Author: Nancy J. Moncrieff

The delivery truck was there too long, its deep thrum filling the house.  I went to a front window to look down at the court and see what the holdup was.  The truck started to back up, which added the back-up beeper to the soundscape.  The problem became clear.      Street parking is always at… Continue reading Choreography

La-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-THUD.  La-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-THUD.  Brass bells were playing merrily in the living room when the dog and I returned from our walk this morning.  They operate electronically, and have lovely, bright tones.  I weave strings of them into the living room Christmas tree.  We really enjoy them, except for the occasional thud.      Thuds happen when something… Continue reading Thudder and Prancer

The snow is dazzling today, and full of footprints.  Hardly any of our back yard is unmarked.  The usual suspects—squirrels, rabbits, squirrels, other critters, and squirrels have been busy out there.  A herd of sparrows sheltered for a time on our front porch, leaving a tracery of prints.  When we were kids, we loved looking… Continue reading Footprints

Returning to our house through the back yard after walking the dog this week, I heard shouting.  A man’s voice, with some urgency to it.  Couldn’t hear who was speaking or what he was saying.  So it was with some interest that I heard my sweetheart say, once Rascal and I were in the house,… Continue reading Turkey Trot

This week brought excellent news.  Daughter Number Four teaches music in a Detroit-area school.  At the end of the last school year, all teachers at her school had to pack up everything in their rooms for transport off site, so that work could be done on their school over the summer.  When school started again… Continue reading Good News and Sweetness

Our friend Pat describes early spring as silly season for squirrels.  They’re so intent on finding food to eat that they make poor decisions with respect to crossing roads in front of cars, leading to a sudden increase in squirrel corpses in the streets.  In my opinion, squirrels have a second silly season in the… Continue reading Silly Season

When Daughter Number Four was about five years old, she wrote a little think piece on whether or not horses can count.  She looked into the matter, consulting various sources she felt were in a position to know, as they had or had had, regular contact with horses.  At length, she decided to keep her… Continue reading Dogs Can Count

The Ann Arbor Observer was loaded with enticing activities this week.  The can’t-miss-it one for me was Rob Burg’s presentation on the history of logging in Michigan.  Years ago, having just read William Davenport Hulbert’s White Pine Days on the Tahquamenon, I did a deep dive into the subject myself.  This was during my time… Continue reading Pines, Cards, and Music

Among the Ann Arbor Observer listings for interesting things to do, last Saturday, was a historic presentation at Parker Mill County Park.  A tour of the grist mill at the park, not too long ago, was fascinating, and the weather last Saturday was Perfect Fall, so off I went to Parker Mill.      The Observer… Continue reading Mary Parker

The most interesting truck moved in fits and starts through the neighborhood yesterday.  It was an enormous Palfinger stake truck carrying a load of utility poles.  This looks a lot like a logging truck, only more so, with some of the new poles extending several feet beyond the length of the truck bed.  And did… Continue reading Steel Giant