Absolutely no evidence, except....

Mainly sunny, cool, temps 5

A little breezy, and that's making it feel quite chilly.

Our quiet day today started with a mob scene. Woke up to see, out the bathroom window, Lise and Donna doing the garden. Then Wilder and Maurice arrived to clip and shape the lindens. Then we could hear hammering from the cottage - Gary and Alain building the new verandah. And then Jana arrived to talk about Markus.

All this before 9:30am.

I finally settled down to write by 10:30...and finished about five to three. Lots of phone calls too. many to do with Markus as well. As perhaps you've gathered, nothing ever moves in a straight line around here. The latest wrinkle is that the horse rescue network does not let their rescue horses go to anyone boarding at a riding school. The woman who runs the horse rescue network knows there are many, many wonderful, responsible, kind and terrific riding schools, but she and the board feel there's just a lot of potential for abuse. Great riding schools can be sold and the new owner might not have the same standards.

So, we'll see what happens...because I think Markus would thrive with Niki - the woman who came from Ottawa yesterday.

Wonderful seeing Lise and Donna today...that is always a great day. At some stage I went outside with Trudy who was whining to get outside and play with them - we toured the garden and I explained about the damage done by the bear. But also explained that it was something of a mystery since there was absolutely no evidence, beside the damage, that it was a bear. no poop. No prints. I pointed to the ground below the bent metal bar attached to the brick of our home...the one the bear bent.

'See,' I said, pointing at the blue bells. 'No paw prints.'

'You mean,' said Lise, 'like this one?'

'Huh?' says I.

Lise, having been there a full ten seconds, was pointing to the biggest honking bear paw print, in mud, face level on the wooden shutter.

'Well,' I said, 'except for that one, of course.'

D'oh.

How could we have missed it? Michael, Tony, Pat and I all looked, and failed to see a paw the size of a pie plate. It's a miracle and a mystery how I can manage to write crime fiction when clearly I'm the worst detective going. Fortunately My Assistant Lise not only has senses, she uses them.

Now need to send off a bio and some possible questions for an upcoming panel at Malice Domestic, in Washington. Then make dinner.

Be well.