Before September Ides

It seems like September is running swiftly through the year; I can't believe it's already a third of the way through.  The mornings have become cool again, in the 50s, and the leaves are yellowing their way to orange and brown.  Last week we had some rainy days, but the next few days are supposed to be sunny and in the 80's.

I"m looking forward to the cooler weather (and the rain), and I'm hoping the coming grey days are punctuated with some moments of light.  

Working Out:  I went to the gym Wednesday evening.  I hadn't been in about two weeks.  When I stepped on the gym's scale, I saw that I had gained about two pounds (probably from a combination of daily Mexicokes and cookies over the writing retreat).  30 minutes and 300 calories on the elliptical.  I did about 5 minutes and 50 calories on the rowing machine, the wheel of which felt sticky.  Downstairs I eased into pec flies, lat pulldowns, and tricep pull-downs.  I did some other light free-weight work.   Mark said appreciative things later, so I guess I didn't completely blimp out.  

The other benefit of working out was that it losened up my back enough for whatever problem I had to sort of click back into place.  At least, that's what it felt like when I sort of clicked back into place.  I'm not sure if I should be worried about clicking bits or not... apparently, in addition to the one around my lower lumbar, I've got one either in my sternum or my trapezoids -- I can't tell where, except that sometimes when I lie on my side after a workout, a very deep breath followed by a total exhalation will result in a click as I let all my breath out.  

Writing:  I need to work on getting stories into the mail.  I'm currently working on a Venus short story; I've got two in the works, and I'm focusing on the one that's a little more hard science fiction before turning to the one that's a little more science-fantasy.  The sci-fi one feels just a little like a CJ Cherrh story, and the science-fantasy more like Tanneth Lee or maybe  Patricia C Wrede.   Now that The Child is back in school, the day's a little more cut-up between various pick-ups and drop-offs.  Insert Time Management Laments here. 

I was talking with some co-workers, and one expressed a strong visceral aversion to Harry Potter.  I'm not sure that I followed, but I gathered that transformative objects were weird and aggressive, and somehow transgressed rules of how things ought to be.  Cogsworth from "Beauty and the Beast" was okay, I think because he was a cute cartoon; me anthropormorphising computers was OK because it was just me talking, and the computer didn't actually spring to dancing life.  The conversation then touched on who liked Star Wars and Star Trek and who didn't.  It was fascinating, and I didn't get a chance to ask her what she did like to read.

99W in Autumn

When we drive to Corvallis, we frequently take 99W.  It's the older highway system that was in place before Interstate Five, which runs to the east from Eugene to Albany.  

99W  runs through farmland which grow mostly grass and mint.   Hazelnut groves are my favorite because of the moire patterns made by the regular trunks.  There are a few windmill-pumps along the way, too.  The buildings are often shabby, unfortunately:  one-story rancher-bungalows that have seen better days and paint jobs.  The oldest have had all the paint peeled off, and the rain and sun bleaches the wood underneath.   At least the old, once-red barns look picturesque as thy decay in the distance.

For the longest time, there was a great haunted house candidate, an old gothic looking farm house with two stories and an attic under a steep roof.  A bramble was taking over one side, and parts of the porch were sagging.  For a while ten years ago, it looked like it might it might be salvagable, but it simply became more and more weathered.  Some time last year it was knocked down, because it's gone now.

The rain has returned for the autumn, and the clouds scud the grey clouds skud over the coastal hills.  As we get closer to Corvallis, Mary's Peak comes into view, its top in a white cloud.   We drive past old oaks, toppled in last year's storm.  There aren't any raptors visible today.

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Sunday Workout:  It's a rest day or two, I'm not sure if mowing the lawn counts.

Project:  Finishing up the OTP "Property" challenge story.  I have the ending roughed in.  Now I need to polish it up.  I wrote the majority of it in SimpleNote on the iPad.  There's something to be said for being able to work on something where ever I have the iPad, but there's also something to be said for working on a larger screen, too. 

Where's Brunhilde ?

Sunday we went to Sahalie and Koosah Falls.


We got there about 11:45, and the sun made rainbows in the waterfalls' mist.  Koosah Falls especially reminded me of the Bifrost Bridge, and so I was humming bits of the Rhinemaidens' leitmotif and Siegfried's Funeral March.