for the writers in the house

Derek Nikitas, author of the novel Pyres, as well as one of the short stories in the Killer Year collection, has a wonderful guest blog up today over at Murderati.

He's writing about literary thrillers - what they are, what the writers struggle with when writing them, and how they fare in the marketplace.

He totally nailed my current writing issue - what he calls "negotiating the interaction between subtlety and intensity." Which is exactly what I've been doing since late last week.

Reading his blog post this morning was like going to a top-notch writing workshop. He hasn't solved my problem but he has named it, and that's the first step toward conquering it.

Even if you're not a writer, Murderati is a great read, especially if you're a novel reader who likes mysteries, suspense, thrillers, etc. There's always good conversation in the comment section too - so don't skip that part!

And if you have a preference as a reader for subtlety over intensity, or vice versa, I'd love it if you commented about it here. I know it's a subjective thing, but I'm really curious about what readers look for in their idea of a "great read."

practical barnkeeping

This morning we had to rescue Muffine Eloise from the top of a stall divider. In her crazed efforts to get to the birds' nest full of babies, she got hung and couldn't get down. (well, perhaps she could have, but we couldn't bear to watch, so we got the ladder out and ended the agony)

Once I had the ladder out it seemed fitting to go ahead and start my spring cleaning ritual.

I use a few squirts of Dr. Bronner's Peppermint Soap in a bucket of water and the old raggedy barn broom to swipe down cobwebs, layers of dust, and whatever else might be sitting on the stall walls and doors. It smells wonderful, is totally nontoxic, and has a repellent quality for insects. Perfect for the barn.

We have an extra long light bulb changer that is perfect for wrapping rags around (dipped in the peppermint mixture) and getting all the highest cobwebs.

Once I'm done with that I intend to get the fans down for a thorough cleaning so they can be hooked up for hot days.

The tack room will get emptied out, wiped down from floor to ceiling, bin lids dusted off, tack cleaned, DE sprinkled around the perimeter to keep insects out. Then everything will go back in. Somewhere in this process I need to wash the horse blankets so they can be packed away until next fall.

I have learned by my own mistakes when it comes to washing the blankets. The best way is to hang them over the fence and do a preliminary rinse/scrub to get as much of the dirt and hair off as possible. Once that's done, they go through one complete cycle each in the washing machine with Rambo Blanket Wash, and then one complete cycle with nothing to make sure they're rinsed thoroughly. Then they hang in the sun until mid-day (the washing has to be done early) and turned to the opposite sides for the afternoon. At the end of a sunny day, they're nice and clean and dry, and I pack them into big plastic bins with layers of lavender buds to keep them smelling nice and to keep insects out.

I *may* substitute a new organic lavender laundry detergent this year for the blanket wash. I haven't decided yet. But it smells heavenly and is very gentle.

We'll check stall doors and windows and replace hooks and hinges as needed.

I would like to clear out all the stalls, remove the stall mats, and fill any depressions before replacing the mats - but I may wait and do this in the fall.

Meanwhile I've discovered that the cedar mix sawdust we got last time is quite wonderful with just one wheelbarrow of pine shavings per stall mixed in. I'm not sure yet how I'll proceed - have two separate deliveries and piles? Use bagged shavings from the feed store? It's a work in progress, but I do like the mixture and how it feels and holds up day to day inside the stalls.

There is one more big project that has to do with the barn itself. I'd like to move the hay out of the spare stall, dissemble the middle wall, and reconstruct it so it can be used as two single stalls OR one double stall. We have that set-up on the other side of the barn, but I need it on Salina and Rafer's side, so that when Redford comes there will be one big stall for all of them, with two mangers.

Hay storage will then need to be addressed. Sigh. I want a hay barn but not sure that's in the cards right now. So I may put up one of the heavy duty "tents" that I've been researching. They have floors, air vents, and anchors that go a foot into the ground. With wooden pallets to keep the hay up off the floor, one of the dark green blend-in-to-the-forest ones should do nicely.

If while reading this you hear a very loud THUMP, don't panic. It's my husband, who just passed out at the next few weekends' to do list. :)

(oh, and in case you might be concerned, here is Muffine Eloise post-trauma. I think she'll be just fine)

continuing adventures in lunar fullness

It's been another very full day on November Hill.

Rafer Johnson decided he wanted to venture further afield than the barnyard yesterday while I was finishing up mid-day chores. I found him outside the tape we have up, marching around the compost bin, standing on a little mound in the edge of the woods, surveying his donkeydom.

