Where to start? The residency is over and everyone has gone their merry way. Now i'm home to face bills and laundry and other mundane tasks that seem to lack the luster and purpose of all that was accomplished this week. Sometimes i think i work best in a pressure cooker, when i don't even think about what i have to do, i just do it. There's no time to waste with worry. But why ever waste time with worry?~w

I flew until my brain was dizzy. Writing at 9am, rehearsal from 11am-5pm for the show, squeeze in errands to various places and printing various needed documents and making needed phone calls so that everything gets done. Fly home to shower and throw food at the cat before going out to wolf down a fancy dinner with the participants. Then after much harassment leave early anyway to spend two hours helping a friend type up a final exam that is painful with a newly stitched finger. Done? Oh no, a phone call revealed that a friend was playing in town at a local club. Do i make it in time to hear the show? No, but i got to swill a beer with him quickly before heading to bed. Tomorrow is the big day. The residents perform for the public. My buddy from out of town will probably come, and maybe some other friends if i'm lucky. But hey, i had fun, and managed to write a little something.~w

A Something....
Why is there no homework for life's lessons?
No excuses can be made for losing a page.
My story is true,
but is it the same as yours?
With my munch mouth I chew up words
Sometimes swallowing if tasty,
sometimes spitting back the bile if bitter.
Who has the key to this answer sheet?
With each multiple choice
Is any answer more right than the others,
or simply the next chapter in
a "choose your own adventure" tale?

My story is true
but would you ever believe it
or simply find it fascinating fiction?
The dog ate my homework,
the wall of worry you have built with guilt
anticipating my response
does not exist.
The dog of my heart barks a warning
& I find myself slipping out the back gate
running free from this cage.
Perhaps the lesson was to learn to fight my way out,
Or accept captivity.
But, I choose freedom first.
So why am I looking over my shoulder?
Is this the homework or the test?

The homework -- escape from the lies.
The test -- to understand and forgive the captor.

I climbed all the way to the top of Big Glassy today for the first time. Usually i stop on the rock by the Sandburg house, but today i set off determined to explore the trails. A lovely butterfly black with a little blue on it's wings found me and led me to a lovely writing spot high on the mountain. It left me there to be entertained by the squirrels playing tag. Every once in a while the squirrels would stop to look and me in an odd curious way without the normal hint of fear. Ants and spiders crawled across the granite around me, but pretty much left me alone. I wrote quite a bit in that spot before getting up to explore again and finding that the trail continued further up. I was determined to see the top. As i rounded a bend i heard a muffled warble and explosion of leaves, and turned to see what appeared to be a turkey fly up into the trees from the undergrowth. I thought it might be a buzzard with all the red, but he'd disappeared from view. Finally, i met another butterfly, again black, but with yellow edged wings. It flew ahead, made a loop and then came back to a nearby branch. I passed it and another one just like it erupted from the path in front of me flew in a circle and then landed near me. I came out into the open on rock and realized i was at the top. Ahead i saw a strange little bird and knew at once it must be a baby turkey, but it wasn't alone. Mom and her flock scampered through the brush until there was enough room for her to spread her wings. She and one of her babies perched above me in a branch where we could get a good look at each other. I said "hello" and then followed the little sign to the overlook where Carl Sandburg used to sit and write poetry. It was a lovely spot, but i was glad i had done my writing earlier for an elderly couple were sitting and having lunch in that spot. I waved hello and they waved back and then i left them to their cooing. The butterflies were right, at that point the trail ended and i circled around and headed back down the way i had come. I made a slight detour toward the bottom and found the trout pond. Guarding the entrance were two black tail squirrels eating off green pine cones twice their size. They weren't the best at guarding since they dropped their booty and scampered up the tree when they saw me. At the pond itself a black snake perched on the rock wall waiting for unsuspecting dinner to approach, i decided to leave him in peace and found my way galloping through the field back to the barn. I missed the baby goats, but somehow i think i saw all the animals i needed to meet.~w

Oh, here's a piece of what i wrote on the rock:
Why is it that the maple's leaves start out red and then turn green and then red
Unless it's Japanese & then they start green before turning red?
Does the Pacific flip colors like it changes days?
How can a line on a map separate one day from another?
Is Time merely the blush of a child turned adolescent green with envy?

