And Additional Recent Goings-On

When I found out on July 1st that my departure date had been postponed again, I thought there might be an opportunity to join the Southampton Writers Conference. The dates fit perfectly! I had noticed it in March but July seemed too far off at the time for me to apply. I emailed and called them, printed out a writing sample, biked over to the SUNY Stony Brook Southampton campus with my application. Alas, it is full. After all of those University of Chicago courses that were cancelled or lightly-attended! Well, it’s good to know some segment of the economy isn’t hurting. It’s okay – I think it would have made for a stressful last couple of weeks – but now I will apply early next year; if I get a job/move/something else, I’m only out the application fee (and maybe a deposit). Actually, it’s more than okay – friends and family will be here next week, and I wouldn’t have had much time to spend with them. In fact, this might be my last day of solitude – perhaps for months! And it’s also okay because I am not sure I am in the frame of mind for a workshop where my writing would be critiqued. I’d love to learn more about crafting, and I think the lectures could be inspiring, but (there are no coincidences) while I was waiting to hear one way or the other I just happened to read the past two New Yorker fiction issues. In one, there was an essay about the evolution of writing programs, and the description of the workshop process sounded potentially ego-bruising. In another, there was a cartoon about Santa’s Workshop, in which he was told he needed something more than, “Ho ho ho” in Act II. Yep, maybe next year. I had a chance to get some extra writing in anyway – I found out that I passed the Foreign Service Officer written test, and the next step was to write some essays. The questions were different from those asked last year so I couldn’t just adapt what I wrote then; these essays were all-new!


Biking to the SUNY Stony Brook Southampton campus was good, though – it occurred to me that I could bike farther than just into Southampton Village and along the beach and bay. I biked to Sagaponack (about eight miles away) to visit the Madoo Conservancy, which has been called, “one of the ten best gardens in America.” It was indeed beautiful, but for me the place itself was overshadowed by the thrill of the bike ride. Yesterday's post included a pic of the Southampton Rose Garden, near the library, by the way.


Another place I had read about is Conscience Point, the spot where the first English settlers landed in 1640; my sister and I went up there this past weekend. There’s a trail and a rock with a plaque – and a spot to contemplate what it must have been like for both the colonists and the people who were already here before they arrived.


We then went to a nearby National Wildlife Refuge – took a nice walk and saw, among other things, these wild turkeys!


And on the subject of birds (Amy will like this!) – near the house there is a piping plover nest. Earlier this week they were putting up additional fencing, because the eggs were about to hatch. The plover is endangered, and they don’t want cars crushing the babies. They walk to get food – the mother doesn’t bring it back to them – and after about a month they can fly. I mentioned that I picked up trash, and the environmental scientist told me that that’s a good thing; trash attracts predators. But there are still so many – feral cats, foxes, raccoons and more – I hope those little birdies make it. Two hatched yesterday - they are adorable.


We also went to one of the public events of the Southampton Writers Conference – Julie Andrews and her daughter were discussing and reading from their latest collaboration, a collection of their favorite poems, songs and lullabies. So I learned more about crafting and felt inspired after all – with a much smaller investment of time and money. And I played some Rummikub with my brother-in-law, no nieces required (though we are all looking forward to their return from camp!).

I also had another chance to bike to SUNY Stony Brook Southampton – for Hamptons Collegiate Baseball, a class-A-equivalent wooden-bat summer league. I was in Manhattan on Tuesday when the Southampton Breakers no-hit the North Fork Ospreys; I still haven’t seen a no-hitter. But maybe I saw some future major leaguers! This is the second year of baseball on the East End and the first year for the team. The short season is ending soon – I went just in time!