I dream in black and white. I’ve always assumed this was because I grew up watching black and white TV. Occasionally my black and white dream contains one item in color—a more recent cinematic effect that my dreaming has likely emulated. A couple of times an entire dream scene is blasted with vibrant, blinding color. It […]
Fall means that I won’t likely be watering the lawn anymore for the rest of the season and that mowing will occur much less often. So you think that I would look forward to fall because it means a lot less yard work. While this is true, there is one thing that I dislike about fall—the […]
Years ago, on a Saturday, my lawn was again in need of liquid sustenance and I was in watering mode, repositioning sprinklers in half-hour increments. During one mid-morning trek, there were two birds on my deck railing. I walked by them slowly, wondering how close I could get before they flew off in fear. They […]
I remember, years ago, I used to like woodpeckers, admiring their colorful beauty and stately appearance, being amazed at their peculiar characteristic of using their beak as a drilling tool to find food or make a shelter. However, when I learned that woodpeckers had taken an interest in my neighbor’s house, I immediately checked mine. […]
I have had a lifelong affection with words. An avid reader of fiction as a child and teenager gave way to becoming a student of nonfiction as an adult. Along with that goes forty years of random writing experience and two decades as a magazine publisher. It should come as little surprise then, that I […]
Years ago, the squirrel population around our home seems to be on the increase. One of their favorite pastimes was gathering nuts from my neighbor’s trees and relocating them to my yard. For years this has been happening with acorns, resulting in me pulling up tiny oak trees each spring. Now they’ve added hickory nuts […]
My bride and I were once talking with a young engaged couple and the subject of finances came up. I shared my thoughts and seemingly gave them something to ponder. I said that most people in the US live beyond their means. They live paycheck to paycheck, are overextended, and one little glitch sends their […]
Although I live in a rural area, my immediate surroundings are not; I reside in a subdivision. Even so, wildlife abounds. During the non-snowy months, I can, at any given time, look out my office window and see at least one animal and usually more. I’ve spent the last five months verifying this to be […]
I remember when my wife and I were building a house. Actually, we watched someone else build a house for us. Though there were times I wanted to help, I suspect they would have charged more if I tried. The early stages clipped by quickly: digging the basement, pouring footings and basement walls, framing the […]
Years ago, my on-ramp to the Information Superhighway was closed. That is, I lost my Internet connection. It was a painful two days. Although I was fully cognizant of just how much I do online, it was unaware of how fully my life and especially my work has been integrated into and dependent upon the Internet. […]