Secrets of the Cornfield

The Cornfield in the Moonlight by Blanche Manos The cornfield in the moonlight, when the shadows dance and sway Is not the same at midnight as it is throughout the day. The field is hushed at midnight; the world has gone to sleep, But the cornstalks nod and rustle at the mysteries they keep. Who […]

A Summer Morning

Watering herbs and flowers on a summer morning has its own rewards. In the first place, mornings are cool and quiet. In the second place, being near herbs is reward in itself. They smell wonderful. This past spring, I planted an array of herbs in a large planter. They loved it there and thrived. Sage, […]

Please and Thank You

How important are good manners? Pretty important, I’d say.  It all begins with self-image, to my way of thinking. How do you view yourself? If you have a pretty low opinion, it’s likely to come out in your language and actions. And others, watching, develop an opinion too. Manners are putting yourself in another’s place […]

When You Read

When you read a book, what are you expecting to find? If, within a few pages, you find misspellings, poor choice of words to describe a scene or person, one grammatical error after the other, do you keep reading?  If the author of the book lets you in on what other characters are thinking, jumping […]

More Flowers

Saturday, I went flower shopping. And, sure enough, my favorite outdoor shop had a new shipment of chrysanthemums. Hard to resist those bright, beautiful flowers, so I didn’t. I bought two smallish pots to brighten the front flower bed. Then, I noticed honeybees were really buzzing around the cone flowers or echinacea. Since I have […]

Gardyloo!

  Suppose you were walking along the street of a European town in the year 1650. Suddenly, someone yells,  “Gardyloo!” Then, you’d better duck, fast. Gardyloo was a warning that somebody was just about to tip a bucket of something pretty awful and foul-smelling out of an upstairs window onto the street. Words are like […]