The empty garden, first day of Autumn

September 22, 2024

Today is the first day of autumn, according to the calendar. According to the astronomical calendar, fall begins with the autumnal equinox, which happened at 8:43 AM in my neck of the woods.Today we will have equal minutes of day and night. Historically, we will also have rain, which we did in the middle of the night. Meteorologists use a different method (for everything or so it seems) based on temperatures. Astronomers base the equinox when the sun appears directly about the equator. Confused yet? 

In my area, the first day of autumn is the unofficial end to the gardening season. I went through the garden yesterday (it was a beautiful day to be outside) and pulled everything but the annual flowers. Those will be good until the first hard frost. Tomorrow, weather permitting, I'll transplant a few strawberry runners into the Greenstalk planter. 

This was a hard summer to live through. Ron passed, the garden was a bust, it became necessary to drill a new well, and I struggled to complete simple tasks. Now I'm looking at the empty garden and feeling grateful for the opportunity to plan for next year and a garden that will be very different from past years. Everything will be "new" except for the strawberry bed. 

This year, the end of the garden has created a clean canvas for me to repaint in shades of green, red, yellow, and white. I learned a lot from every failure this year, and with the few successes. Spaghetti squash? Never again! I'm sick of eating the stuff! 

I think having so many options may be detrimental in the long run. I don't need to plant many tomatoes now. Or cucumbers and peppers. I can grow different varieties of leafy greens. And herbs! I can grow all the herbs I want! I may even attempt onions again now that I know about short day vs. long day. Yes, it's a new way of gardening - gardening for one. 

But for today, I think I'll simply keep an eye on my empty garden, viewing it through the window. There's no point rushing the planning today. I'll save it for January when the seed catalogs are available. There's no better way to while away cold January than with a catalog and a cup of coffee. 

Try it sometime! 

 _*_*_*_*_*_*_

KC Kendricks
My home on the web- Between the Keys: 
http://kckendricks.blogspot.com
Visit my bookshelf at: 
https://kckendricks.blogspot.com/p/bookshelf.html

Social media links:

twitter.com/kckendricks

facebook.com/kckendricks

Snips and clips on my YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@KCKendricks

Life through the eyes of my black Lab, Greenbrier Smokey Deuce: deucesday.blogspot.com

My country life at The Hideaway/Holly Tree Manor: hollytreemanor.blogspot.com

Between the Keys, KC Kendricks, contemporary gay romance, m/m romance, gardening, Autumn, autumnal equinox, LGBT gay, future tense, Greenstalk, a writer's life

Manuscript and book updates are inevitable

 November 7, 2021

The decision is made or rather was made for me. The downturn in the economy has a lot of us concerned, and when I say "us," in this instance, I mean the book-buying public of which I'm a member. I've purchased a lot of books over the years in a wide range of genres. I was a reader long before I was a published writer. However, I've done something I'm avoided for years. I've signed up for Kindle Unlimited. 

This isn't my first choice of action. I'd rather support the author and have a permanent copy in my library. But then again, I won't have to return a really crappy book for a refund now. I can simply delete it. And I can still purchase a book I fall in love with. 

Acknowledging that book buying has changed has also led to the decision to list my books on Kindle Unlimited. The number of people utilizing KU is growing exponentially which means they are not buying individual books. I would have never given up the iTunes income in years past, but that number has decreased, a clear indicator readers are changing habits. 

Going to KU is going to be a lot of work for this author. While it does give me the opportunity to update the Books By, About the Author, and Dear Reader pages, it also means adding links that Amazon allows. So be it. It will take time but if there's one thing I've learned, there's no point in rushing. 

Updating older manuscripts is something we should all do from time to time, especially when we have a couple of newer titles that didn't make the Books By page. That I didn't keep up on doing that is on me - and thank you to some smart programmer for copy and paste! 

The fall time change took place last night so my day is shorter. It's time to set this aside and go outside to enjoy this brisk autumn day. I'll have a long, dark evening to work on the task of updating. It may be the only pay-off is me knowing it's done, but satisfaction matters. 

  _*_*_*_*_*_*_

 KC Kendricks

My home on the web- Between the Keys: 

http://kckendricks.blogspot.com

Visit my bookshelf at: 

https://kckendricks.blogspot.com/p/the-bookshelf-of-kc-kendricks-and-rayne_3.html

Social media links:

Life through the eyes of my black Lab, Greenbrier Smokey Deuce: deucesday.blogspot.com

My country life at Holly Tree Manor: hollytreemanor.blogspot.com

Snips and clips on my YouTube channel: KC Kendricks Between the Keys

twitter.com/kckendricks

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instagram.com/kc_kendricks

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Thanksgiving 2020

 November 26, 2020

Poplar

August 31, 2020

Summer’s end approaches, the poplars are first to know

sending yellow leaves drifting to the green carpet below.

