Quiet house. Walk in woods with Charlie. A short one. Eager to get to my writing. Day of retreat I have made for myself. Tackling revision, poems of the manuscript. All day, focus and no interruptions I stay at it. Three poems revised. In the late afternoon, leg stretch, brain break, I bike, then swim at Farm Pond. Docks and buoys gone. Water cooler, it’s September. I take a swim around the island, feeling free and strong. Have finished listening to two books: When the World Didn't End: A Memoir, by: Guinevere Turner, which I liked a lot, very moving and compelling, and new fiction, Tom Lake: A Novel, by: Ann Patchett, which was okay but didn’t hold my interest. Started Owner of a Lonely Heart: A Memoir by Beth Nguyen which is interesting, well written. Still, my favorite favorite book of this summer has been "Demon Copperhead” by Barbara Kingsolver and my affection for this novel is huge and lasting. I crave this experience from a book again and I don’t know when it will come, and my second favorite summer book after that is non-fiction: Grandma Gatewood's Walk: The Inspiring Story of the Woman Who Saved the Appalachian Trail by Ben Montgomery which was also exceptionally fascinating and worthwhile. My third favorite, also exceptional, The Covenant of Water by Abraham Verghese. And this concludes my summer reading report.