FIELD NOTES, FEBRUARY 2026

1. This poem by Rita Dove:

2. February 4, 2026: Spent most of the day filming and then editing for youtube, but found pockets of time to stand outside and stare at the sky, something I’m trying to do more often. Ate fettuccine alfredo, drank strong coffee, read by the light of the window until the sun began to go down. 

3. This note from February 5th:

4. These quotes by Natalie Goldberg:

“I used to think freedom meant doing whatever you want. It means knowing who you are, what you are supposed to be doing on this earth, and then simply doing it.”

“In writing practice, there’s no direction. You enter your own mind and follow it where it takes you. We have a great need to connect with our own mind and our own true self. And all of us have a story to tell.”

“Sometimes when you think you are done, it is just the edge of beginning. Probably that’s why we decide we’re done. It’s getting too scary. We are touching down onto something real. It is beyond the point when you think you are done that often something strong comes out.”

5. This artwork by Georgia O’Keefe:

6. I’ve been listening to the audiobook of Julia Cameron’s autobiography, Floor Sample, and have been surprised at how raw it is. When I read The Artist’s Way a couple years ago, I had no idea this positive, motivational person had been so far down in the depths of her own life at one point. It helped, too, that we’ve shared paths, both professionally and personally—it’s making my current read of her workbook, Finding Water, all the more impactful.

7. These photos of our bedroom & its fresh coat of paint (Franklin approved):

8. This note from February 7th:

9. February 16, 2026: The only word I can use to describe today’s feeling is wrong, though this likely has to do with inevitable cycles than anything else. Once the house was clean, I ate a bowl of french onion soup while reading newsletters that have piled up, then spent the afternoon working on the second to last chapter for my first draft. The end is near…

10. These horoscopes from February 6th and 15th:

11. “My Regards” by Maisie Peters. Stuck in my head for weeks now, and I don’t want it to leave.

12. I’m also reading Julia Cameron’s Finding Water, and this week’s chapter talks about friendship and support in our creative work. Cameron talks about how we need support from others in order to be the best writers/artists/creatives we can be, and part of that is listening when they tell us that our work is on the right track (and also listening when they say something isn’t working). I used to be terrible with both praise and criticism, to the point I didn’t share my work with anyone. Now, though, I’m finding it easier to hear it all, both the good and the bad. I guess this is what progress feels like!

13. This month’s bibliomancy: a line from “Small Ceremonies” by Carol Shields, flipped open at random:

“Her voice rocked with such mourning that I felt I must accept. From the roof of my mouth a small scream escaped, saying ‘yes please.’”

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