We're headed to Carl Sandburg's farm early tomorrow morning, so i thought i'd go ahead and deliver the draft of writing i mentioned. More will certainly be on the way...~w

I am from emerald mists
washed up in tidepools
at the foot of snow capped peaks.
I am always climbing trees
and singing branches -- the music
of Towhee, bluebird, and cardinal now my morning alarm.
Storm chaser or maker,
the wind is always moving me forward.

I am from steak & potatoes turned sushi
Giving up frozen food and just eating it raw.
Sticky rice became a staple
once mom understood what we meant
(minute rice just isn't the same).
Still the whir of motor & ice form the garage
meant some things never change
& ice cream has always been homemade.
Like Sunday supper of popcorn & milk
though the dairy was sold to Braums before I was born.

My ancestors were run-aways,
the generations crossed dust bowls and mountains
searching for someplace new.
Strange i should find myself run-away backwards
to where Strangeman Hutchins was born 295 years ago.
Some guy named Loomis moved to the new England from the old
around the same time & now the bloodlines criss-cross the map.
I have put my feet in 48 states trying to connect the dots
to find out who I am.

Now? I am "Wheeeeee!" & "hee hee" most days.
Still learning to say "y'all" mixed with "rilly bin."
The music of my house is always full of sunshine,
even on a cloudy day.
Blown from "If you love something set it free..."
I am melting pot made,
the cream rising to the top
in America's churn.

Alrighty then, we're off to a fabulous start with the summer residency. But, i didn't get around to typing up what i wrote yesterday, so you'll just have to wait. I'm off on another day of adventure.~w

Lawn is mowed. Cats were fed. Beds were adjusted in height and made. Names were put on doors, and candy, soap and poems were presented. Another trip to the grocery store, actually two different stores, was made for all the things that were forgotten. People were picked up from the airport in a couple different trips. I bid my farewells for the day as they went to dinner, leaving my intro card behind as an example for the evening's activities. The responsible part of me wanted to stay, but the rest of me was relieved to have friends to go visit that wouldn't turn to me every five minutes to ask me to deliver the moon the sun and the stars. Not that i can't, i just was ready for a break. Called Dad before dinner to say i loved him. Then did nothing else but enjoy a good meal and conversation with some lovely people. One such lovely person brought an ice cream maker, so delicious homemade ice cream was had by all. However, due to the length of time it takes to eat dinner and make ice cream properly and eat it, there was only time for video and conversation afterwards, no gaming. Looks like it'll be over a month before my schedule will allow that again.

Okay, maybe i might have tried on a piece of jewelry that was more than exquisite...but don't even get me thinking about that. So maybe it combined a couple of my favorite things...precious stones and silver in a piece that i have only ever dreamed about in secret, but that's beside the point. My toy budget for this year has hit it's limit...even if it might be considered jewelry rather than a toy...it's still falling into the "no" category....for now.

I must to bed for to sleep (i'm starting to finally come down off the adrenaline rush this day has given me). Tomorrow starts early (considering that really tomorrow is today already), so, knowing i'll be crunched for time i decided that now was better for writing than later, but i'm prattling idly now or something and should probably spare you the rest of the details of my brain at this hour.~w

I worked over 8 hours yesterday and still managed to do laundry and vacuum. Now i am about to mow the lawn before going to feed a friend's cats and then go to the university with my car load of stuff for the residency. Why mow now you might ask, at 8:30am? Because it's sunny and cool and i don't know when else i'm going to do it before the yard turns into a jungle again. The bonus is that tonight around six i get to run away and have dinner with some friends and maybe even check in the the adventures of Qillathe Lyrica and her friends who were in a heap of trouble when last we left them. I can squish more into the day, i can i can!~w