Author Day
The morning after I published my first novel (16th of August), we set out early for some whimsy and the world obliged. On the way to the arboretum, we rounded a corner and I saw a man in the passenger seat of a Gran Torino. I looked to see who was driving, and there was no one there. It surprised me enough that I said "What?" out loud. Soon after we saw a man sitting shoulder deep in a ditch in a lawn chair with his wife looking down like WTF. We then passed a house numbered 111, and I explained how that was the shithouse in bowling. Maybe not all that whimsical, but not a bad tie-in.
At the arboretum, before setting off on a hike, we viewed the skeletal remains of a robot dinosaur created by ancient aliens.
Image Description: a dinosaur skeleton with its toothy mouth open, constructed of metal.
We passed the meditation area and followed the Woodland Trail to the old growth forest. On the way, Finikin named our first tree, Bert. Bert is a chill guy who likes mushrooms and has a stoner personality, but doesn't necessarily indulge frequently. He lives by a mucky pond.
Image description: a group of trees with a large birdhouse in the lower right of the picture. Burt is in the center of the image, not quite as tall as the others around him.
From there we passed a picnic table and took the Acorn Trail to the Ancient Forest Trail. Along the way, Lillian named two trees:
Philomena, the slender young lass:
Image Description: a short and slender young tree stands out from the trees surrounding it
And Horace, the cranky old man:
Image Description: A tree with a gnarly knot in the middle that makes him look grumpy.
We turned back and arrived again at the picnic table to converse with a dog and his family. After they left, we went to a bench under a large oak, the ground covered in capnuts, and Lillian read aloud The Ladies of the Wood from Chapter 2.
No matter what else happens on my writing journey, this will be a special memory.