Salina was okay with it until she realized I wasn't, and she went to the tape and began to call him. He just looked at both of us.

I got some butterscotch treats and a lead rope and called again. I really wanted him to come to me and get a nice treat, and he did. But when I went to walk him back underneath the tape, same way he'd gotten out of it (probably not the best thing to do on my part) he balked. What? You want me to go under that potentially live wire? No! I quickly realized this was a good moment to go along with the drama, so I acted like the tape was hot, undid it carefully, and we walked through together. Salina went along with this charade and stepped back a few steps as I set the tape aside.

That particular tape is meant to be replaced by a gate, but the horses respect the tape, so it's worked its way down the list. I think Rafer Johnson is raising it back up again!

All day yesterday I had crazed felines in the barn. The nest of birds has hatched out and they are nearly constantly cheeping frantically for food. The mother bird comes and goes frequently but by the sounds of it, she has many babies to feed and it's an endless job. The cats are beside themselves. This nest is high and well protected and the cats can't quite believe it.

I came in finally to do some work on my novel. My goal to get through a hundred pages this weekend was, shall we say, a bit over the top, and I was feeling stuck again with this new material. I gave myself a little bit of time to settle in and write, but it wasn't working. So I decided to do something I typically never do - time myself. I had to write for 20 minutes, no matter how badly or how silly - to type into the next scene for that long without stopping to think.

Thirty minutes later I had written a decent scene. This whole section of the book is proving difficult because it's tapping into my own "writing issue" - caution about going over the top, or getting overly dramatic with the story. In this case that caution is really blocking my forward motion. But I'm pushing past it, page by page.

Yesterday afternoon my daughter and I went out to ride. Keil Bay got groomed head to toe, including mane and tail being totally brushed and combed out. I'd helped my daughter get Cody tacked up, and by the time I was ready to tack up Keil Bay I felt like I had no energy left. There was a moment or two where I considered packing in the ride, but I decided to push past it. I put his forelock in a pseudo-braid and into the arena we went. I think because he looked so fancy, and had warmed up so well, plus cantered left extremely well (it's his harder side), I felt like trying something new. Something we'd never done before. "I think I'll do a flying change." I half expected my daughter to nix this idea for me, but her enthusiasm and assumption that I could do anything I wanted gave me a boost. 'Okay! I'll watch!"

We tried it three times going up center line. Each time I gave the cue, I felt the little bump that meant Keil Bay was changing leads. Each time, though, he broke into the trot out of that stride. The fourth time I was getting sloppy so I decided to canter up center line, break purposefully to trot, and then ask for the opposite lead. He did that perfectly, so I stopped there. I should have started with that and built up to the flying change. The day had a sort of wild air to it though, and I had decided to go right for the top.

The best part came next. My daughter decided to try the same thing with Cody. He's green to this, but they did a good job trying. I was thinking it was time to dismount and call it a day, but my daughter, in her characteristic desire for more riding, exclaimed "Wait, it's time for our victory lap!"

She led the way around the arena on Cody, in a big bold canter. Keil Bay and I followed. We kept going around and around, and Keil Bay got a little excited and tried to catch up to Cody. I have not cantered that much continuously since I started back riding several years ago. And nothing fell apart. By the final lap I was calling out "woo hoo" and absolutely loving the excitement. I'm thinking about hiring my daughter to be my riding coach. :)

A very interesting aspect of the day was that it began with an unusual bird sighting. I was sitting here in the garret and heard the most incredible squawking and fussing. It went on and on. Finally I got up and looked out the window. Two large crows were chasing a red-tail hawk out of the tree right outside my window. I was intrigued, but it's only today, a full day later with the little struggles from yesterday laid out before me, that I get the message. As important as I believe it is to start my days with intention (to create the day), I also believe that reviewing the day adds a wonderful depth that I would otherwise not have.

Our day came to a close at nightfall. I wanted the horses to have as long a time as possible turned out before the rain hit, so we took chairs to the front field and sat beneath the trees. My son came out to join us, which was a nice treat. We visited with each horse and Rafer Johnson in turn. (Rafer pretty much planted himself with his head in one of our laps and demanded that his turn never end) and as the horses moved gradually up toward the barn, we picked up our chairs and followed. A half hour later, they had moved us right up to the gate, and the rain started. As usual, they are truly in sync with everything around them. By simply following them, we too came into sync.