Straight and tall they stand in their silent glory

catching not the ordinary ear or eye

demanding not the saw or splie.

Brittle in every insistent breeze, they do not yield

taking the majestic oak and rustling maple as shields.

Only time forces them to come to ground

by branch and limb, one by one, until weary

they stand, devoid of youth’s greenery.

Autumn’s quick coming is not to be met foolishly,  

this she knows in the unplumbed depths of many sleepless nights. 

The poplar knows not how to bend but she does,  

learning forced upon her in summer and spring,  

lessons taught by those unwary of her flight.

Equal to the stately oak, the poplar stands with grace,         

asked and received, yet hidden from those who cannot see. 

Autumn comes clothed in brilliant shades of joy,     

standing firm, unrelenting in her convictions,           

awake, unafraid, acknowledging winter will come.

KC Kendricks

Let us be thankful for many things

November 23, 2017

Standing Guard

Long ago I tread a path
A misty woodland way
I had no company along the trek
So the trees could have their say

They spoke to me in silence
With movement seen not heard
And I replied in quiet kind
Walking without a word

The day ahead held demands
Devoid of mist and air
I could not whine or complain
Or do what trees don't dare

Beneath the ground unseen by all
Their roots do intertwine
Reminding me the path ahead
Leads home to all that's mine



Happy Thanksgiving!

KC Kendricks
www.kckendricks.com

A Touch of Orange

September 10, 2017

There's more than a hint of autumn in the air. Today, on this last day of my end-of-summer vacation, it was a mere 48F when I rolled out of bed this morning at six o'clock. As my coffee brewed, my thoughts were to the effect of it was going to be chilly at the last family reunion of the year, this being my maternal grandmother's family. And it was. 

Cool and breezy aside, I enjoyed the reunion. It's nothing like the reunions of the past when my great-grandmother and her brood were alive. It's sad in some respects but this is the way of world. The eleven siblings of that first generation have passed. The second generation has lost a few owing to the fact that there were so many of them and the age spread is vast. The cousin I grew up with, she and me being close in age, is part of the second generation with my mother yet she is only a year older than me, and twenty years younger than my mother. It's this age spread that makes the family genealogy great fun to work. 

I noticed something else this morning as I stood on my little private porch. The maple tree on the crest of the bank is displaying a touch of orange. Of all the trees on my property, this tree is the show stopper as this old photo attests. 

It's grown a bit over the years. We're preparing to cut down the tree behind it to give it some extra room. It's simply too beautiful in the fall to let the other trees crowd it. 

With autumn arriving early, I ponder the summer just past. It almost feels like summer bypassed the mountain. We're using to week after week of hazy, hot, and humid days - Triple H days. We had too few to even remember. 

Dry? Drought? Burning bans? No, not this past summer. The grass is greener than green, full and healthy. No browned out spots at all. The old Jackmanni clematis had blooms on it all summer long - still does for that matter. That has never, ever happened before. 

Going back to the day job tomorrow will be difficult. I hate to miss these glorious days and be cooped-up inside an old dusty building. Every day I'll drive up my lane and take note of the maple tree on the bank. When the orange leaves finally drop, I'll prepare myself for another winter, and try to remember the summer that never really arrived. 

KC Kendricks

Hump day day off

November 16, 2016

I have a cold. I think. I might be having a reaction to leaf mold. There are plenty of leaves on the ground and I did use a blower to clear the rain gutters Monday evening. I think it's a cold because my throat was sore last Saturday. Cleaning the gutters just didn't help. I not really whining because I don't feel all that sick. My voice is a nasty croak so I took a sick day. 

Deuce is excited about having his Mommy home. I can't say the same for his daddy. The man of the house is fixing food for us - eggs and toast - and he's the one whose routine is blown for the day. 

A day off in the middle of the week, for whatever reason, is a rare occurrence. I've been gainfully employed all of my adult life. Retirement approaches and I'll have many more Wednesdays at my disposal. The closer I get to the earliest possible day to retire, the more options become available. I ponder that sort of thing when I have a day off. I also think about the things I didn't accomplish in the summer recently passed - like having porch railings installed. Next summer. 

