Gathered Around the Hearthfire — II

Gathered Around the Hearthfire — II

  My guest blogger this morning is my niece Missy Albrecht. The stories are some my brother Tracy Day told her. They are family stories, handed down from generation to generation. Storytelling is the oldest form of entertainment and also of oral history, often told as families gathered around the hearthfire after a day’s work. […]

The Emerald of the Atlantic

The Emerald of the Atlantic

  Green fields of every shade imaginable  could be the reason Ireland is known as the emerald isle. The country itself is small, about the size of the state of Indiana. Population is 6.4 million with a million of the people living in Dublin. It reminds me of a jewel, truly an emerald surrounded by […]

The Fairy Forts of Ireland

  Our bus driver and guide on the trip around Ireland was Bill Mahoney. I wish Bill could have sat down with us and talked more in-depth about the many intriguing places we saw from our bus windows or stopped at to briefly explore. Bill was a walking encyclopedia of Ireland and knew so much […]

When the Jonquils Bloom

When the jonquils bloom in the spring, I think of her–my sister Helen. Maybe it’s because of her March birthday, maybe it’s because those first flowers are so welcome after winter and are such a cheerful sight. My sister was a cheerful, upbeat, lovely person. Some people make the world a better place simply by being. […]

Of Presidents and Pines

Of Presidents and Pines

Happy Presidents Day. This is a good day to reflect on why we have presidents instead of kings, czars, or some other autocratic ruler. Sometimes we lose sight of the fact that these men, elected to the highest office in the land, with all the weight of crucial decisions on their shoulders are, first of […]

The Life of an Old Barn

The Life of an Old Barn

  Arkansas and Oklahoma are blessed with many beautiful old barns. When I say old, I mean those that were built from the ground up, not pre-fab or metal.  It is painful to see a barn that is 80 or 100 years old slowly crumbling with no one to care for it. When it’s gone, […]