We all had a much earlier bedtime than the night before, and I'm happy to say, Corgyn and Apollo Moon were in sync with my need for sleep. I awoke on my own this morning at 7 a.m. And we begin again with a new day ahead.

a wonderful night for a moondance

And on the morning after, Rafer Johnson helps with breakfast!



After yesterday's unexpected heat, I decided to let the horses stay out until bedtime so they could enjoy grazing without the bugs. Around ten p.m. my daughter and I decided to take a peek and see what they were doing. We went out front with the big flashlight and spotlighted them one by one. Rafer Johnson began to bray - I think he was shocked that they were being allowed out so late!

They stayed out until midnight. We got their stalls ready, which usually brings them up the hill, but when we finished doing waters - no horses. We set off down the hill in the dark. In a moment, outside the bright lights of the barn, our eyes adjusted and the moon was so bright it cast shadows. The redbud was fully visible in shadow - amazing.

Rafer Johnson met us halfway. He seemed ready to come in, and Salina followed. Rafer actually ran ahead to get to the barn and their stall/paddock.

The geldings had no intention of coming in, so my daughter went down the hill and shooed them up. I was standing in the moonlight and watched the three of them canter out of the shadow into the light. They broke to a trot and then stopped in their tracks, to graze again. When my daughter crested the hill, they trotted on through the gate and to their stalls.

At 3:30 this morning the Corgyn woke me up asking for breakfast! I told them No Way and went back to sleep. 5 a.m. Apollo Moon woke me up asking for breakfast. I told him No Way as well and went back to sleep until 7, which I feel is a more proper time for rising and feeding everyone.

The Corgyn got their favorite - turkey necks - and are right now laid out flat, like little Corgi rugs.

Apollo Moon got his Innova Evo canned, and the younger cats got their dry Evo replenished.

On out to the barn, where I was somewhat alarmed not to hear Rafer Johnson's bray, Salina's neigh, nor did I see either of them in their paddock. As I got to the back door of their stall I realized that Rafer Johnson was laid out flat, sleeping in! I guess his late night in the waxing moonlight left him exhausted!

The geldings were ready to go back out for a few hours' grazing before breakfast. Keil Bay immediately spotted tulip poplar blossoms on the ground and marched over and gobbled them up before I could get to him. I don't think it's a problem, but we'll find out.

Rafer Johnson and Salina did not want to go out front. Rafer was focused on standing between the handles of the wheelbarrow, full of muck, as though he might be considering pushing it down the hill for me. I decided they could have the barnyard this morning until breakfast.

It's a cooler, quite peaceful morning here.

back on track

Things are getting back on track here on November Hill. My husband left this morning for a birthday gift photography weekend in the mountains with his best friend and a number of his landscape photographer comrades. He did so many helpful things before he left to make it easier for me being solo parent - I hope they get lots of great photo ops and that he enjoys a well-deserved break from farm chores!

My mom called this morning to say that she had just spoken with my dad's occupational therapist, who reported that my dad was up, dressed, smiling, and doing really well with his first day of therapy. This is great news - he hasn't smiled in 3 weeks. Send him some healing energy if you will. I know he'd appreciate it.

The washing machine repairman came by this morning and I'm now catching up on laundry. He said this is probably the last time we should fork over the money to keep the machine going - and don't tell my husband but... YAY! I am wanting a new pale green washer/dryer set and until this one wears out, we'll never get it.

A number of writers from Backspace are doing a Marathon Hump Weekend for the next two days, and I'm going to be buckling down as well to get through the next 100 pages of my rewrite/edit. If you're working on something or have been stuck with a work in progress, tap into this collective energy and roll forward!

The horses are in the cool quiet of the barn until the sun goes down. It's getting to the mid-eighties today and I decided it was time to let them have the stalls during the mid-day heat. They got groomed, fly-sprayed with sweet-smelling marigold spray, and have good hay to munch on. Salina and Cody had their fly masks on for awhile but took them off. Keil Bay, as usual, loves his mask and keeps it on. He was quite happy to be let into his stall. I bet a hundred dollars if I go out there in an hour or so he'll be stretched out flat, snoring away.

Rafer Johnson spent an hour in the barnyard with Salina while we mucked. He's totally fine with tarps, as you can see. :)

Happy end of week to all!

P/S... I snuck back out to the barn and look what I found!