Words are like people–they have interesting backgrounds. One such word is gardyloo. It originated in France, but was used in other countries too, as a warning that something unsavory was about to happen. What, you may ask? Suppose that you were walking along the street of a European town in the year 1650. Suddenly, from […]
Aug 26, 2020
Menace on Four Legs
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I got out of my car. The place looked deserted but as I approached the nearer house, a tall, bony dog appeared around the corner. It growled. I stopped. The animal didn’t look in the least friendly. It bared its teeth, snarled and started toward me. Everything I had ever read about unfriendly dogs […]
Aug 23, 2020
Who Goes There?
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Who comes through my yard at night When all is dark and still, When the only sound, for miles around Is the call of the whippoorwill? I’ve often wondered what animals amble through the yard under cover of darkness, maybe stopping for a drink at the bird bath? Nemo had an encounter with one the […]
Aug 19, 2020
The Menace in the Middle
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Do the first lines of a new book tell you whether you want to read the whole thing? First lines are important. So are final lines, but how about the middle? The middle of a mystery is important too. These are middle lines from my seven cozy mysteries. Can you identify the book each is […]
Aug 13, 2020
Sort of Eerie
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This is sort of an eerie morning. The sunrise was yellow, then clouds obscured it and rain began. Not a leaf is stirring. The nighttime cat headed across my lawn toward home a bit ago. The sky is dark now and I suspect rain is still falling softly. My furry little four-legged barometer is sticking […]
Aug 11, 2020
When the Light Turns Golden
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There’s something about the late afternoon, just before the supper hour, when the day is winding down and the light lies golden and still through the windows. There’s a hush, a silence in the rooms, a quiet acceptance that the day is over and soon the sun will slip beneath the horizon. What do you […]
