Big sky. Big ideas.

My latest inspirations arrived at A Land of Grass Ranch in northwestern Montana shortly after I did. My friend Lisa Schmidt chronicles life on the ranch in her book Prairie Ponderings: Adventures in Raising Your Food.

The expansiveness of the landscape draws forth an expansion of the spirit. One senses potential, limitlessness, timelessness. I love the inherent contradictions in the landscape: it looks flat, but is not. It looks deserted, but is not. It looks dry, yet brings forth life. Feet on the ground, eyes in the sky. And the nights are so, so quiet, drawing out one's soul in search of meaning, or the stars, or both.

Wouldn't you love to write a book here?

This is my favorite view from the front room of Grandma's House, the original ranch house. Lisa, Abby and I fixed the water supply lines to the antique dwelling to make it ready for visitors. I wonder what secrets and souvenirs are buried in the old crawlspace.

Lisa and I plotted a romance novel while driving through Glacier National Park. We agreed to suffer through reading romances so we could get the hang of the genre.

The sheep on the ranch are an endless source of entertainment, aggravation and oh yeah, wool. I came up with an idea for a new TV series: Sheep vs. Fence. You heard about it here first!

My current project Fit, Fudge, Fine (a nonfiction book about getting fit and losing weight at midlife) is now in the capable hands of beta readers. Special thanks to Joann Keder for her thoughtful feedback.

Next I'll make some edits and prepare a book proposal for my pitch time at the Willamette Writers Conference.