At age five, exploring my Great Aunt’s Pearl’s farm on the Oregon coast one summer, I somehow got locked inside her pen of prize peacocks. They were beautiful. I … [Read more...]
Prolonged isolation—getting to know the places we live, our communities, and ourselves
Eight years ago I used my retirement savings to buy a 41-acre farm with a well, 4-bedroom home, three metal outbuildings, apple trees, a tree house, and … [Read more...]
How much is enough?
I did not fly yesterday from friends in Copenhagen to friends in Seville, Spain as planned. Hopefully that can be rescheduled in happier times. COVID remains a … [Read more...]
We have all lost something
gregoryhayes.photography Dealing with COVID was bad enough, but I’ve held today’s prepared blog to write about Minneapolis instead, the city where I joined family … [Read more...]
WONDER and Discover!
It happened to Isaac Newton when an apple fell on his head. (Has an apple ever fallen on yours?) If so, I hope that like Isaac you WONDERED why it fell … [Read more...]
Waiting for spring to stay and COVID to leave
This is the fourth year I’ve wintered in the warmer mid-South in northeastern Mississippi near its borders with Tennessee and Alabama. The people are sweet and … [Read more...]
Cooking and Eating Southern
Photo credit to Patricia Preston from her tasty, humorous cook book available on Amazon, Darlene's Redneck Recipes Cooking and Eating Southern--Mustard Greens, … [Read more...]
Happy (usually) Income Tax Day
The Middle Ages faced health crises, too. Bubonic Plague doctors wore masks with bird-like beaks to protect them from diseases that they began to understand were … [Read more...]
Things learned while sheltering in place alone on the small Minnesota farm I’ve owned for eight years
• China pheasants live in this yard, adding bright color, distinctive cries, and leaving colorful feathers I sometimes make into earrings for friends. • A … [Read more...]
Happiness is a choice.
Happiness is a choice. Like picking fruit. You reach up to find the choicest piece, twist it from its stem, and make it yours. Pick as much as you like, to eat or … [Read more...]