Cedar Key Weekend and Novel Writing in November

Cedar Key was particularly lovely this weekend. The weather was coming down from a high of 87 degrees on Thursday, on its way to a low of 32 degrees tonight. The breezes were strong and balmy. No special events brought crowds to town, so it was just the few lucky wanderers who stumble upon the place when they are on their way someplace else, have a bit of extra time, and a lot of curiosity.

We saw a wood stork on the wooden driveway that stretches from the causeway to the house on the little island just before you get in town. A magnificent bird like that deserves to look regal. It did. The osprey that likes the tree near our house was there when we arrived.

Later we sat on our breezeway. Tortilla chips, salsa and cold beer at hand, we listened to the Florida football game on the radio. We don’t have television there. In fact the radio comes in only with aluminum foil on the antenna, and the antenna touching the screen door…but it worked fine for a game with a score of 56 to 6.

After the game and dinner, we took Jake for a stroll downtown and on Dock Street. We tried to get him to walk in the water at the city park beach, but he wanted to chase feral cats instead. The moon was big and made all the cats glow in the dark, I think.

It was a nice way to top off the week. Russ finished the first draft of his new novel. In the photos, he and Jake-the-Muse are working in his office at the computer. He is participating, again, in the National Novel Writing Month. Participants write a 50,000-word novel in November. He wrote his first one in 2006 and second one last November. It takes about a year after he has the draft to get them polished and published, but November seems to be the most fun part. Although he does get worn out from all that imagining and the other photos, he and Jake are resting in a yoga relaxation pose, trying to get their shoulders loose from all the typing. You can order the novels that are already out by going to his website www.lighthallbooks.com.