Sun is shining, humidity's dropping, I should be happy but I'm not. Page hits I thought were from Dearly Beloved turned out to be from somewhere in Manhattan. So I've been blogging to a non-existent, nonreading ghost the last few days. Also, am in Chapter 8, "Split in the Family," of the Lyndall Gordon, and reading it is like gazing at myself in the mirror. The players - there's nothing original about them. I recognize them. I'm in a variation (at least in my own mind). Talk about Fatal Attractions. Oh, I'm just having a really hard time today, feeling - I don't know, if Every Day I Write the Book, then Henry James and Edith Wharton had me beat by over a century, and the Amherst Real-Life Players (with imports such as Mabel Todd Loomis and her keenly philandering husband, David Todd) - I'm just having a very hard time right now.

Unlike our quartet of cats. It's been animal roundup week around here. Neighbor's chickens picked up last night for slaughtering. Today we rounded up three of our 4 cats for their yearly checkups and shots. Rafe yawned & waved buh-bye to the girls who were appalled to be unceremoniously dropped headfirst into catcarriers and put in a last-century car.

Oh anyway, they're all back, right as rain, stegasaurus clumps of matted fur shaved off their backs, delighted to be back home.

I believe I felt that earthquake earlier this afternoon. Mild trembling. I was in the aerie, at the computer. Unaccountable disturbance. "Heads up." (Hate that phrase.) And then I forgot all about it until I checked news headlines. Yeah - okay, that's what it was. Well, okay.

So I'm sorry to have to come around to the sober reality-check that a page hit from "United States" isn't some soaring satellite hit over Our airspace, but in fact has more pedestrian GPS pinnings in Florida and midtown Manhattan.

Ah, I know this post is unpolished, but it's very much the mood I'm in.

I should have stuck to my knitting, whatever that was. Sorry Dearest Darling ever mailed the book 2 years ago that set this whole stupid thing in motion. I was much better off ignorant.