The summer fever has broken! I always feel a sense of accomplishment just for surviving summer, and this year felt especially miserable, between the drought, dewpoints and wildfire smoke. Thankfully, the wildfires in northern Minnesota were brought completely under control. As I write this, it’s fifty-six degrees and rainy, and there are 5-6 hummingbirds buzzing around, still not ready to head out for their long trip south.
I’ve got one more big project planned for my native wildflower garden: I’m installing a six-foot fence around it! My fervent hope is that it will deter the deer and bunnies that have ravaged it all summer. I’m lucky to have help with it, and my goal is to have it completed by the end of the month.
I turned sixty-one last week and celebrated by buying myself a birthday cake promoting my one garden accomplishment from the summer! I made a total of SIXTEEN quarts of refrigerator pickles - enough to last me at least through the end of the year. I am the Pickle Queen!
Next up, I want to thank those of you paid subscribers who volunteered to read my brand new first chapter of Oh Mother Where Art Thou? I’m pleased to report that everyone liked it! It’s doing its job getting readers curious about the story. I’ve been working diligently to restructure and polish the manuscript to ensure that the story keeps people turning the pages.
I’m also delighted to have sold over twenty copies of Crossing Fifty-One over the course of this summer. And when I get notes like these, my heart just bursts!
I always appreciate reviews on Amazon, because they drive sales. If you’ve read Crossing Fifty-One and would like to leave a review, you can do so right here!
September is the month of changing routines. Our days are more structured, whether it’s around kids back in school or trying to make the most of our decreasing daylight. I’ve always been a fan of September because it brings cooler weather and I can look forward to more reading and writing time.
Speaking of reading, my lazy afternoons of reading on the screened porch are winding down, which makes me a little sad. It seems as though just as the temperatures have become tolerable, they’re dropping even more. Hopefully there will be a few more of those nice afternoons before I have to shut it all down. In the meantime, I’ll share a couple books I finished recently in the next section.
Until next month!
~ Debbie
SEPTEMBER BOOK RECOMMENDATIONS
Fiction: Whistler by Ann Patchett
I’m such an Ann Patchett fan, that this recommendation comes with a bit of bias, but oh my goodness! She has such a way of writing about people and their relationships, especially families with complicated stories. I love a complicated family story!
Nonfiction: Ask Not: The Kennedys and the Women They Destroyed by Maureen Callahan.
This one is another oh my goodness. Astonishing and very depressing. But yet, not surprising how one powerful family could ruin the lives of so many women. As tough a read as it was, I couldn’t put it down.
I dreaded pickle season during the summer. We did bread n' butter and thirteen-day pickles and yes, thirteen-day pickles do indeed require thirteen days and so many crocks and brine, but oh my is it wonderful to eat pickles all year long. Good luck with the fence!
Pickles in the dead of winter are great ... but tomatoes are even better. Try those next:)