The new pair of maples in the front yard have names, Chuck the Blaze and Flaming Jenny Lynn. Following the great sadness of Chuck's passing in late July, Alison's fellow workers had the inspired idea of trees, and now the memory of Alison's mom and dad lives on in the new life of these maples. Chuck the Blaze is the first thing Alison sees each morning when she looks out our bedroom window, the protective father blocking the view of all passers-by. On her walk out to her car each morning, Alison can greet her mom. And every autumn will mark the yard with a Blaze and a Flame.
Alison now recovers, misses her dad, and tries to refocus on work and school. On this Sunday morning, she has ventured out with friend Mel on a 7-mile run, the longest run she's attempted in two months. Soon she'll feel better about her running and her physical conditioning.
She has to because I brought home a book project for her to co-author with me: Lucy Bakewell Audubon: A Life in Letters. When I was reading the letters of Lucy to her cousin Euphemia in England a few days ago at the Stark Museum, I saw clearly that this book must be. Lucy was a powerful, vivid, graceful writer, and I had not known before how much challenging wilderness travel she did with her husband. She loved the outdoors, and in one letter announces that she has become an American woodswoman. I found reading these letters a truly astounding experience, and now I have to convince my wife that she can do this with me, in addition to all her other obligations.
I have made three successful research trips this summer: Boston in June; Montgomery, Alabama, and Auburn University in July; and the Stark Museum of Art this past week. I have learned so much and gathered so much new manuscript material that I am overwhelmed, don't know how to begin assessing and categorizing all that I've gathered. I don't like to travel for purposes other than family and wilderness experience, but the people I've met this summer at museums, archives, and libraries have been so cordial, genuinely solicitous, and such enjoyable company that I can only celebrate.
The summer travel was not exclusively for research, however. On the return legs of both of the first two trips, I visited Shane, David, and Libby, all of whom are flourishing in their various ways. I swung up through Simpsonville on my way home from Alabama to visit parents, brother, and sister-in-law--also to acquire my father's wood chipper, which I plan to use to transform our autumn olives into a raised road through the marsh to the river. The space around the wood chipper in the Outback my parents generously filled with cases of their vegetables: crowder peas, tomatoes, beets, soup mix, okra, corn--some of which Alison yesterday afternoon concocted into a big pot of chili, to which we added a pound of ground venison.
A special part of the summer has been Jenny's presence here. As Alison said yesterday, this has meant a lot to her because it's the first time in ten years she's had this much time with the world-traveling daughter. And Jenny always brings new life to the house in the form of friends and sisters. Jenny has also spent part of the summer building a basis for future fluency in Mandarin.
The 1826 Journal has been getting some good attention. The Boston Globe ran a favorable review in the Sunday edition, July 24. And I did book talks and book signings at the MassAudubon Visual Arts Center, the Alabama Department of Archives and History, and the Stark Museum. The link below will show you how the local paper promoted my talk:
http://orangeleader.com/local/x670923884/Author-Daniel-Patterson-to-speak-at-Stark-Museum-s-Lunch-and-Look
With the parent trees now sending out roots and everyone home safe and sound, or otherwise settled, the summer concludes. In a week or so, fall classes begin, Jenny leaves for China, and Alison and I resume a work schedule, which may or may not include a trip to Ecuador in late September. We're still awaiting final word about that. But the really big event this fall is the wedding in October, where we'll all be united again to celebrate.
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