Typical of every day, this one includes writing and/or the business of writing. So far today I've recorded a sales report, worked on the promo blurb for an upcoming book, zipped over to LRC and dropped a couple of excerpts for the group members, and I'm blogging. 

This afternoon I'll settle down and work on a story. There's time. After all, this day off is all about staying warm and cozy, resting, and doing what will speed my recovery, and writing always makes me feel better. 

KC Kendricks

www.kckendricks.com

Finally - autumn

October 9, 2016

I love the changing seasons. I love the rhythms of nature and studying how they echo within me. I can't imagine stepping onto my patio to the same weather every day. I would find that completely depressing, even boring. We are all wonderfully diverse in what we love, aren't we? 

In my world, winter comes sneaking on tiny cat paws. You sense the stealthy approach, day by day, until by Christmas you know winter has settled in for a stay. Spring arrives in a steady progression of green. Summer makes an abrupt arrival, like a plane touching down and dropping off a cargo hold full of mosquitoes. But autumn? Autumn is the guest whose presence you long for and who can't get here fast enough. 

The big poplar tree out back is my autumn herald. It's the first to have leaves turn yellow and drop by ones and twos until by October, it's looking a bit bare. Things are moving a bit slower this year. It still shows green which makes me wonder if everything will be later this season. 

Deuce and I went walking earlier today. It was a bit breezy and I needed a sweatshirt, but it was far from chilly. Deuce wore his orange safety vest because, state park or not, and even though it's not yet the season, there are already hunters in the woods. 

Brown leaves are down, and the sky has turned to that perfect autumnal blue, but the maples have not yet begun to change color, baring the odd leaf here and there. It was a great day to be outside enjoying one of country life's most enduring pleasures - a simple walk in the woods. 

Sweet seasons. Autumn's rhythms. I can't imagine a life without them. 

KC Kendricks
http://www.kckendricks.com
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Autumn Wonderful

October 31, 2015

Happy Halloween everyone! We had great weather for the kiddies last night. About a quarter of the folks on my bowling league we absent due to taking their kids to Trick or Treat. Surprisingly, none of the bowlers wore any sort of costume this year. I guess we are finally "growing up." 

Windows 10. I've come to the conclusion I'll never find, much less utilize, all the features on this operating system. One thing I do like is the weather tile. I dumped most of the preset tiles in favor of my own selections (which are few) but I kept the weather. What a lovely week ahead for the first days in November. So very different from a few short years ago when a late October snowstorm wrecked havoc. We were without power for 55 hours during that one. (But we had a lot of wood to burn the next year.)

I'm looking forward to this last few warmer days of autumn. November will bring a chill wind, one that stays until, finally, in April, a hint of spring can be felt. I wouldn't miss the changing of the seasons for love nor money. I love stepping out on my front porch and observing the changes in the trees. 

Where I'll end up by the close of this fall day, I don't know yet. Likely it will be right here at my keyboard. What I do know is the hours between will be autumn wonderful. 

KC
kckendricks.com
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A look back a summer

September 27, 2015

I love everything about autumn. Cooler temps, cleaner air, beautiful colors. I get energized by autumn. It's usually the time of year we do a lot of home and garden projects. Note the word "usually." This year was very different, and I say that with gratitude. As of yesterday, we crossed off another major item on our To Do List and now we will enjoy the fall with little to do except sit on the patio or a porch and sip a beverage. 

The projects began back in May with another visit by the tree trimmers and then swapping out a tub for a walk-in shower. It was a necessity for the man of the house and I confess I wasn't sure I was going to like it. I knew I'd adjust but after four months I admit I rather like it. I'd thought I'd have to get a smaller dog, one I could wash in the kitchen sink, but with the walk in shower another Lab is possible. Yes, if any dog wants to sleep on the bed, they must be bathed on a regular basis. 

The shower was quickly followed by new shingles on the shed roof, removal of the roof ridge vent on the house and repairing the roof (no more leaks! and no more fucking ridge vents EVER!), new gutters and downspouts, a new sliding glass door for the sunroom, composite deck boards on both front decks, burying a discharge pipe to carry rainwater father away from the house and down the hill, painting the trim on the shed, and lastly, painting the house shutters. 

Oh, and don't forget setting up the pool and then taking the pool down. And buying another Charger. And the man's cataract surgeries. 

No wonder I'm tired! 

Surprise! 

