I mentioned that I had the flu a couple of weeks ago. Be assured that I will spare you the gory details, but I do want to share what I learned (or was reminded of) as a result: Aside from dealing with my illness and sleeping, the only other thing I could do was watch TV. […]
Last fall, I posted a picture of the burning bush in my yard. Of course, it looks different now; the leaves have all fallen off and bare twigs are exposed to the elements—and to the rabbits. It seems that my burning bush has become a favorite hangout for the rabbits in my neighborhood. It’s not […]
A while back, my bride was awarded a “five-year plaque” at work—and she was miffed. Public recognition for five years of work is supposed to be a good thing. Causing angst wasn’t the intention. The goal of the award was to make her feel appreciated, to give her a reason to feel good about her job […]
It seems that my bride starts preparing for Christmas around the middle of August, looking for specific items on sale and making gifts for others. Even so, “we” are usually among the last to put up the Christmas decorations. While many stores have been decorated since Halloween (or earlier) and neighbors had their lights strung before […]
It was just this week that we had our first snowstorm of the season. In fact, it was just last week that we had our first snow. It is unusually late that these events occurred in December. Our first snow is invariably before Thanksgiving and sometimes even before Halloween. I do remember one year, taking our kids […]
This is my first post in December. You may be wondering what has happened to me—well, at least some people have. The short answer is that I have been really busy. It all started Thanksgiving weekend. Feeling that I needed an extended break from work, I determined to take a four-day weekend. When I returned […]
Leaves Be Gone
This year, I’ve noticed a lot of squirrels in my yard—or at least one squirrel many times over. This is a bit strange, as squirrels like oak trees, walnut trees, hickory trees—seemingly any tree with nuts—and I don’t have nutty trees in my yard. I do have Maples and I’ve never seen a squirrel build […]
After dissing my Maple trees on Monday for turning yellow instead of the anticipated shades of orange or red, I realized that yellow is also pretty, even if not what I expected or was used to. So, I snapped a picture yesterday of one with all its glorious yellow hues. It’s a good thing I did, as even […]
Fall is a colorful time in Michigan. Even so, the colors in our area of the state do not seem to be as vibrant this fall as most. In my yard, for example, is a “burning bush,” which typically turns a deep fire-engine red in the fall. This year the shade is muted, more akin to ruby […]