Did you know camellias grow on trees?  Daughter Number Three identified a glossy-leafed tree with big pink blossoms as a camellia when Daughter Number Three and I asked her about it.  She’d planted it herself.  Once we knew what to look for, we saw camellias everywhere we went in North Carolina.  The same was true… Continue reading Camellias

Umpteen years ago yesterday, when Daughter Number Three was in college, it became incumbent upon her to attend a certain number of concerts.  She dutifully selected one that fit her schedule and showed up at the appointed hour, only to find that the first order of business was for all present to sing “Happy Birthday”… Continue reading Bob’s Shadow

Last night, we ate outside in an igloo.  We met our neighbors at the Corner Brewery, to find they’d snagged us a table in one of the transparent plastic domes.  Their only question was whether we’d be too hot.  This is March.  It’s still winter, and the outdoor temperature was seventy degrees.  With the zippered,… Continue reading Ready or Not

We haven’t had snow or bitter cold in a while now, and more and more of the world is behaving as if this is spring.  In addition to white snowdrops blooming close to the ground, and slightly taller, buttercup-yellow aconite, we now have crocuses celebrating in Easter colors and, in the last couple days, hellebores… Continue reading Baskers and Buffleheads

The temperature climbed into the seventies on Tuesday, far and away the warmest February day ever recorded in this part of Michigan.  Of course, Wednesday was bitterly cold, and Thursday only made it to the thirties, but this is still winter.  The birds hereabouts have, however, decided to ignore the cold weather and proceed as… Continue reading Birds, Band, and Blessing

     Driving up Division after church last Sunday, my husband and I saw a happy dog.  It was a golden retriever, out for a walk, that had come upon something to retrieve:  a stick.  And not just any stick.  This stick still had twigs attached, some of them a foot long.  This seems to have… Continue reading Happy Dogs

Last Sunday, I sat in two different places in church.  For the morning service, there was my favorite pew, perfect for two people—three, if they know one another well–on the left side, near the front, surrounded by familiar people sitting in their favorite pews.  It’s comfortable there, and I can see the organist’s hands and… Continue reading Walk in the Light

Opening the door for the morning dog walk today, I called to my husband, “I’m wearing sunglasses.”      “Okay,” he answered.  “Good luck.”      It felt a bit like derring-do, after all the grey days we’ve had recently, but it worked out all right.  True, clouds came to cover most of the sky while Rascal… Continue reading Winter Sun

Dave Rexroth, chief meteorologist for Channel 7 Action News, has made the announcement:  January 2024 was the wettest January since Michigan started keeping track of such things.  The Big Wet arrived in many forms.  Snow.  Rain.  Freezing rain.  Sleet.  What exactly is the difference between freezing rain and sleet?  Freezing rain is when raindrops don’t… Continue reading Wintry Mix

Crunching along through the snow and ice with the dog, a couple days ago, I was startled by the sight of two red-bellied woodpeckers falling into the snow almost at our feet.  They were “at” each other and too busy to notice us right away.  This gave us a chance to watch the show—two long-billed,… Continue reading Birds and Boats