Bells in the Night

It has been a busy time in our lives, so busy that I have neglected posting to this blog.  Every day seems to require us to drive out of Town to appointments - doctors, tax professionals - and to continue preparing our house and yard for spring.

At the same time I am excited to have finally sent my book off to the publishers.  Proofread many times now and ready to publish since last November, I was waiting until this month on the slim chance that my book might have a chance to win the Academy of American Poets new book prize.  Had I won this prize, it would have included publication of the book as well as an all-expenses-paid six-week residency at the Civitella Ranieri Center, a castle in the Umbrian region of Italy. 

In all honesty, I could not really see myself lounging on the lawn in such a bucolic setting with other poets and artists.  I might instead of tied on my running shoes and explored the nearby Italian hillside roads.  In any case, the award went to the deserving young poet Kemi Alabi, and I look forward to reading her book.  My own book - Bells in the Night - will be published sometime this spring or summer.

While it will not have as wide a distribution as Ms. Alabi's book, I do hope that somewhere a reader or two might lounge on the lawn and enjoy reading it!

On top of everything else, we have decided to embark on a new construction project at our home consisting of a carport and a new entryway to the front door.  We have discovered to our disappointment that every contractor in Highlands seems to be busy (it is a project which I will need some help to complete) and lumber prices have doubled in the past year.  Still construction began yesterday with demolition, as it sometimes does.  Taking advantage of a clear, cool afternoon, and with the help of crowbar and circular saw, I removed the front steps and fences along the walkway and hauled them away to the landfill.  It is good to be working on something physical again, sore muscles at the end of the day and the satisfaction of seeing plans become reality.

 

Sunday, we decided to take the entire day off, and early in the morning we drove to Brevard, then up US-276 past Looking Glass Falls and the Cradle of Forestry, finally climbing to the very crest of the mountain range and the Blue Ridge Parkway, that lovely 469-mile long park that holds so many sweet memories for us both.  We spent our honeymoon at Pisgah Inn nearly 41 years ago.  And that is where we ended up on a sunny Sunday afternoon.