4 months

4 months without writing here? Well that's winter for you! All  the while we were snowed in, depressed & eating everything in sight, did I write one word? No! All the time I couldn't get out the door because of compacted snow, did I write? No.All the hours of cold seeping in under the doors, did I write? No. All the nights shivering under quilts because of a puny heating system? No. The well needed replaced; the heat went out; the electric wavered; the wireless service sputtered to a stop; the dog died. No,no,no.
Then came the on & off again cruel spring of Martha's Vineyard. Hope & despair, hope & despair, despair & the tiniest hope. The snow finally melted & I had to go pay my taxes. Despair. Did I write?No.
Then came summer. Who can write when it's summer? Beaches, house guests, failed garden projects, house guests whose baggage included much drama & never enough champagne.
So autumn approaches, her gnarled tree branches showing through a meager canopy of caterpillar chewed lace. Insects who are determined to survive by moving into the house arrive. They have strange colors & shapes. I'm certain they have crossbred with each other on  those hot summer nights to create mutants never shown in nature handbooks. The houseguests' remnants need to be mailed to them & laundry continues undiminished.
But today, sitting on the deck, the dogs quiet for a moment, I can write.
The perfect winter tenants have arrived. My house is brilliantly clean. My cupboards brilliantly organized. My fridge filled with foods I've never tasted.
The perfect time to start to plan my last annual trek to New Orleans.

Now I will write.