The Flowers They Leave Behind

The Flowers They Leave Behind

Jonquils are blooming, usually in clusters. Have you ever thought of them as footprints of others that they have left behind? They are signs that someone has passed this way and loved flowers and springtime. At Ben and Tep Willis’, out on the river, there are remnants, reminders of the family who settled here, set […]

Tough Tom

Tough Tom

Tough Tom the Barn Cat             Tough Tom was a barn cat. He really didn’t start out to be a barn cat. And, the Day family who lived on the farm didn’t think they needed a cat, but there he was. It all began on a cold, windy, sleety winter day. When Chris went to […]

My Sister Helen

  When the jonquils bloom in the spring, I think of her–my sister Helen. Maybe it’s because of her March birthday or that, like the flowers, my sister was cheerful and welcoming. Helen was a person who made the world better and brighter, simply by being there. If someone had a problem, she did her […]

In My Mother’s Bible

In uncertain times, we need an anchor, something unchangeable that we can cling to. It helps to have reminders that people have gone through hard times before now and survived. One of my nieces is interested in learning about family history. In trying to answer her questions, I turned to the place where our family […]

A Remembering Rock

It rests in my herb garden, a memory stone. It’s a reminder of a slower, quieter time, of the strong, good people who owned the farm which was the rock’s home. It’s just a dark rock, pitted by millenia. Cows’ and horses’ hooves have stepped on it and probably bare-foot children have stubbed their toes […]

In An Icebox

In An Icebox

Brrr and double brrr. It’s a white world outside, just enough snow to cover things and a few lazy flakes still drifting down. Temperature? Well, it’s shivering somewhere around thirteen degrees and I feel like I’m in an icebox. The thermometer sank two degrees in about three minutes last night. However, the biting cold didn’t […]