Almost Done...

Well, 2014 is almost one for the history books. My day-job became so intense and difficult that I have almost no energy remaining when I get home in the evening for my writing job. I always kept a blog to fire up my creative energy to get me going on my novels and short stories. As anyone who has followed my blog can tell, production on TIL THE LAST HEMLOCK DIES fell off precipitously. I didn't even hit 200 posts.

What will the new year bring in that respect? It's hard to say. Impossible, rather. I will note that I'm getting older and just don't have the strength to do some of the things I did when I was younger. (Such as sitting at the keyboard and creating fiction for hours after I had just put in a full day of labor.) I'll keep trying and I'll keep writing, but production of fiction is terribly slow, these days.

I have made plans for 2015 to go camping, rafting, kayaking, and hiking. No solid plans to take any backpacking trips, although I have noted some long weekends when short backpacking opportunities may arise. We'll see.

I'm left with an old John Lennon quote (from "Beautiful Boy"):

'Life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans.'

McAfee Knob, Virginia. Ironically, one of the most comfortable spots I have ever slept. There was a hollow spot on the clifftop that seemed to be perfectly constructed for my body. I reclined there and fell promptly to sleep. (Photo by an old hiking companion.)

A "walking tree" in Congaree National Park in South Carolina.

Swimming in Salt Springs in Florida. My wife could not pry me out of this place. It remains one of my all-time favorite Florida springs.

Darkside Cliffs in the Wilson Creek area of the Pisgah National Forest.