The Ghosts of Christmas Past

The Ghosts of Christmas Past

  Christmas 2018 is past; not even a trace remains–except, of course, the memories and the gifts. The tree is down, ornaments are boxed away. As Matt tackled the complex world of Word Press on my computer and got it back into its old, familiar, much more user-friendly format, Nathan and I took boxes to […]

The Visitor Who Did Not Come

The Visitor Who Did Not Come

A weather forecast promising four inches of snow, then two inches, then a dusting, then, maybe, nothing at all is singularly deflating. Yesterday was cold enough for snow, but it didn’t show up. What did show up was cold and a lot of nothing falling from the skies–not even oobleck, Dr. Seuss. In glancing back […]

There’s Something in the Breezes

There’s Something in the Breezes

  Something in the breezes, as they stir the weeds and grasses whispers of September as the summer softly passes. Can you believe this is actually the last day of August? School is in full swing, up in northern Minnesota, the leaves are starting to don their colorful autumn coats, and I’ve seen a Monarch […]

Stay Alert and Trim and Fit

Stay Alert and Trim and Fit

  You may have read this rhymed story before today, on a previous post, or, if you subscribed to Turtle Magazine in 1990, you may have read it in the August issue. This morning, I got up thinking of how joy is essential in a person’s life and, of course, if we feel well, it’s […]

In Flanders Fields

In Flanders Fields

by John McCrae, May, 1915 In Flanders fields the poppies blow Between the crosses, row on row, That mark our place; and in the sky The larks, still bravely singing, fly Scarce heard amid the guns below. We are the Dead. Short days ago We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow, Loved and were loved, […]

The Ballad of Nemo and the Squirrels

I’m a devoted watchdog, valiant and kind                                                                                                 […]