As it is for many families, it’s been a busy December. Business trip to Germany and London, then work deadlines and Christmas. Several family members in and out of hospitals. 

The trip to Germany was a mad dash through Heidelberg, Hannover, and Frankfurt, and then a quick trip through London to visit two customers there.

Though my phone’s battery had died and I was not able to take any photos, one of the most remarkable nights was a business dinner in the Heidelberg Castle. We got there late (in the dark and a light rain). In the court yard stood a single, huge Christmas tree, and the castle was dark and deserted. It was gorgeous and it was silent.

In London, my Uber driver took me home after a company dinner, and we spun by Buckingham Palace, so I took a photo with my phone. Again, the scene was deserted. And beautiful.

Back home, and after getting out of work, had some family time, and time to write again. Both have been nice.
 

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I’ve started writing again. That is the good news. The bad news is that with 7 different novels in flight I’m all over the place…working on one for one week, and then jumping to another for a week then off to the third and fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh all in random order and for random durations. 

One of my major failings of late is not being able to focus. Needless to say I’ve not been able to stay focused for the last several years for more than a week or two at a time on any one writing project.

As an aside, my first novel — Youth in Asia — continues to sell surprisingly well given that it has been four and a half years since I published it. The novel has sold about 4,200 copies, and I’ve donated well over $2,000 from sales. Frankly, it is embarrassing to admit how long ago I published it. 

On a completely unrelated topic, my attempt at growing Giant Sequoias continues…

The Giant Sequoias

Of the thirteen seeds that came in the little kit I bought on Amazon for $7, we have three sprouts. I’m not sure if any more have started but are not yet visible, so I will prep six pots. In addition to what you see above, I added a healthy helping of sand.

As you can see in the photo below, the small tube in front of my computer is where the seeds started. I laid out a sheet of aluminum foil to empty the contents of the tube into so I don’t make a mess or lose any of the seeds.

We only found three seeds that had germinated, but we did find the other 10 seeds. As you can see below, the sprouts are small and very fragile. We are trying to keep as much of the original dirt around their root as we can.

We got the three sprouts into the pots. The other ten seeds we put on the top of the fourth pot and sprinkled the dirt that they came with over them. I marked each seed with a small white rock. Odds are low that any will grow at this point, but thought we’d give them one more shot.

I started this project on a lark, but now that they are growing I’ve been giving more thought to where to plant them on our property when the time comes. Though they reportedly can grow in central Texas, when full grown (long after I’m dead and gone), they can consume more than 500 gallons of water per day. Though we have a ‘wet weather’ creek behind our home, and I’m assuming the water table is not too far below it, and though I can plant at least one in reach of where our sprinkler covers, I can’t imagine pumping 500 gallons of water at it a day. I’ll let my descendants figure that out if it lasts that long…

Ifal

If all goes well, I figure I’ll put them in big pots next summer, probably of the 5-gallon variety. I’ll put those on the deck. Then after the trees are at least six feet tall, move them to the yard.  

Now that is done…on to Thanksgiving and more writing and editing. Hopefully I can focus on one thing at a time. 

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I was also able to get a photo of him from the other side peaking over the wall. 

Mother deer will often leave their little ones behind in hiding places while they forage or otherwise carry on with their business. We left him alone (after a few photo ops), and a few hours later when I went to check on him, he was gone. 

So I headed to our mailbox, which is up a hill past a small side yard that is wedged in between three tall hedges, so well hidden and protected. Bambi was there with his mother, and they were both watching me.

I retreated to the house so as not to disturb them, but we watched from the window. Bambi was practicing walking and running, which was a bit of struggle and made us laugh. He did not have full command of his legs just yet.

When we checked on them a few hours later, they were gone. We live on 2/3rds of an acre beside a lake with a number of ravines and forested areas, so hopefully, they have plenty of room to grow and mature safely. There are also a pair of coyotes in the neighborhood, and foxes, and cars, so it is dangerous out there. But it looks like he made it through the first day or two. Let’s hope for the best. 

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A writer’s life…

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