Friday, April 27, 2012

It snowed again . . .

But just a light dusting that won't last long.

The cassin's finches are lined up. 

 And the river is big and muddy.

I normally don't like to compare natural things to human-made things, but this time of year the river reminds me of a freight train, such a huge mass barreling by.

Tuesday, April 24, 2012

Rustic remote office


It was a dewy morning.

Rain has been in the forecast for the past two days, but it has been sunny and warm so I've been a weather opportunist.

The warm temps have melted a lot of snow in the mountains, so the river has gone up over a foot in just a few days, submerging my high-water rock. More warm temps and rain are in the forecast.

Monday, April 23, 2012

Hey, Look! The Blog is Back.

Okay, I'm reviving the blog, now that winter is over and I got all my work done. (I'll update on the whole agent process in a day or so.)

While I wasn't looking, spring showed up, and an early taste of summer even broke out for a few days.  So . . .

the finches are back,

and the robins,

and the deer,

and the evening grosbeaks,

 and the white-crowned sparrows,

and, of course, the ground squirrels.

Now that there are more things to report than "It snowed again," or "It's still cold," I'll be posting more often.  

Sunday, April 1, 2012

Going, going . . .

Mar 16, 2012

Mar 30, 2012

April 1, 2012

This blog has been in hibernation over much of the winter, but things should be picking up soon, now that the snow and ice are beginning to clear.

On the manuscript, I'm still waiting to hear from my last reader.  He's promised to be done sometime next week, which is spring break down in Missoula.  As soon as I hear from him, I'll start sending portions of the manuscript out to literary agents.

Conventional wisdom says it's almost as difficult to get an agent as it is to get published, but these days many publishers won't even talk to anybody but agents.  It's time to take a shot and let the universe have it, whatever the odds.

As the song says, "Can't go half at itgotta nail it hard."

(Hat tip to BMac, who posted a reference to this tune in a comment almost two years ago)

I'm also keeping in mind the remark of one would-be author, who said whenever he gets a rejection letter from an agent, he plays this song:

There's always a chance I'll need to adopt it, too, at some point, though a baritone version, and on a mountain instead of a rooftop.  But as I wrote in the manuscript, it won't feel like a failure if I don't become a published writer.  It would have been a failure not to have tried.

While agents are looking at the manuscript (or not), I'll be shifting to the next project.  If things go as planned, this will be the Summer of Yellowstone.  Since it's not really plausible to hike across Yellowstone National Park like I did in the Bob, I'm planning to do four deep backcountry trips into some of the more remote areas.  In national parks, you can't just camp anywhere like you can in national forests, so I'll need to have an itinerary of backcountry sites reserved in advance of each trip.  I've already sent off my requests for those reservations, but I won't hear whether I got them or not for a little while.

As the snow continues to clear, I'll start doing a lot of day-hiking to get back in long-distance backpacking shape.  At some point in early summer, I'll likely be moving closer to the Yellowstone area, as much as I hate to leave this wonderful cabin on the river.  But the backpacking season is short in the high country.  My four trips are planned from late July to mid September, with a week or less between them, and it would be tough to drive five and half hours between Sula and the park before and after each trip.  Being closer will also allow me to do a lot of day hikes in the park and a bit of research in the heritage center.  It'll put me closer to Mari, too, which is always nice.

A lot of things are still up in the air, but that's the plan.