Blog posts by Peter DeHaan, many of which are in his book Woodpecker Wars.
One Friday we received some much-needed rain—1.8 inches in just a couple hours; it was a downpour. The following day, to my dismay, I noticed that Robin’s nest had been knocked out of my crabapple tree. I was saddened to see three unhatched eggs on the ground. They had been deserted; it was too late […]
I rarely think back to my time in high school, but recently I remembered a conversation I had with a classmate. Or at least I remember the end of our conversation. I don’t know what we were discussing or what I said, but my friend glared at me. “You forget. I’m not like you… I’m […]
Am I the only one scratching my head over carbon credits? The whole idea of having environmentally “good” activity negate environmentally “bad” activity seems strange. Why not just focus on reducing or stopping environmentally harmful action? What if there were “water credits?” If someone dumps 100 gallons of polluted water into a river, would it […]
It seems that most hotel rooms come with a “save water” card. They request that you conserve water (and avoid other environmentally unfriendly actions) by permitting them to skip changing the bed-sheets. Placing that card on the bed signifies your acceptance of their request. In similar manner, a notice in the bathroom suggests you indicate […]
There is a growing phenomenon of people who can’t seem to survive without their cell phones and/or Internet access. They have a compulsion to stay connected 24/7. When they go on vacation, they won’t leave without their technology. They actually develop anxiety when they’re electronically disconnected from the rest of the world. The thought of […]
Making Travel Connections You may recall that air travel is low on my “things-I-like-to-do” list. I view flying as something to be endured. As such, while my body is flying, my mind goes to my “happy place”—whatever that means. Therefore, I can miss opportunities around me. But sometimes I come out of my self-imposed cocoon […]
While traveling for work, on a Sunday morning I needed to leave for my convention by 7 a.m. To my dismay, the hotel’s kitchen didn’t open until 7. The front desk had no alternative options for my morning meal. I recalled a McDonald’s a few blocks away. So at 6:45 I set off on a […]
I used to be fixated with knowing what time it was. You might say I was slave to the clock. I was compulsive about checking my wristwatch and the more concerned I became about time, the more often I looked. I think it was the dark side of time-management. As I planned my daily activities, […]
I remember channel surfing once when a show caught my attention: “Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader.” Although I’d heard about the show, this was my first (and last) time watching it. Overall, I fared better than the contestant, but then I didn’t have the pressure of a live audience and irksome host. I […]
The undercurrent to society’s willingness to cheat on just about anything goes back some thirty to forty years. It began with the assertion that there are no moral absolutes, that each person must decide for him or herself what is right and what is wrong. This opens the door for unrestrained cheating. Therefore, if it […]