Writing this blog is a bit like fishing in a small pond. I can see movement in the water every so often, so I know there are fish in there, and with effort and luck I can get a closer look at one.

And an idea is a bit like a trout: lively and beautiful when new, and pleasing to another sense afterward if I prepare it well.

I actually don’t like fishing and don’t eat fish all that often, but no metaphor is perfect.

This one, though, covers a lot…

I haven’t posted anything in about two months. I don’t remember why I stopped; if I had to guess, I was frustrated trying to reel one in, told myself to take time off, and taking time off became a habit of not writing. I’ve done that before.

In those two months, the water in that little pond has grown stagnant. I still see movement every now and then, but instead of a bright flash or a glimpse of an actual fish, it’s an ominous ripple on the pond’s opaque surface. If I tried to catch that, what would I find — an ugly, inedible trash fish? A swamp monster? An old boot?

Maybe it’s time I tried it anyway. With luck, there are still a few trout in there.