A lovely Saturday already and it's only 8 a.m.

Well, the good news is that I got an e-mail yesterday from my editor. He read the whole manuscript, start to finish, and he said it was "excellent." I think that's what editors say, when they're trying to be encouraging, and it worked; I felt encouraged.

He said he particularly liked Chapter Seven, so I sat down and re-read Chapter Seven and promptly found an error. Yikes! It makes me worry that the book is riddled with them. But we caught that one, anyway.

He also sorted through the pictures I had sent him and picked out some to use in the book, including the one above, which I think is one of the funnier possibilities. It's me trying to communicate with a Russian mayor back in 1986. He speaks no English, I speak no Russian, so I cannot imagine what I'm saying, though from the looks on our faces it appears that I am inviting him to my boudoir. The guy in the background with the crooked tie is one of the Duluthians on the trip; he is fluent in Russian and helped me quite a bit with my reporting.

It is a curious thing, sifting through pictures of one's self for a book, and every now and then I feel aghast at what I am doing. Where is my sense of privacy? Should I not be worried about this? But I think this blog, and your warm response to it, has paved the way for this somewhat public life.

Meanwhile, on this morning's pre-breakfast bike ride: An eagle! Sitting regally in a tree, unmistakable. A small knot of people had gathered to gawk at it. Also, a heron, less impressive, standing in the water. So ha! Doug and I were both right.