“Climb up my rain barrel, slide down my cellar door and we’ll be friends forevermore.” A few years back, when I was at Matt and Dawn’s house, Dawn said, “Come around to the back yard, Blanche. I want you to see this.” And there, inside her rain barrel were dozens of small, black swimming objects: […]
Aug 5, 2025
New Roof
By · 2 Comments
This August morning is still and golden–not a breeze stirring and so far, no smoke from Canada or dust from the Sahara. Thumps and bumps come from over my head. Remember the hailstorm that tore through more than a month ago? This new roof is the result of that. The small neighborhood cat is absent […]
Aug 4, 2025
Batten Down the Hatches
By · 4 Comments
It seems that life is made up of one storm after the other, with peaceful stretches in between. When we feel tossed around by circumstances, it’s time to batten down the hatches and hold tight. One of my favorite poems is The Voyagers by Van Dyke: O Maker of the mighty deep, whereon our vessels fare, […]
Aug 3, 2025
Dukes and Duchesses
By · 2 Comments
John Churchill, Duke of Marlborough defeated the French and Bavarians on August 2, 1704. Who knew? And, today, who cares? But, if you were the Duke or his British soldiers at that time, you cared a lot! If any one individual was ever the inspirations for stories of intrigue, mystery, action, or romance, it […]
Aug 1, 2025
Hello, August
By · Leave a Comment
Good morning all you August people (and everyone else). If you have an August birthday, you were born in an interesting month–a month with a history. To start with, it was once called Sextilis and was the sixth month. Then, along came powerful Augustus Caesar. It was renamed August in the year 8 B.C. The […]
Jul 31, 2025
Keeping Summer
By · 2 Comments
“For him in vain the envious seasons roll Who bears eternal summer in his soul.” – Oliver Wendell Holmes, The Old Player Is summer in your soul? I mean the best parts of summer–barefoot days, bees busy in the clover, blue skies studded with white puffs of clouds. I’d like to keep those days of warmth […]
