Just a inch above the ground.

GARDENING.

Gardened for about 5 hours yesterday.  Stopped because I don't want to get so sore that I can't do it again.  Burn myself out too early.

I got about a third of the back garden done.  The most visible prominent part.  Which is what I do every year.  The problem with that is that the reverse is also true --  I do the least visible part last every year.  I have a stretch along the side of the house on the other side of the fence which I keep thinking I'm going to get to, but never do.  It's pretty disgraceful.

I prefer to pull weeds up by hand, one by one, doing the job thoroughly.

Anyway, I hauled out the Roundup and megadosed it this year.  Then I'm going to weed-whack it, then I'm going to dig it all up.  Do it industrial strength.

I'm disappointed in the survival rates in the plants I've purchased.  Some of this is me and misplacement of sprinklers and the plants.  But I think some of it is the plants just aren't hardy.  I don't remember too many of my Mom's plants not surviving.

I was going to see which plants thrived and then just settle on those and subdivide them, but I still don't think I have enough variety.  So I'm going to try one more time.  Maybe do some research on hardy perennials for Central Oregon.  I don't know -- some plants that everyone else does well with, I think I kill just by looking at them;  phlox, for instance.  Everyone can grow phlox -- except me.



WRITING.

Meanwhile, I didn't do any writing on WOLFLANDER.   I remain stalled at about 6 chapters from the end.  I didn't expect to stall, but I think I just overdid it there for a couple of weeks and burned myself out.

A steady pace is a better idea.

I wanted to bring some emotion to these final chapters, and I'm sort of waiting for that spark.  Being so close to the end, I think I can give myself that time.

I have several flashback chapters to do.  The conceit of the flashbacks, what gives it a slightly western flavor, it that famous incidents of cannibalism in the West -- the Donner Party, Alfred Packer, were actually cases of werewolves...

So I may attempt to write those, while waiting for inspiration of the end.  I also plan a chapter on Skinwalkers, which is a pretty obvious parallel.  I'm thinking a chapter with Lon Chaney.   I've done a chapter on the French incident -- the loup garou.  I'm thinking a gypsy chapter.

All these are colorful settings and characters -- which adds some spice to the book, I think.

My local editor, Lara, has a touching faith in NEARLY HUMAN.  I think she's invested in the book by putting so much work into it.  Still, it's nice to think she really thinks the book is good enough.  It certainly got much better toward the end.  So now I'm just waiting -- I don't expect the publisher to take it, but I'm hoping he's positive enough toward it to somehow leverage some kind of approach to an agent or something...

Who knows...