpy, frumpy, or disenchanted. Anyway, chime in with empowering female midlife crisis readings suggestions in the comments if you want.

How to Know if a Manuscript is Ready

Using these rainy, sleepless nights to catch up on work—making a tutorial, judging a poetry contest—and working on my seventh book manuscript, which I thought was done two years ago but then I added a lot more to it, and now I’m looking at an unwieldy hundred-page monster that I need to edit down and somehow make into a unified thing. Knowing when and if a poetry manuscript is ready is an art, not a science—sometimes they’ll need a tweak, like a title change and a shifting of first poem—and sometimes they’ll need an overhaul, which is what I’m doing right now—before they’re ready to send to a publisher, and it’s difficult sometimes to make that judgement. Especially when one is sleep deprived and half-sick. I usually write a good solid collection of poems around a single theme, but because the covid-19 pandemic happened in middle of writing these poems, it’s been tough to reign it in. Anyway, I hope to have it in somewhat finished form by October. That’s my goal, anyway.

Blue Supermoons, Thunderstorm, a Little Good News I Can’t Announce Yet and Other Literary News, Kirkland and Sunflower Sunsets

Me in sunflowers, Woodinville sunset

Blue Supermoons, Thunderstorms, Kirkland and Sunflower Sunsets

Right now outside my window is August’s Blue Supermoon. A few days ago we had the biggest thunderstorm since 2019, a sign of the fall’s approach and the increasingly changing weather in the Pacific Northwest. Glenn and I tried to take advantage of lower temperatures by walking at sunset, one night in Kirkland, another night at our local JB Grower’s Lavender Farm, where the moon rose while listening to Jimmy Page and Alison Krauss at the concert next door. The light in the August evening  makes everything more beautiful. Waking up at 3 or 4 AM I am able to garden a bit in the morning. The roses and hydrangeas in my garden are taller than I am, there are figs on my fig tree and apples on my apple tree, plus strawberry plants still providing strawberries. After the storm we brought in wet dahlias and hydrangeas in big vases. Already thinking about what to plant for next year.

I am finally getting some mental energy back, as well as sleeping short stretches – 3-4 hours – at night again. Not firing on all cylinders yet, but getting better, I think. And I got some surprise good news this week. Here are a few sunset pictures from Kirkland and Woodinville.

A Little Good News I Can’t Announce Yet, Plus Birds and Literary Stuff

So this week I got a little good news (which I can’t announce yet, but will soon!) I have to say, it’s amazing how these things can make so much difference to a poetry small press author. Very few of us get any real reach, the big prizes, any real recognition, so when you get good news, we better celebrate, right?

In other literary news, Calyx put up their poetry contest winners (I judged that contest) and I’m getting ready to read for another literary magazine’s contest. It’s nice to contribute in this way, especially because a big contest win early in my writing career meant so much to me. (You never know when someone needs that little push to stay a writer!)

I hope that as September approaches I will be doing more reading, writing, submitting, catching up on writer things. In the meantime though, some pink roses, a house finch, the blue Supermoon, and hummingbird. Wishing you stars and supermoons and poems.

The Sealey Challenge, the First Sunflowers, and Fall is Coming Up!

Me with sunflowers and dahlias

The Sealey Challenge, The First Sunflowers, and Signs that Fall is Coming!

The first sunflowers have popped up at our local gardens, and with them the notion that fall is around the corner. I have been ill for so much of the summer that I barely noticed it passing so fast. I have been beating myself up for not getting much done the last two months, not much writing or submitting of poetry. I haven’t even been well enough to go get blood work done that I need to have done (they won’t let me get it while I’m sick.) I don’t always have control of my physical self, and that can be frustrating for a type-A control freak like myself.

But I did finally accomplish some of my Sealey Challenge (where you’re supposed to read a book of poetry a day in August.) Here are three: an anthology of mermaid poetry published a few years ago called Till the Tide, and brand new books Horns by Tiffany Midge (funny, biting wit!) and Autobiography of Rain by Lana Ayers (solemn, subtle, always worth reading.) I also pulled out Matthea Harvey’s If the Tabloids are True What Are You and Diwata by Barbara Jane Reyes for inspiration.

