Of a Saturday November in the Mudflats...

Sometimes, music speaks louder than words. So to all my peoples on the internet, listen in...



Curtis Mayfield -- it just doesn't get any better.

Lunch in the mudflats today consisted of a grape soda and some fried pork rinds. I don't think you can ever get any more redneck than that, unless you have a Moon Pie for dessert!

It's a blue sky, sunny sort of day here in the mudflats. Temps right now are hovering around 76 degrees.

Enjoy the day, and be happy.

I'm struggling through THE BLOOD DOCTOR, by Ruth Rendell, after finishing off ICE HUNT by James Rollins last night. Each book is equally interesting in it's own right. But perhaps it is best not to follow a thriller read with the meandering, mysterious mind of Ruth Rendell. I should have read The Blood Doctor, first.

The Blood Doctor









Ice Hunt








Have a blessed weekend, everyone.

:-)

Cheers,
--highlandwriter

Wednesday in the Mudflats...

It's a very cool 57 degrees and windy, here this afternoon. Lots of rain and wind and things -- remnants of tropical storm Ida -- made their way through the mudflats yesterday & today. I was happy to see the rain. We really needed it.

So it's a bit of a hundred acre wood, blustery day, here today!

Lol. :-)

A few days ago, I finished reading Cemetery Dance by Douglas Preston & Lincoln Child. I cannot say enough good things about the book -- I love all of their books. But why oh why did they kill off a main character??!!!

Anyway, it was an excellent read & I look forward to their next installment.

Today is Veteran's Day. Give a salute to your local service men.

:-)

Have a great day.

Cheers,
Highlandwriter

Thursday in the Mudflats...

I'm way over due for a blog update.

Life has just been happening & things and then, things just keep getting in the way!

Lol.

:-)

So, this week finds me much healthier, a shade happier, and all around goodness and wellness prevails.

I still have not made it out to see 'Where the Wild Things Are.'

But, that is okay, because a new movie is on the horizon -- 'Men Who Stare at Goats.'

Lol.

What the heck, I've a day off tomorrow. Might as well take in both at the matinee!

Meanwhile, I'm back to books and books. This week I've been reading up on the barrier islands off the coast of Georgia. All very interesting. More on all that, later.

I've also signed up for NaNoWriMo -- that conundrum of writing insanity, yet again, this year. I'm sure I won't finish 50,000 words by the end of November. But, all the fun is in the trying.

Have a great week, everyone.

Cheers,
--highlandwriter

Frightful's Mountain...

I saw this book at work and just had to buy it and bring it home. What a flash back of memories. I remember only too well reading My Side of the Mountain, and other books by Jean Craighead George, growing up.

Frightful's Mountain -- the 3rd book in the My Side of the Mountain series. A lovely read, even as an adult.

















:-)

Thanks for the well wishes everyone. I am feeling better. And actually put in an honest day's work, today.

Lol.

Have a great week.

Cheers,
--highlandwriter

Saturday night in the Mudflats...

Yeah, well.

Aside from sipping wine and listening to Chopin, I've been recovering from the flu this week.

Oh yeah. It was one wicked event. I'm not much on being sick but, I was out of work at the day job for a whole week. And when I bothered to go back to work, they took one look at me and said, 'Go home and get better!'

Lol!

:-)

So, It's just been a week of recovery, overall.

I can't even remember which book I was reading last -- and, maybe, that's best.

I do know that #1. on my to-do list is to get out and go see 'Where the Wild Things Are.'

So, have a care and a blessed week, everyone.

Cheers,

--highlandwriter

The crow in the rain...

About a week ago ---

I was pulled up at the gas station, waiting in line for my turn. And mind you, it was pouring down rain. Steady rain. the kind that you know is going to be there for awhile because well, it's just thick and steady, rain!

And over by the parking lot, almost under a tree, what did I see?

I saw a big, big, bird -- we are talking seriously, a big bird, here, people. -- big, black crow just sitting and sunning himself on top of a gas pricing sign. Only, it wasn't sunny.... it was pouring down raining.

Didn't seem to bother this crow -- not in the least! In fact, he sat, unperturbed, atop the gas sign. Looking this way and that way... and cawing the day away.

I suppose it wasn't that strange of a sight. But I've never seen a crow hanging out in the rain, before. He never moved, either. Not one inch. Not even when cars and other vehicles went by him slowly, in the rain. He just sat there.

