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

Hello fellow readers, I’ll admit I am not a huge fan of cut flowers, though I find artful arrangements lovely. But I always feel bad when the flowers fade, tossing them in the compost pile when a houseplant gift lasts for years. Recently a story came from a dear friend who bring

Hello fellow readers, What a treat to hunker down to The Book of Hope by Jane Goodall and Douglas Abrams with Gail Hudson borrowed from the library. The subtitle— A Survival Guide for Trying Times. I don’t know about you, but merely surviving seems sad. I like to think of it as