We can’t be forever 15
Nothing will knock you out of a navel-gazing haze of self-indulgence over rapidly advancing age -- "Wait? What's that? Another wrinkle?" -- quite like...
Dogs can make life less complicated
"For the simple things, I am grateful. We complicate our lives to the point of total distraction from that which is most sacred, and...
Try to be a little Pollyanna-ish
Oh how my sister and I hated Pollyanna.Pollyanna -- the heroine of a long-ago children's book -- was a symbol of relentless cheerfulness.No matter...
Meatless by choice, or by design?
Earlier this fall, Baltimore City Public Schools initiated its "Meatless Monday" menu that includes a cheese sandwich or cheese lasagna or a bowl of...
Grain harvest struggles to its conclusion
When prices go up and down, sometimes without reason, we call it "volatile." When we can explain it, we describe cycles and retracements and...
A new favorite bird to monitor: Saw-whet Owls
I have a new favorite bird — the northern saw-whet owl. Until last week, I’d never seen one in the wild. But on Wednesday,...
Hazard A Guess: Week of Nov. 19, 2009
Each week Farm and Dairy challenges readers to identify a small tool or gadget (or at least 'hazard a guess' as to its use).
One devil’s advocate thoughts
If idle hands are the devil's workshop, idle thoughts are, what, the product of a devil's advocate? Maybe, but one election result from early...
Critical responses to mandatory national service
Last week I suggested that mandatory national service in one of many different fields would be a good way to bridge the gap between...
Life puts us where we are supposed to be
"The bright sun filtered through the clouds, warming the fields of alfalfa that my father was mowing. Within a day or two it would...













