When we moved into this new house the first week of October (cripes, almost two months ago--the fact that we appear to live in a shantytown of cardboard boxing is getting harder and harder to explain away) I could see that the backyard was once beautiful. Certainly it had some stately old growth, two stunning Japanese maples in particular, but no one had really lived here for at least a year before we moved in, so you could see the sort of soft slide into decay--the overgrown ivy, the lawn in need of raking, the decrepit-looking swing set in the back that I have declared off-limits as it appears to to not only consist solely of sharp snapped-off pieces of wood, it also plays host to a good percentage of the yard's wildlife. The backyard, it's looking a little wild, like someone's going to plant a sign in the middle of some of a deeper overgrowth inscribed, "NATURE WINS." But it has potential, you know? And someday, maybe someone (possibly us, though unclear--we're just renting, after all) will get in there, plant some stuff, pull up some other stuff, put in a new playground set, clear off the stone path, and it will be a pretty great backyard.
That's kind of how I feel about this website.
Unlike a yard, though, I actually sort of know how to upkeep a website. I know it's not really obvious, since I haven't really had the time to do much with this space as of late (see: two kids, myocarditis spouse, big move, book revisions), but I have some ideas in my mind of some new content that I might start to feature, which will take this blog back a little more in the medical direction. There may be some video. There may be some special guests. We will see the return of open reader comments. I still have to work on fleshing it out, but there is stuff in the works, and I hope you're going to like it. In any event, and in the meantime, here are some pictures of from Halloween and this past weekend. See you again soon.
(Full disclosure: I Photoshopped a booger out of Mack's nose in that last photo. You're welcome.)