You may find this difficult to believe, but we actually got half an inch of rain last night--not nearly enough to end the drought but so much more than we've had for weeks. I am itching to get outside and see how the plants are feeling this morning.

With thunderstorms imminent, T couldn't work on the shed after work, so he finished stacking the firewood in the basement, and now I have that good warm "ready for winter" feeling that is one of the allures of homesteading . . . the pleasure of new hay in the barn, canned tomatoes on the shelf, firewood stacked for the stove. I am glad that living in town hasn't deleted all of my farm satisfactions.

Otherwise, I diddled around with tedious things such as "re-up the car registration" and "sign up with a different oil company" and "cancel the old oil contract" and "take the bottles to the returnables shack." It's amazing how many hours such stuff consumes.

But I'll be back to my desk today, working on some permissions issues for a friend, beginning a small copyediting project, and possibly starting prep for a craft class, in case I have to fill in for a sick teacher.

Which reminds me: I've been meaning to get you up to speed on a few teaching items:

My upcoming 2-session class for the Maine Writers & Publishers Alliance, "Sheltering in Place: Writing Poems from Where You Are," has ONE space left. I'd love it if you'd grab it.

I've scheduled another round of "Learning from Nina Simone: An Introductory Chapbook Seminar." This is strictly limited to 6 participants and is already starting to fill. If you're beginning to think about putting together a manuscript, this is a chance to try out a variety of approaches and to build a collegial circle of peers who know and care about your work.

The Frost Place Studio Sessions has inaugurated a new program we're calling the Teachers' Round Table, short, inexpensive sessions with seasoned teachers who share their expertise in using poetry in the classroom and other public settings. The first is "The Path of Poetry: Words and Practices to Carry Us through Challenging Times," led by Ian Ramsey, which is open to anyone who wants to learn to use poetry as self-care for themselves, their students, their clients, etc. The second is "Teaching with Poetry Out Loud: Building a Community in Your Classroom," with Holly Smith, which offers tips on using the Poetry Out Loud program creatively with students.