One by one, we abandon traditions, leaving the past behind. It’s sad, because, although we shouldn’t live in the past, we need a sense of continuity. There is something comforting about following patterns, about observing practices that have been carried down through generations. It gives me a connection to my ancestors. Decoration Day, always the […]
Feb 18, 2022
The Canebrake
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This is a reprint from a few years back. I remember when I read it to my Cozy Critters and they were wondering what sort of animal would begin with the letter Y. Canebrake ABC’s Red ants, black ants marching all together, through a canebrake by the river in the lovely summer weather. Many-colored butterflies drift or dream […]
Jul 20, 2020
Southern Summer Nights
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Southern summer nights–a hint of honeysuckle on an errant breeze, the cicadas’ grating song. From a tangle of tree limbs, an owl asks his eternal question. Past and present blur into one. This could be a hundred years ago, or it could be now. The evenings are the same. People move through, one era closes […]
Aug 8, 2019
Canebreak ABC’s
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Canebreak ABC’s Red ants, black ants marching all together, through a canebreak by the river in the lovely summer weather. Many-colored butterflies drift or dream or flit among tall stalks for the very fun of it. A caterpillar wriggles and a cricket creaks a song, surrounded by the river cane, thick and green and long. Dragonflies a-dazzle with […]
May 10, 2018
Coffee and a Brand New Mystery
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Rain tiptoed in some time this morning. I wouldn’t have known, but it left its footprints on my deck. Just a trace, a smattering, but the sky is still dark, so maybe there’s more to come. A portent of a wet Thursday? As I was writing the Ned book, you know, the one about that […]
May 16, 2016
With One Foot in the Past
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Decoration Day dawned as lovely and serene as only a May day in Oklahoma can. Goshen Cemetery basked beneath an early morning sun. Droplets of dew sparkled like emeralds and rubies on freshly cut grass. Birds sang in ancient cedars, undisturbed by groups of people moving quietly over the cemetery with their bouquets of flowers. […]
