The Mystery of a Small, Gray Cat

The Mystery of a Small, Gray Cat

  This morning, a small gray cat is slipping quietly through my thoughts. I think of her often, D. C., the cat who was with us the longest. She was actually my son’s cat, but she and I understood each other. She could look at me and communicate that she would like a bite of […]

Tragedy Under the Bird Feeder

Tragedy Under the Bird Feeder

  It was a quiet, winter morning. The sun shone on juncos, bluejays, chickadees, cardinals, and finches pecking at sunflower seeds in and under the bird feeder that hung from the crepe myrtle bush. Nothing about the scene hinted that a tragedy was in the making. A blur of brown swooped into my field of […]

My Backyard in Winter

My Backyard in Winter

My backyard in winter is not at all the same as it is in spring or summer, but it is far from being a barren, empty place. First, there are the winter birds. They know when sunflower seeds are in the feeder and they flock to snatch some of the oil-rich food before it is […]

Waiting for Old Man Winter

Waiting for Old Man Winter

Here I sit–waiting. And looking out of my window on the world. Everything is about the same color–gray. It isn’t, really, I guess–the leaves are brown, neighbor’s house is red brick and his car is black but, if you’ll forgive my saying so, everything looks blah and gray. Is the weatherman right or will he […]

The Meadow: Nature’s Canvas

The Meadow: Nature’s Canvas

  Autumn moves through the meadow, rearranging it in muted colors. As the sun shines on tall grasses, they gleam with the silver of seed tufts. Thistles, whose purple crowns swayed in the breeze only a few weeks ago, now wear cotton thatches. Goldenrod, touched by frost, bows its bronzed blooms. The meadow mirrors passing […]

What Do You Get When You Drop a Pumpkin?

What Do You Get When You Drop a Pumpkin?

  Question: What do you get when you drop a pumpkin? Answer: Squash No, that wasn’t an original with me, but I thought it was pretty clever. When the children were small, we’d take our pumpkins that had been sitting on the porch for a month and squash them against the back fence. This wasn’t […]