LJB has done her homework. Polly didn't just take off. Throughout the novel, LJB dropped hints that Polly had lost interest in Pickax, Qwill, and even her cats. Qwill remarks in his personal journal: "Well, she's gone. There was no sendoff. She just faded away."

One of the most interesting comments reminds us that Polly lived in Pickax because her late husband, a native resident who was killed fighting a barn fire. Perhaps Qwill's living in a barn brought back too many bad memories for her. Perhaps now the burning of the barn will allow Qwill to rise from the ashes Phoenix-like.

Other story lines converge with this one on the "Barn Burning" problem. Qwill comments that he is tired of lving in the Taj Mahal of Pickax just before he moves back to his winter residence, The Willows. Later on, at a dinner with his fellow Willows residents, he tells the history of his Barn. The original owner hung himself from the rafters, and the the designer of the updated barn followed suit. Certainly not good feng shui!

LJB's educational offerings--and one of the reasons I admire this series so much--are also on target. We get a sample of an absurdist play in one act, liberal commentary on the musical "Cats" and some more limmericks. And one can only hope that the barn fire didn't destroy the habitat of Marconi, the owl who hoots in morse code.