The ceiling of my writing hut is paneled with sections of white Styrofoam panels, for insulation mainly, definitely not for looks. I’d like to cover them with wood someday; alas, the project is low on our list of priorities. Meanwhile, during spring and summer months I’m often greeted with what I’ve thought was silt from moths—on my desktop, fabric-covered chair, and wooden flooring. More and more, I’m considering the whitish flakes to be bits of the Styrofoam dislodging over time, perhaps due to said moths crawling upon them, or a fly, or even a bat. Last week I sat working at my desk trying to ignore rapid wingbeats emanating from a cabinet behind me. I chose ignorance of the fact. So far so good.

My latest work, CROFTER, A Wyoming Homestead Manual and Radical Memoir, Rooted in Place, has found favor with the Wyoming Arts Council and their affiliates, the NEA and the Wyoming Legislature. I was awarded a Developmental Grant to help with expenses around marketing, signings/readings, advertisement. I am most grateful and hope to attract a wider audience by their generosity.

This Wednesday, July 12, 2023, I’ll be sitting among campers in the Devils Tower KOA Café to do a signing, visit with campers and travelers, and, it is to be hoped, sell a few books. If you’re in the area, stop in! Be sure to drive up the nation’s first monument road to properly view the Tower, an awe-inspiring sight. You may spot climbers scaling its 875-foot height. The National Park Service has recently completed an access project, greatly improving the facilities and trail head area.

On August 25 I’ll be returning to Livingston, Montana, to The Wheatgrass Bookstore where I signed books last October. I’ll be there from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. Drop in if you’re nearby—it’s a wonderful town and bookstore!

Now that I’ve taken care of a few housecleaning chores (writerly-wise) I can describe how the work-in-progress is going. First, I’m happy to have resumed work on the fourth book in my Riven Country series. It’s coming along, though summer chores and needs thwart a steady writing routine. Och, do they ever!  A wonderful quote gleaned from a William Barclay work: “Live life steadily and live it whole.” Even amid the interruptions, I hear. Some readers are surprised a fourth installment is in the works, having read The Simpler with its mind-twisting ending. There, I’ve admitted it, but surprise, surprise, there’s more! Of course, there’s more. I’m hoping to release it next year, probably later than sooner. God willin’ and the Creeks don’t rise.

Hanging new panels over the white ceiling may remain one of those “if-I-had-the-time-and-the-inclination” kind of projects. Meanwhile, I can wonder (read: rationalize) if the lighting isn’t better for the brightness above me. Yes, yes, it is. Moth silt or flaking hasn’t bothered me that much these last nine years . . . but the possible bat will have to be dealt with. Soon.