My slush fund is down thousands and I don't mind a bit. The money was well spent. Yesterday morning we enjoyed our coffee on the sunroom porch and agreed that, come next summer, we won't have a lot to do. Of course, we know that living in the woods is full of surprises. Mother Nature can drop a surprise big limb in your front yard while you're in the middle of composing a blog. 

Next summer will surely bring something. Thankfully, the slush fund should have time to recover by then. And with any luck, we'll be recovered, too.  

KC Kendricks
www.kckendricks.com
www.twitter.com/kckendricks

Autumn breaks

November 1, 2014

It's hard to image it being the first of November already. I find the wisdom of my elders to be painfully true. The older I get the faster the days go by. It seems like only a blink of the eye since the biting cold of last January. But it is November and lovely autumn's days have reached the breaking point. It's a quick slide into winter from here. 

There's an old song by Al Stewart with a line that sticks in my mind about "in a country where they turn back time." Tonight most of us in the States set our clocks back an hour. Do we really gain anything? Of course not. The length of each day is unchanged. 

Now it will be dark when I leave home in the morning and dark when I arrive back home. I do not see this as advantageous when it will trap me inside except for an all too brief lunch break. Retirement, anyone? 

My countdown clock now sits at 1,580 days. Aren't those little phone apps fun?! Will the date ever move forward? I hope so. I'm diligently saving my pennies in anticipation of becoming a full-time writer and the lady of my "manor."  At the same time I'm leaving myself open to all possibilities. Maybe just being able to leave the workforce when I choose is what I'm really looking forward to. That day will be a game changer in so many ways.  But I digress...

This morning we (the spousal unit and myself) hopped in the pickup and took an accumulated load of scrap metal to the scrapper. I'm happy to have the "crap" removed from the darkest corner of the shed and I'm sure those family members who took advantage of the opportunity to toss a few things in on the load were happy not to have to deal with it themselves. We decided to take the scenic route to our destination and it's obvious that in just a few days the trees will be bare. I used to mourn the passing of autumn but I've learned even bleak winter holds beauty. 

And so enough musing for today. I have a few chores to finish, a chapter to finish writing, and a bottle of wine chilling. Long about dark we're taking our glasses to the den and spending an hour or so enjoying the warmth of a fire in the wood stove. We'll call it practice for the colder evenings ahead. They will surely come.

KC
http://www.kckendricks.com

How to Celebrate Anniversaries (or not)

October 12, 2014

Autumn is here. I took a stroll along familiar paths and it's easy to discern the signs that winter will be here early. Many of my neighbors must think so, too. The sound of chainsaws echo off every hillside as they lay in firewood. We overstocked last year so we aren't adding to the cacophony of buzzing sounds. 

Today marks a few passages in time for me and the family. It's just part of the progression of days to me but some folks get excited about it. I mark it on my calendar, but it's just another day. I think anniversaries meant much more when they were new(er). 

Give me the Hallmark card and let's get on with it. 

A different event in our day happens this afternoon. The youngest of my beloved's grandsons will receive an achievement award and we've been invited to attend the ceremony. This is nothing new being he's the fourth grandson to get this same award, but we will go and applaud his success. 

Personally, I think his real success has been surviving the "lessons" of his older brothers, but I digress...

Read more about our first attendance at one of these events in the "How it's not nice to prank your kids" blog entry. I still think about that day and laugh. 

***

On the writing front, I finally finished Ace, Deuce, Trey, the third installment in the Ian Coulter's Amethyst Cove series. I spent most of the summer tinkering with the story and then decided the old writer's adage was applicable: I wrote the story for me. So it's a long story and the characters act like who I really want them to be. Look for Ace, Deuce, Trey in December 2014. That gives you time to read Double Deuce and then Deuce of Diamonds so you're all caught up on the action. 

I've got two new stand-alone stories underway. Those ideas interfered with completing Ace, Deuce, Trey in a more timely fashion, but that's the life of a writer. New "voices" can be very persistent when they pop up. One of the stories has a March 1, 2015, submission deadline at Amber Quill/Amber Allure so I can take my time, but it's best if I get it finished early. It will be part of a PAX next year. 

The other came about when I realized the title I'd given a blog was a perfect title/idea for a book. So I changed the blog title and banged out the first 3500 words of the story. It's waiting for me to get over this busy weekend and settle down to writing again. The dark winter evenings are good for writing provided one can overcome the urge to hibernate. 

And so it goes this brisk autumn morning. I think I'll go bake something. It seems like the thing to do to warm up the house. Pumpkin spice cookies, anyone?

