Gritty Love

I always imagine how much more I could appreciate the springtime in the country. More specifically, my old rural hometown. I drove up there a couple of weeks ago, it was when the weather was unseasonably warm, and it was so beautiful. The sky was a lovely shade of gray with puffy white clouds, and it almost looked like an ocean--a sea-foam grey and pale green body of water.

I remember the farm in the spring, how the flowers and the crab apple trees were a riot of color and perfumed the air with their sweetness. The woods were bursting with ferns, green grass, and the ground was brown and soppy wet from the rains; the willow trees and pine trees were dewy wet, and the forest smelled like dirt and grass, a verdant scent of the earth.

Anyway, I am working on an article about that very subject: how much I miss rural living. I discovered a magazine called Grit. It's been around since 1882, and the magazine is devoted to the celebration of all things rural.

Unlike mags like Country Living, Grit is also for people whose livelihood is tied up in the earth; the farmers and those who not only love the land, but who also live off of it. Along with articles about the city-dweller's existential loneliness caused by being separated from the land, there are informative articles about different types of hogs, and the right tools to use for specific gardening . It's kinda like Mother Earth News, but, well, grittier.

I have fallen in love with Grit, and I'm waiting impatiently for my first issue to come in the mail. So I plan on submitting my article for publication to them soon; needless to say, I'm eager and giddy with the possibility that I could contribute to such a wonderful magazine.

So if you are a lover of farms, land, or anything rural, check out Grit; both online and print versions are available.

Spring Fevers

I've had a nasty bout with the flu since last week. It's a tenacious flu, let me tell you; it's hung around for too long: the nausea, body aches, fever, and weakness.

Our spring break was this week, and aside from being sick, I've had to work, so it's not been much of a break for me. It felt and looked like spring for a few days last week; warm and sunny, and many trees and flowers put on their pink and white and finest greenery, and the soft air was perfumed with blossoms and petals. But suddenly, the cold was back, and the blossoms were shivering in the cold wind and rain. I don't mind cold, but I wish the weather would make up its contrary mind.

I knew some weird weather was imminent, though; the moon was surrounded by a huge hazy ring three days ago, and the clouds looked like mackerel scales. And I swear, the moon was full for about three days in a row, so maybe that's why I haven't been able to sleep so well lately. Or maybe it's the time change and the changing of the seasons.

My "spring fever" kept me in bed most of the week, and I haven't felt like writing. I've watched a lot of television, and read some books on fiction writing for my class. But now I'm feeling the itch to start writing again. I'll take the writing bug over the flu bug any day, thank you.

Bad Blogger!!

I know, I know, I'm a bad bad blogger. Look how long it's been since I've written a new post.

What kind of a writer am I?

Well, I have been writing: assignments for school, mostly. This week we start on fiction writing in my class, and I'm excited about that. I didn't care for the poetry too much, but we got to read many beautiful and strange poems and poets. Like James Dickey; I love his poetry. The only work of Dickey's I was familiar with was the book "Deliverance".

Let's see, I still haven't heard back about the story I sent out, so I'll send it out to some more places. But I'm going to focus on my getting my book written. I know I will learn invaluable tools and tricks in this writing class, so what better time to get back to that dark and gothic world that is my book?

Well, gotta go. I'm sitting in the library at school waiting on some people from class to show up. I'm here to videotape a speech for my online speech class, and you have to have at least ten people for your audience. So far, I'm the only one here! Shit people, come on; this thing's due on the 5th!

I'm giving them 30 more minutes...

Until next time, Dear Reader.