Glenn and I with wildflowers and sunflowers

Signs of Fall

I love thinking about blessedly cooler weather, pumpkins and sweaters. I’m emphatically not a summer girl. In the Pacific Northwest, the fact that rain is in the forecast – or there’s an unexpected drizzle in the morning – is a sign the season of sunshine (and fire, and smoke) is coming to a close. In case you ever come out here, September is the perfect time to visit – still have some sunlight, flowers are still blooming, and the crowds are gone. Also, apple and pumpkin everything!

I’m hoping that September also brings some more stable health for me as well as more pleasant weather. Here’s wishing you a wonderful end of August.

Welcome to August, on The Slowdown, Hot Air Balloons

Juvenile goldfinch with sunflowers

Welcome to August: On the Slowdown and Hot Air Balloons

As my insomnia continues and my nervous system seems to be on the fritz, it seems my site has had problems too! If you missed last week’s post, that’s probably because the site was down. Hope it stays up this time (WordPress really needs some tweaking).

A little glimpse of my back garden with a juvenile goldfinch moments before it landed on my sunflowers (which I’m so proud of—both the snapdragons and sunflowers were unusual colors grown from seed from local farms!) August is great for gardens—lots of sunshine—but the heat and haze have taken a toll on my body, already run down from a couple of weeks of poor sleep. On the plus side, have watched so much Olympics coverage. LOL.

On the poetry side, I was briefly interviewed on the Slowdown this week as they chose my poetry pick, Kelli Russell Agodon’s “Hunger,” for their audience choice show. Here’s the link—you can hear me say a couple of things about the poem before Major Jackson reads the poem (what a great voice for radio, am I right?) 1175: Hunger by Kelli Russell Agodon | The Slowdown (slowdownshow.org)

Another thing our area has during August is amazing views around our home—this week, we followed a hot air balloon sinking from our house to the lavender farm, and we caught a particularly lucky shot of the balloon along with Mt Rainier at sunset, the lavender garden, and a V of geese! Woodinville just has some above average chances to catch beautiful things. So even if I’m not at my peak right now (and rarely am in August), the world is still beautiful. Just got to get through a couple of weeks of heat waves and smoke and make it to September!

A Week of Insomnia, Visiting with My Brother and Lavender Festival, and the Olympics

Me in wildflowers

A Week of Insomnia, Visiting with my Brother and a Local Lavender Festival

I’m a bit foggy from lack of sleep (I haven’t been able to sleep at all at night for the last week—or more?) but wanted to report in. This weekend our local lavender farm had its second weekend of its inaugural Lavender Festival, which featured a ton of vendors from ice cream and coffee to art and plants. We went both days this weekend and took my little brother and sister-in-law on Sunday. (It seems ironic that walking through a field of lavender at night didn’t help my insomnia!) But the light was so pretty that most of the shots Glenn took of me don’t even look like I haven’t slept much. (Maybe there’s a potential author photo in here?) Everyone should do their author photo shoots in a field of flowers in late evening light!

Glenn, little brother Mike, sister-in-law Loree, and me at sunset

Family Visits and the Olympics

It had been a while since we’d gotten to visit with my little brother and sister-in-law, so we were happy to have dinner and walk around the festival with them. Besides the amazing field of flowers, the farm’s employees are terrific, friendly folks—a pleasure to be around. If you get a chance and you live in easy distance of Woodinville, you should definitely check it out.

With all my insomnia, I got to watch (live) all the Olympic opening ceremonies, plus some swimming and gymnastics. I thought the ceremonies were strange, French, and beautiful, and the sports part has been exciting too. Of course, I can’t help but worry every time a gymnast takes a fall or hurts their ankle—my empathy (and remembrance of my own sports injuries in high school) kicks in.

My own garden is in bloom, and many baby birds are cheeping around our feeders. We’re supposed to get some much-needed rain tomorrow, and hopefully that will help the surrounding air quality (we’re sort of surrounded by wildfires) and people suffering from fires. Remember to keep your ears open for the podcast The Slowdown, especially on August 2nd. Wishing you a happy (and for me sleep-full) summer week. I’ll be here, thinking about fall…