Blog posts by Peter DeHaan, many of which are in his book Woodpecker Wars.
Last week I shared my quandary about my lawn (“The Pursuit of the Perfect Lawn”). Although my goal is to find a balance between my lawn’s appearance and the corresponding work required, I yet discover precisely how to achieve that. Part of the issue is watering. The “use” of water is not a concern. Irrigating […]
Over the years my attitude towards lawns has changed. I must have spent too many hours mowing lawn as a teen because when we bought our first house I was ambivalent about the condition and appearance of our grass. As long as it was mowed, I was fine. It could be weedy and brown, but […]
We’ve all heard about jet lag, that messed up, a disconcerting thing that happens to our bodies after flying across time zones. It’s been said that each time zone crossed equates to one day of recovery. For my constitution, that may be a bit generous. Though thinking back to when I frequently flew, I suspect […]
What perplexes me, however, are the security questions—they are either too simple or too hard. Packing My Gadgets First, I had my camera and the associated paraphernalia—spare battery, charger, data cable, and extra memory card. Since I was attending as a photojournalist, my camera was a requisite tool. Next was the computer with all its […]
Once, as I made my way through airport security on a trip, I was randomly selected for a chemical scan. After passing a gauze-like material over my hands, the female TSA worker popped it in a machine for analysis. To my shock and her dismay, the machine beeped and turned red. This development earned me […]
A few years ago I read some of my past posts on this blog, not for any nostalgic reason, but to see if I could merge some of them into a book, codenamed Woodpecker Wars. Here’s what I found: Though some posts are dated and others are not good, I generally like what I’m reading. […]
In general, I appreciate the lengths financial institutions go to in keeping my account—and the information behind it—safe from hackers. These steps include multi-page sign-in procedures, displaying a personal phrase, and requiring that a random security code be entered. Yes, it’s a hassle, but it’s a hassle I endure to reasonably protect my information. What […]
Many of my friends are younger than me, often by quite a bit. In fact, I’d rather spend time with people half my age, than my own demographic. I don’t know what they think about hanging out with me, but I think it’s great to be around them. Too many people my age have settled. […]
I don’t know about you, but I’m tired of hearing the gloom and doom news about the economy and our future. While I try to minimize my exposure to negativity, sometimes it is hard to keep smiling and pursue optimism. My efforts to do so was emboldened by an article I received years ago by […]
Once when I was working in my yard, I noticed a baby bird in the grass. This is not uncommon in the spring. Apparently, the mother deems the hatching young enough to be on its own and gives it a nudge out of the nest. Sometimes they take off and fly. Other times they fall […]