Hello fellow readers, We ventured to Blue Mountain Lake, part of the Delaware Water Gap Recreational Area, on Sunday, having not visited since last May when I shared the Flora & Reflections. In winter, evergreens take center stage, and it was fun to see all the young white pines a

Hello fellow readers, Snow geese and Canadian geese are glorious to many but pests to some bringing a lesson of acceptance I hope you’ll enjoy. As I drove to the Karen Ann Quinlan Home for Hospice for my weekly volunteer sing, an enormous flock of snow geese was feeding on the f

Hello fellow readers, Colorful birds against the leafless trees indeed pop. And the healing sounds of nature improve health and well-being, even in the winter. We celebrated ringing in the New Year with dear friends who are both musical. Jim Ratcliff teaches piano, and Ruth is a voice

Hello, fellow readers, There is wisdom in the rhythm of the water. Water is everywhere, including as vapor in our atmosphere and the cells of all living things. During a deep freeze like the one we recently enjoyed, some say endured, ice crystals decorated our storm windows like etchi

Hello fellow readers, We’ve shared the intrigue of two living fossils – Ginkgo biloba and the Umbrella Pine, both living in the days of the dinosaurs and surviving the Ice Age. The magnitude of their endurance is inspiring. And they’ve shared roots beyond the roots of thei

Hello fellow readers, A dear friend, Vicki Johnson, sent a Thanksgiving card she made with a beautiful photograph of a maple leaf in its fall glory. On the back, there’s folklore about catching a falling leaf bringing good luck with golden Ginkgo biloba leaves cascading amongst

Hello fellow readers, Earlier in the Fall, I attended a luncheon for the Karen Ann Quinlan Hospice volunteers. I sat with my singing buddy Ken Roberts and met Suzanne, a fellow volunteer. We chatted about the glorious sunny fall day. “Winter is coming.” “I love winte

Hello fellow readers, Thanks to those who reached back after last week’s story with curiosities about my book underway; the working title is The Lesson of the Leaf. Its theme is maneuvering through overlapping losses that happen in the later seasons of our lives. For some, they

Hello fellow readers, I hope you enjoy the story of Jolee’s big dig, inspiring a chat about chipmunk remedies and legends about why they have stripes. “It’s the only way I could get her to stop digging.” Three weeks ago, after working in the field, I came home

Hello fellow readers, We are one week shy of our 10-year mark—column 519; thanks to you and The Press for encouraging me all these years. I look forward to sharing a new adventure leading to a book version of our weekly chats. So, I will be pulling from the past, tweaking, updating, a