7/16: revising

...my thoughts about Zachary Mason's Metamorphica a little bit.  I read The Lost Books of the Odyssey with a student this past semester and really enjoyed the experience, so I was cautiously looking forward to the publication of Metamorphica this summer.  "Cautiously" because I worried that the book would be more of a perfunctory reprise (applying the same touch to Ovid) rather than something fresh.  And mostly I am disappointed (as a reader) and frustrated (as a researcher of classical reception).  But I found a few of the longer stories in the last half of the book more interesting.  I'm glad for them and for the chance to change my mind (but still wishing that ZM had held off on publishing the book until all the stories were equally strong).

7/15: finishing, then...

This afternoon I put together the collection of the poems in Heron Tree's Visual Poetry in Black & White series (you can see it by clicking here).  I enjoyed working on this series a lot.

Because I did my Heron Tree work in the afternoon I was able to head out to Woolly Hollow after dinner.  It had been too long since I'd been there.

Light on the creek:

 Pines at the start of the trail:

7/14: learning

...a new word:  vlei.  It names a shallow, temporary lake or marsh.

7/13: Tilde

...sleeping on my armchair.  It used to be one of her places of choice, but she's circumscribed her movement around the house a lot because she likes to insulate herself against Simon.  Her branching back into this old area of hers is a hopeful sign.

7/12: emailing

...two friends who had emailed me this week.  As email has gotten to be more and more a "work thing," I write personal, friendly emails less and less.  That overall trend isn't going to change, but I'm glad I got these two emails written and sent.

7/11: getting to think

...about collage theory.

7/10: reading variously & receiving variously

For sheer pleasure, for research, and for my "book club" with Chris.  It's a good day that not only includes reading but even has different kinds of reading in it.

I also got four emails--one from a friend, one from a colleague, one from a former student, and one from a former-student-now-friend--each wonderful to receive in its own way.

7/9: righting myself

...after a nightmare.  I had a hard time going back to sleep and then was off-kilter all morning and into the afternoon.  But I concentrated on some tasks and things got better in time for me to truly enjoy kayaking after dinner without even a remnant of the bad dream and its wake.

And as an extra sweet thing:  one of our neighbors' boys was out on the lake in a speedboat with a friend, and when he turned the wheel over to his friend he said something like, "Watch out for that kayak up there," meaning me.  The boat was far enough away that I'm pretty sure he didn't think I could hear him.  And though I don't mind boats coming close (I like the waves), I really appreciated his thoughtfulness.