In keeping with my resolution to update this blog more frequently, I'm going to say that not a lot is going on here.
Today I mailed out the last 8 books for the hardback giveaway. Thank you again to everyone who donated to Doctors without Borders. We raised over $5000. It was a much bigger response than I had expected, and I am much slower to get things done these days. But every book has now been mailed. If after two weeks, you have not received a book and you should have, please do drop me an email at Robinhobb@robinhobb.com and we will see what we can do.
It's a hot day here. I should be weeding tomatoes, sprinking fertilizer and then watering it in. We have a surplus of bunnies this year and they have mowed the green beans nearly flat. I put up some chicken wire to see if it will stop them. The geese, my own geese, keep breaking past the barriers to eat the cabbage, lettuce and broccoli. Meanwhile, the moles have been tunneling up from below the raised beds to eat the carrots and disrupt other growing plants. So. The garden is a challenge this year, but it's too hot to work on it today. Instead I am hiding in the house with the air conditioning on and virtuously answering emails and updating the website.
Most annoying thing: A neighbor's dog keeps escaping and coming to my gate. Of course I let him in. He's standing by a busy road. He plays with Molly, they do some zooms, he jumps in the duck pond and then finds out he's not allowed into the house. Just dog stuff. He's done it so often I have the neighbor's number and I text her when he arrived. Eventually someone comes to pick him up. Hours later, but it's okay, he's a really nice dog and Molly likes the play. But now the owner has told me, twice, it's my fault. Because if it's feeding time and I'm feeding my dogs, I give him some dog food. The best way to start a dog fight, even with nice dogs, is to feed some dogs and leave one out. So everyone gets something, even if it's just half a cup of dry kibble. But evidently that is why he keeps breaking out and coming to my yard. So, be proud of me. I have not said anything mean back. And this last time, I fed my dogs inside and left the visiting dog outside with no kibble. That is hard for me to do. It's not canine polite. So. Hm.
The next most annoying thing, because it's my own fault, is I have misplaced my little brown notebook that has my to do list and everything else I have to remember in it. It will turn up. Eventually. Meanwhile, I am catching up on things like, well, writing this.
The Writers Refuge slowly acquires members. We are located at 35617 State Route 507 in McKenna Washington. The building is open from 6-8 PM on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Everyone is weclome to come in, grab a cup of coffee and a cookie or two and sit down and write. It's mostly silent when we are all there, and we get lots of writing done.
I hardly ever do this, but I put a new app on my phone. It's called Merlin, from Cornell University. You go outside, turn it on, and it starts identifying birds by their calls. Even when there are 6 or 8 birds in my yard, all yelling at the same time. It's astonishing. It pops up images, so I am starting to know the names and sounds of all the birds that hang out here.
WARNING: POLITICS
Well, not really, but if you followe me on X, then you know I've been acting like th Lorax and shouting that we should not sell off millions of acres of public lands. Am I totally opposed to the sale of public lands? No. But mechanisms in our government already exist to allow for that to be done judiciously and transparently. Enough voters shouted about this that the senators dropped it from the Big Bill. The Big Bill is still wallowiong through the Senate and the House of Representatves. it has some stuff in there I really don't like, but I'm not going to talk about that here. I'm just going to remind any US citizen that the representatives and the senators you elected are supposed to vote the way you want them to. But they can only do that if you tell them what you want.
So here are two phone numbers: For your state representatives: (202)225-3121. For Senators, almost the same: (202)224-3121
If you call one of those numbers, it's not complicated. You give your zipcode or state and you get the voice mail of the government servant you want to reach. And they you simply (and I hope courteously) inform them of your wishes. I keep it short, with a single issue message. In my case, I simply said "I'm a voter and I oppose the sales of our public lands via the Big Bill.: That was it, and I hung up knowing that would be tallied and my public servant would know where I stand.
The most wonderful thing I've seen in a long time was that this worked. A wildly diverse group of voters objected and the sale of public land was dropped from the Big Bill. All because so many peope let our public servants know they didn't want it. And that we were watching them.
So. There are the numbers. You know what you want or don't want, and you don't have to agree with me. But pick up the phone and lift your voice. It does work.
And now it's just about time to feed my dogs and then get ready to go write at the Writers Refuge.
