We went to our first film festival this last weekend, the Lake Travis Film Festival. My wife and I had all-day passes to one day of the three-day event hosted by the cities of Lakeway and Bee Caves, which are suburbs of Austin.

We had no idea what we were doing, so we learned a lot about such things.

We saw about 10 films of various forms as we bounced back and forth between three venues that were showing student shorts (they weren’t so good), documentaries (which were very good), and an art gallery with static displays. We skipped the venue showing music video shorts.

One of the beauties of it was being exposed to things I would have never ever gone out to see otherwise. Three that most impressed us (with trailers for the interested):

The Act of Reading — Ostensibly about a quirky young man who decided to complete a book report on Moby Dick for his teacher after she flunked him for not doing it 11 years earlier. Strangely structured, but very engaging.

Motorcycle Man — A polished and emotionally engaging look at an old guy who can’t give up racing — living — motorcycles.

A Cut Above — And from the world of competitive Lumberjills, a clever look inside a sport and culture I’ve never thought about.

Listening to the directors after each documentary, it was fascinating to hear how much they each focused on the story, and the struggle to figure out what the story was they were trying to tell. Sometimes they did not realize what the story was until all the filming was already done. Though there were differences, much it sounded familiar.

Turn out was light, but I hope they have funding for a few more years so they can become better established and grow their attendance as well as draw in strong candidates.

They really need to step up their student entrants. I wanted to see them because though I knew the average quality was going to be worse, I had hoped for that rare gem from an unsung talent on the rise. Unfortunately, that one did not show up in what we saw.

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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’ve bought seeds for Giant Sequoias. I was impressed with how very small they are, and of course, how very big they become. Assuming they out last me and grow to maturity, they will still be early in their lives when I’m an enfeebled old man. 

I’ll provide periodic updates on how these progress. I figure they will be in the house for at least a year. If they get off to a good start, I’ll have each of the four in its own pot within a few months. 

At some point, probably in about 18 months, I’ll put them in 2 or 3 gallon pots on the deck. After that, maybe 10 gallon pots on the porch or along the driveway for a few more years. After they get to 10′ or 12′ tall they will proably will be ready to go into the yard. 

We live near Austin, and along a “wet weather” creek.  That is to say of the creek that it runs when it rains, of course, but if the ground is fully staturated, it can run for a a couple months after the rain ends…but it can also be dry for several months in late summer. 

So I’m going to have to be thoughtful about where I plant these on our property. We live on 2/3rds of an acer on a bit of a slope in a rural area with lots of critters, to include deer. So figuring out where to plant them is about both making sure the soil and mositer is right as well as making sure the deer don’t eat them. 

Of cousre we have something else in the house that is small…but growing. Our latest dog: a Lab that is now up to 28 lbs. This picture makes it look like it is all in his head, but he is really well proportioned and growing fast. He is happy and healthy and energetic. Never had a lab before. They are fearless and smart…dangerous combination. 

As to writing…slowly but surely grinding along…growing…and I’ll leave it athat for now. 

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