Glued to his perch. Cawing.

Cawing. And Cawing.

It was all very interesting. And to be truthful, just a bit strange.

For one thing, why didn't he want to get out of the rain???

Silly old crow.

There's always something just a little bit strange, going on in the mudflats.


Have a great week, everyone.

:-)

--highlandwriter

An Update from the Mudflats...

Lots of everything and in between has been going on in the mudflats, this last little while....hopefully, I'll get back to a regular posting schedule, soon.

The last book I finished reading was -- Sandstorm, by James Rollins. Not his latest, but still, a great one.



















Tonight, I've settled in with Chopin and a glass of wine.

Sublime!

I am currently in the last hundred pages or so of The Mercy of Thin Air. A book that I do admire, but some pages honestly, put me to sleep. I guess I was drawn to it because the main character is a ghost -- or a person who chose not to pass into the light, when they had the chance to pass. It's a very good story.

Just not the one I would write.

So then, I guess I need to be writing!!!

Fall has almost fallen upon the mudflats. A few leaves escaping the trees, here and there. Otherwise, it's hot and muggy, and business as usual!

Have a great week, everyone.

Cheers,
--highlandwriter

Memory II

Tide and time and memory are responsible for today's post -- another video. As always, courtesy of YouTube...

Maroon Bells, Aspen, Colorado.



...One of the most beautiful places -- and most photographed places. I've been there a time or two, and the beauty of the place is just surreal...

The people in the video --whom I do not know -- hike on to a place called Crater Lake. Looks fabulous. Maybe next time I'm in Colorado, I'll go there.

The river is high in the mudflats. Flash flood warnings the past few days & all. I hope to get back to the mountains, soon -- if only for a visit.

Have a great weekend, everyone.

:-)

Cheers,
--highlandwriter

A Bit of This and That...

This week I've read four or five books -- some were un remarkable, but a few lingered in memory....

The only 2 I can think of at this moment are these:


The Venetian Betrayal, by Steve Berry.

Something about lost elephant coins from the time of Alexander the Great and lots of thriller action to tie the story threads together.















It's nothing like it, but any mention of Venice makes me think of Don't Look Now, by Daphne Du Maurier. A true classic.

And for the nature/adventurists and explorers...

The Snow Walker, by Farley Mowat.














The fictional bits are lovely prose. And there's a surprise chapter set in the Outer Hebrides. Very cool.


Other than that and a few other books that I will not mention, I got by with some fairly decent TV. Saving Grace, Psych, and Inspector Lewis.


Have a great weekend, everyone.

Cheers,
--highlandwriter

Happy Labor Day...

It's Labor Day here in the mudflats -- and well, most of the day, I've been laboring!

LOL.

That's not how it's supposed to be... but, it is how it is, this year.

Nevertheless, I'm home at last and have a chance to unwind and enjoy the evening.

Wonderful.

The past day or two, I've been reading, Duma Key, by Stephen King.

Yeah...

Well, I don't normally go for the horror genre but, this book is all that and more. It's just a fabulously mysterious, spooky read. It's kept me up late at night and getting up early, too, just to see what's gonna happen next. I've only got a/b 100 pages left to read. Very exciting and scary, too.

:-)

Cheers,
--highlandwriter

Memory...

One of my favorite places, growing up -- Cades Cove.

Another great YouTube video -- even better, on mute.

What speaks there best, is the silence.

And the water.





:-)

Have a great week, everyone.

Cheers,
--highlandwriter

Music From the Mudflats...

Music from the mudflats -- via YouTube.

Not my video.

And I've edited out my post.

Except to say --

Love the violin in this piece...

:-)

Cheers,
--highlandwriter

What Passes for Tea in the Mudflats...

Tea in the mudflats today -- consists of Pim's Orange Chocolate cookies, & Snyder's Ranch flavored pretzel pieces.
















The epitome of nutrition...

Lol.

Later, tonight I'll fire up the grill and fix mushroom cheeseburgers and add some of those ranch pretzels to a salad.

Yum!

Tea?

Oh, I forgot the tea -- You do know I'm just having a bit of dessert wine with the Pims orange cookies & the ranch pretzels, right???

:-)

Have a great evening, everyone.

Cheers,
--highlandwriter

the bridge...

The sunlight makes some lovely shadow rings through the trees. The rings on the grass almost look like a pair of sunglasses or something...

:-)

Cheers,
--highlandwriter