Happy Solstice and Merry Heatwaves
Hihihi hello hey
WOOF it turned hot all of a sudden. A fierce warm rain swept through our areas this morning (RIP my achy joints) and then gave way to summer sun. Just took the dogs out for their afternoon walk and my sunglasses steamed up so badly I couldn’t see.
Where we are, solstice was late on the 20th and that day was beautiful: balmy weather, not too hot (75 F/24 C), excellent for wandering. I was able to find a native daisy and have a lovely time.
But the next day? Daaaang. The heatwave hit fast and hard (90 F/ 32 C). The hydrangeas are crying. My joints have lodged a series of complaints, and I can’t say I blame them.
But still. A hazy pink sunset at 9 pm is nice. Even if I didn’t get a decent photo.
Life news
The wet weather has brought forth all the frogs and toads. This area has a lot of green frogs and gray tree frogs, and they’ve been making a LOT of noise, in the good way. Rattles and clicks and rhythmic vibrations that are just so neat. But we’ve also got American toads who’ve been hanging out in our parking lot, which means we have to be careful when walking the dogs at night. So far Kizu and Sammi have both been good about them, but we remain vigilant.
Along with enjoying frog-song, I’m prepping to move house. (cue incoherent sobbing. we both hate moving.) The past few weeks I’ve been making room for boxes, alongside job-hunting. Next month I officially start packing. In the middle, I’ve been aiming to write 1000 words per day. Of course I don’t make it most of the time, but I’ve written a lot more than I usually would over the course of a month. This week alone I’ve written over 3k words at a steady pace, which makes me wonder if I’ve been possessed or something.
Oh, and given our move, I should probably share that next month my newsletter will likely be late. Packing takes a lot out of me and I’ll want to save writing spoons.
Writing News
My story “Respect the Hustle” came out earlier this month in Plott Hound Magazine. (I’m still so stoked about that cover.) I don’t know if my story will end up live on the site, but the mag is only $5 US for stories by me, P.A. Cornell, Simo Srinivas, and more.
I’m also participating in the second Ithaca Irrealist Liberation Front reading at Liquid State Brewery! It’s June 24th at 7 pm. I’m super excited to read with these two. (Plus, Liquid State is a pretty amazing brewery.)
As far as stuff I’m reading, prepping to move has kind of eaten my brain, so I haven’t gotten through any novels this month. However, I highly recommend checking out A.T. Greenblatt’s amazing “In the Shells of Broken Things” in Clarkesworld and Jordan Kurella’s beautiful and haunting “The Messengers of Despair” in Beneath Ceaseless Skies.
And?
YES. Ooooh, do I have a puppy for you:
(She’s rolling on her back on a velvety red blanket with an open-mouthed smile, showing off her crooked bottom teefs.)
With love and weirdness,
~risa