While walking in Thurston Woods this morning, just before the turn that would take us home, Rascal and I suddenly found our way blocked by a fallen tree. It was a whopper, big enough that it blocked the path in two places. The trunk lay across the path in one spot, and a major limb… Continue reading Happy Ending
Category: Michigan Stories
Thanks Be
We have an outlier squirrel running around the neighborhood, lately. It seems to be a healthy, perfectly formed fox squirrel, which is what we mostly have around here. Only, this particular fox squirrel has a black body. So, black body and brown fox-squirrel-colored tail, a striking color combination. Whether this is a fox-squirrel color variant… Continue reading Thanks Be
Thanksgiving
The neighborhood looks different today, this Friday after Thanksgiving. There are scarcely any cars traveling on the roads, as travelers have arrived at their destinations and hardly anyone feels like rousing themselves, even the day after Thursday’s sumptuous meal. On the other hand, there are extra cars parked in driveways and at the curb, having… Continue reading Thanksgiving
Pie Goddess
A friend asked me recently if I had loved my mother-in-law. Absolutely. I won the mother-in-law sweepstakes with Eleanore. She was kind and thoughtful and loving. She laughed easily. And, as a special added bonus, she was a pie goddess. This is a claim she would laugh off, but I present it here as… Continue reading Pie Goddess
Wonders of a Fall Day
Our back yard is quite the busy place, the last few weeks. Herds of birds occupy it in turns. Starlings and grackles feed there, periodically. We’re just as glad they don’t stay and roost, as the collective nouns for the critters, deservedly, are a filth of starlings and a plague of grackles. The birds are… Continue reading Wonders of a Fall Day
Halloween
Our friend Rhonda says the first day she can see her breath in the fall is a highlight of her year. She finds it exhilarating. She must be one contented person, today. She popped immediately to mind, this morning, when I realized I could see the dog’s breath. If he noticed, or cared about it… Continue reading Halloween
Autumn Glow
We dined on the back patio of the Sidetrack yesterday evening, for what will most likely be the last time this year, this being the end of October and all, despite the fact that yesterday’s high temperature was in the high seventies. So far, the seasons of 2023 have been winter, spring, summer, fall, summer,… Continue reading Autumn Glow
Suddenly Spectacular
“Please tell the girl who saw the purple tree that now it’s time to look for pink ones,” I texted our daughter, who teaches elementary school music. One of her young charges showed up with clear evidence of having been crying, recently, and this was not a child given to tears. It seemed the… Continue reading Suddenly Spectacular
Early Coat Weather
In the checkout line at Busch’s with my husband, recently, I realized that I had, as usual, left our grocery tote bags in the trunk of the car. I dashed for the parking lot to get them, holding my arms to my chest as I hustled, as the store was cold enough that I… Continue reading Early Coat Weather
How to Tell It’s Fall
From the time I was a child, I’ve played a how-could-you-tell game: if you’d just been plunked down here, without context, how could you figure out what season of the year it was? Now, for instance, how could you tell it’s fall? Today, I could tell from the first glimpse of the out-of-doors, through… Continue reading How to Tell It’s Fall