Exciting Fall

I always enjoy the colors of fall and since I retired from teaching I enjoy the weather also though sweltering summer is my favorite season. Right before I wrote this post, one of my sons quietly called me to join him outside. A white-tailed doe stood in our driveway, not thirty feet away from us. After staring at us for a moment, she bounded across the road and out of sight. Then her two fawns, both with only a few spots remaining, walked past us, almost within touching distance. Our yard has provided refuge for a bounty of wildlife this year. Besides the four deer families we've seen with regularity, we have a resident skunk who usually keeps his smell to himself. A large hawk lives somewhere nearby and often sits on our pool fence. We've spotted bald eagles high overhead, blue jays every day, and numerous other colorful birds. We've also seen plenty of turkeys in the fields nearby. I LOVE living in the country.

For the writing business this week, I'm finally caught up on a whole lot of things that were not working on my current WIP. I intend to tackle that piece of work this weekend.

From the Old Farmer's Almanac this week: Experience teaches you to recognize a mistake when you've made it again.
Faults are thick where love is thin. An English proverb.

If you didn't visit IWSG for Anne R. Allen's post about the difference between dreams and goals, you really should. You might recognize yourself somewhere in her descriptions. I did.

Happy leaf raking, soon. Do you enjoy fall? See any wildlife around your abode? Has experience helped you recognizing your mistakes? Did you visit Anne at IWSG?

A Day In Boston For a Writer

I recently spent two days in Boston for my daughter's orientation at BU. I took along books to read, my B&N gift card since their college book store is B&N. But I left my computer at home and took only a notepad along to jot any information I might want to remember. Well, when you've already seen five previous children off to college, there's only so much a parent can get out of those parent sessions at orientation.  So I skipped out on a few and ended up sitting at an outside table at a cafe and people watching.  People watching is always a constructive exercise for a writer, especially when you're in a new place.

Boston University

I actually saw someone walking their dog, and they looked alike. I never believed people could look like their pets, but his man and his little terrier really did.  Now Boston University is home to lots of really bright people, and I have to say I saw lots of nerdy attire. Some of it was so stereotypical I'm sure the people dressed that way on purpose. And age had little to do with the clothing thing. Young and old had the look going but they all seemed comfortable in their skin and carried off their wardrobe selections with poise.

Boston has a lot of brick sidewalks and I noticed lots of people trying to walk only in the cemented parts running in patterns through the bricks. I understood completely. Those bricks are really uneven and they do hurt your feet after a while.

Another stylish item that ran a gamut of types was the different bags people carried their laptops, iPads, books, notebooks and folders in.  Vera Bradley made lots of appearances but so did some really cool leather bags and plain old backpacks. I noticed the bag styles because my daughter has been searching for just the right thing.

Ipods, smart phones and other electronics were in nearly every had. I actually saw a young man riding his bike in the bike lane right alongside three lanes of bumper to bumper traffic and using both his hands to text on his phone.  I was horrified and impressed.

The city was clean and exciting but the only wildlife I saw were the sparrows pecking around my feet in search of bread crumbs. I think I prefer my back deck where I see cardinals, blue jays, gold finches and an occasional bluebird as I write. I usually hear or see the female hawk who has nested in our little woodland for the past three years.  And early in the morning or in the evening I often can watch deer grazing beneath the shade treees and maybe a skunk scampering through. Rabbits, squirrels and chipmunks abound though they're only mariginally more welcome than the skunk.

I'm a country girl forever.  What about you? Does the city energize you or do you prefer small town or country life?