(copyright 2010 Rus VanWestervelt, taken at Meredith Creek, Annapolis, MD, 27 March 2010)

Greetings. It is 7:13 p.m.

I got up a little after 4:30 this morning to head down to Meredith Creek, where I spent a weekend in 1990 with the Chesapeake Bay Foundation. I am working on a new piece of writing (my deadline is this coming Thursday) on the diamondback terrapin, Chesapeake Bay, and the (in)dependence from/on the mother figure, and I had to finish up my research by returning to where this story begins.

I was not disappointed. I experienced a few revelations about this piece that I was not expecting. This is exactly why I make these treks and place myself back in an environment that is filled with an inexplicable and seemingly timeless energy.

I also took Bellatrix with me and captured a few natural shots (the one above is an absolute favorite from this morning’s excursion; I’m holding the others back to –I hope!– entice you to return to see more, when I share a new one each day for the next week or so…).

I’m getting up even earlier tomorrow to write the draft. Actually, I’ve been writing the story in my head for the last week; it’s just time to put it on the paper.

Oh–and not to bury this little fact, but the journey’s been a good one for me. Got on the scale this morning and, ta-daaa… lost 19 pounds in these 39 days. Although tomorrow may be day 40, the journey continues, like it is supposed to. This is about my life, after all, and I did it to make some lifestyle changes. To do anything but stay the course would diminish the very purpose of these 40 days. Perhaps, on Monday, I’ll begin a new journey, a journey of 4,000 days. And we won’t really talk about it as it’s happening, but we can throw a party or something on March 13, 2021, when it’s all done, ok? Hope you can make it… I’ll bring the veggies and hummus. 🙂