KC Kendricks
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The Passing of September

September 28, 2014

I recall mentioning I thought September would be a busy month. Looking back, I was being a bit naive. The month was busy. It was hectic and I may have brought it on myself. You know the old saying "be careful what you wish for" don't you? I think the universe misunderstood my blog post and thought I needed even more to do. 

This September brought sadness to a day which should have been celebrated. My young cousin passed the day of his second wedding anniversary without his bride, who left this life this past June. There is little any of us can do to ease his grief except stand with him, and this we willingly do. 

We did accomplish much of the outside work. Flower pots and beds are cleared, patio furniture is stored in the shed for the winter, the little pool is rolled up and put away for next year, and a new drainage ditch is dug behind the house. There are two cords of split firewood at the ready. Yes, we did a lot of hard work but looking back it feels more like accomplishment than chore. 

On the writing front..... things have been weird on the writing front. Refer to my statement above about being careful what you wish for. I wanted to spread the KC Kendricks brand, the theory being readers who never heard of me would buy a book and then go looking for my backlist. Sounds reasonable, does it not? So I submitted to the industry acknowledged largest epublisher. Won't do that again... It's been supremely interesting and alarmingly educational. 

The latest installment in Ian Coulter's Amethyst Cove is almost complete. In fact, I should be working on that manuscript right now instead of blogging. (I'm letting my brain rest.) An idea for another story hit me and I banged out about 3K on it while the opening was fresh in my mind. I'm never out of ideas, just time. 

So now I'll leave you with a little promo - Dreams to Sell, book eight of the Men of Marionville series is available. It's a story about a guy who falls for the Realtor who sells him his dream house. I enjoy writing characters who have some maturity about their relationships. 

That's about it on this last Sunday in September 2014. I'm going into the writing cave. It's safe there. See you on the other side! 

KC

http://www.kckendricks.com

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O is for the Orange Maple in Fall

April 17, 2014

2014 A to Z Blog Challenge

A Rural Life

Day 16

O is for the Orange Maple in Fall

Welcome to my corner of the A to Z Blogging Challenge. 

This year, 2014, I’ve chosen the theme, “A Rural Life.” I’m so blessed to live in rural America, close to nature. Big cities aren’t that far away by car so I’ve got the best of both worlds. Just like life, this year is turning out to be a mix-up - a wonderful combination of this and that all rolled into one that may seem chaotic on the surface but blends together to create the whole.

*_*_*_*

It’s an old adage we know well - “A picture is worth a thousand words.” Sometimes it’s true. So while it’s barely spring in my corner of the world, I’m giving you a taste of autumn as it has appeared from my front porch for each of the last thirty years.

This beautiful tree is the herald of fall in my yard. It's a little taller and broader now since this picture was taken, but its vivid fall color sets my heart alight with joy every fall.

O is for the Orange Maple that crowns the tiny rise in my front yard.

_*_*_*_

You didn’t really think you’d get away without a brief book promo, did you?

O is also for OPEN ROADS. For more information please visit my website at

https://kckendricks.blogspot.com/p/open-roads-by-kc-kendricks.html

KC Kendricks

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The Road Less Taken - Robert Frost

October 23, 2013

 

I have always loved The Road Less Taken by Robert Frost. Like the fellow in the poem, I find a long walk through the woods both invigorating and peaceful. I'm fortunate to live in a rural area surrounded by woods. I can choose a path for a morning walk and know mine are first feet to travel the road that day.

 

The autumn colors are slow in arriving this year, but by Saturday I expect to be able to walk the old paths and enjoy the fall woods. If I don't do it this coming weekend, I may have to wait a year. And like the poet, I may never pass this way again so now is the time.

 

Here's my favorite poem. Enjoy!

 

The Road Less Taken - Robert Frost

 

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,

And sorry I could not travel both

And be one traveler, long I stood

And looked down one as far as I could

To where it bent in the undergrowth;

 

Then took the other, as just as fair,

And having perhaps the better claim,

Because it was grassy and wanted wear;

Though as for that the passing there

Had worn them really about the same,

 

And both that morning equally lay

In leaves no step had trodden black.

Oh, I kept the first for another day!

Yet knowing how way leads on to way,

I doubted if I should ever come back.

 

I shall be telling this with a sigh

Somewhere ages and ages hence:

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—

I took the one less traveled by,

And that has made all the difference.

 

 

KC Kendricks

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