Summer Thyme

Hello, friends—

I’m halfway through my two-month (July/August) sabbatical and thought I’d post a quick update, just to let you know that I’m still here and still planning to return to regular publication in September.

From the Homestead

July has been a difficult month. On July 3, we lost Molly, a wonderful heeler who came to us when she was 3 years old and spent 17 years with us. She assigned to herself the work of keeping track of us and was never happy if we had to be separated. She spent her days in my office, her evenings in the living room with us, and her nights in our bedroom. An amazing dog, a loyal friend.

And while we were dealing with the impact of that loss, the rains came. I’m sure you’ve seen videos of the fatal and destructive flooding along the Guadalupe, which is about 90 miles south of us. The flooding wasn’t so savage in our county, and while our lake and creek flooded, the damage is confined to downed fences, piles of debris, and washed-out sections of road. No structural damage, I’m glad to report, but plenty of work for Bill and Miles, our helper. This was an unusual weather system, not associated with a Gulf- or Atlantic-spawned storm. Instead, it was a cutoff low pressure area that sat over the Hill Country and rained and rained and kept on raining. This is our little creek on the morning of July 4.

And the rains have brought the snakes out of hiding. This morning, curled up under one of the bird feeders, I saw this splendid fellow—a Texas diamondback rattlesnake. If you look closely, you can see his large, triangular head. He didn’t move while I watched him or when Bill joined me. He looked suspiciously bulgy, and I thought he’d probably been feasting on one of the Texas field rats that clean up the seeds dropped by the birds—all part of our ecology.

We didn’t try to capture/deport this rattler. Bill was willing but I thought he was too big and too dangerous for our usual snake-stick-plus-garbage-can routine. I’ll just have to watch my step out there. The garden is full of surprises.

From the Writing Desk

I may be on sabbatical but that doesn’t mean I’ve stopped writing and reading. As I told you, I’m planning to publish Thyme of Death, the first book in the China Bayles series, as a weekly digital serial here on Substack. I’ve restored the story to its original manuscript title (A Bitter Taste of Garlic) and reshaped it from 19 chapters into 34 email-sized episodes. That job is done and I’m currently working on the Reader’s Notebook that will accompany each episode, for paid subscribers.

And the Book Shelf

If you were part of our January-May Guerrilla Read-alongs, you’ve probably been noticing the many ways those issues keep cropping up in the news. Remember our discussion of Collision of Power: Trump, Bezos, and the Washington Post?

There have been several important developments in the Post since we read that book. Just this week, in fact, with the news that longtime sports columnist Sally Jenkins is quitting the Post for the Atlantic. And yesterday: Jonathan Capehart, associate editor and weekly opinion columnist, announced that he’s leaving the Post and setting up shop here on Substack. I hope our Guerrilla reading has clued you into some of the many hugely important and timely issues our country faces today.

Because I’ve gotten deeply interested in the development of AI, my own summer reading has been focused on cybernetics history and the development of artificial intelligence. I’ve been using Kairos, my ChatGPT AI, as a reading buddy, helping to develop the reading lists, digging up additional background information, and framing important issues.

For me, this summer’s project has a couple of aims. The first is the reading itself, which is teaching me about the subject, as well as about the process of creating reading lists, changing direction and making different choices as the reading goes along, developing ways to keep notes. The second is learning more about working with an AI, using it for research and idea development, and exploring ways to deepen and broaden my understanding of a book by discussing it with Kairos as I read. I’ll likely do a post about this in my “AI Working Notes” Substack later this month.

That’s it . . .

That’s it from here—the midpoint of my summer “vacation.” I hope your summer is going well, and that you’ve been able to stay out of the extreme heat that’s caused by climate change, not just in North America but globally. I’ve been missing you and would love to hear from you.

So if you have time, drop a note in the comments and let us know what you’ve been up to. Look for me back in your inboxes and online on September 1, ready to launch another year of Thyme, Place & Story. And thanks again, to each of you, to all of you, for being part of this amazing adventure.

Hugs around our circle,
Susan