Craziness Is Contagious

Craziness Is Contagious

I’ve never seen a squirrel behave like the little fellow in my front yard this morning. Maybe he was from this year’s crop of new squirrels and was just realizing what fun it is to be alive. Maybe he had gotten hold of an especially spicy and invigorating breakfast. Some of the squirrels munch on […]

Dynamite and a Jackhammer

Dynamite and a Jackhammer

I needed a stick of dynamite. A jackhammer might have helped. But, I had neither and so I was left with a container that didn’t want to be opened and a lot of frustration. Why do companies who package products, especially food products, do this to their customers? Is it to keep unscrupulous people from […]

Whippoorwill Winter?

Whippoorwill Winter?

  Is this whippoorwill winter? The calendar says it’s spring. The grass, newly-leafed trees, robins, all say it’s spring but, somehow, the weather isn’t cooperating. A cold snap usually happens about the time whippoorwills return from their wintering grounds, so maybe it’s whippoorwill winter. I miss hearing the whippoorwills and owls. I heard them often […]

Something About That Mysterious Morning

The day began in a strange and mysterious way. Before daylight, thunder and rain moved in. A dark, damp world greeted the morning. The house lay still and silent, listening, waiting, wondering. A distant train whistle rose and fell, a mournful, ghostly sound. Inside the house, someone stirred. The coffee pot clicked and purred. Soon, the fragrance of the early morning […]

A Rumble Through the Heavens

A Rumble Through the Heavens

Lightning shivers across the window followed by a rumble of thunder. What is there about rain that is at once soothing, invigorating, leaving one with a feeling of being closed away from the world, tucked in where everything is safe and warm? Is it the realization that nature is in charge, and whether the rain […]

Sisters Are Forever

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. […]