Even though Memorial Day is not quite here, this column is better enjoyed before than after the fact. I have kept a letter from Juanita Deal of Athens, Ohio, for a year because it paints such a tender picture of what were such sweet times, before “Decoration Day” became just another holiday — an “off” [...]
“Welcome! Welcome home!” I cheered as the barn swallows swooped in the back door, circled a quick reconnaissance and whirled back out to gather the rest of the troops. It was April 25, the same date on which they have arrived the past two years, so I was really expecting them. Which means, of course, [...]
Why is it that the first mowing after the long winter is such a pleasure — and how is it that by the end of summer the last mowing can’t come too soon? Climbing aboard the dear old John Deere was such a familiar activity yesterday but I didn’t remember being quite so stiff! Winter [...]
No matter how many Easters, each with The Promise, no matter how many springs, each with its moment-to-moment magic, one never fails to be overwhelmed by every big or small miracle. None of our sophisticated technological gizmos can duplicate the overnight creation of tiny green leaves on hedges that only yesterday were bare. Or set [...]
How exciting! A chipmunk on the back porch! And six red-winged blackbirds! And snowdrops pushing through the snow! And robins galore splashing through the mini-lakes left by the melting ice! And a pair of geese establishing their territory, first in a swale in the pasture, then in a coppice where volunteer apple trees provide a [...]
Is anyone else old enough to remember when the worst epithet you could scream to someone on the playground who was bullying you was, “You think you’re smart!” and that would send the chastened bully slinking to the other side of the playground? Today there is just as apt to be a shooting or a [...]
Remember that high hornets’ nest I wrote about in the Jan. 21 column? Old-timers believed the higher the hornets built their nests, the deeper the snow. Well, that nest tells the true story about snowfall here, and every day there are a few more inches wiping out the creature glyphs in the now unblemished surface. [...]
If you are not a “dog person” you might as well turn the page. But if you are one of those who consider your dog, be he or she a purebred or mixed breed, an important member of your family, you’ll understand the ongoing heartache of Tom Brugnaux of Poland/Boardman and Cindi Hamrock of Austintown [...]
As Punxsutawney Phil, sensing that his winter’s snooze is about to be interrupted, begins to twitch in his cozy man-made burrow, I implore you to pay no attention whatsoever to his publicity stunt Feb. 2. He no more knows what he’s talking about than do any other of Mother Nature’s purported prognosticators, with only one [...]
Now is the time to gather up all the beautiful, humorous, thoughtful, pictorial, etc. etc. greeting cards you’ve received since the holiday season began. Put them in a neat pile, pour a cup of coffee, select a few of the yummy cookies you’ve been given, and look at each card and read each note. Marvel [...]
