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...]
Happy St. Patrick’s Day!
Congratulations to the man who chased snakes out of Ireland. That’s a good thing to be known for—chasing the snakes out of anywhere. How did Patrick do it? He … [Read more...]
Learning Southern
By this my fourth winter in the Mid-South, one necessary goal has been to understand and speak “Southern”. I’m not there yet, but locals declare I’m making … [Read more...]
Happy Leap Year and Sadie Hawkins Day
This year is a Leap Year. Congratulations to all February 29th babies who again have a birth day to celebrate! Leap Year is a strange term. We leap at what? A day … [Read more...]
How will you celebrate Valentine’s Day?
I remember excitement as a kid when Valentine’s Day rolled around because schoolteachers decorated the room and made a big occasion of it. We each brought our … [Read more...]
The wonderful gift of words
Last September as I drove south from Minnesota to Northeast Mississippi for the winter, I listened to a lot of Public Radio. One program introduced a fascinating … [Read more...]
20/20 Vision
I’m no optometrist, but they say 20/20 vision is perfect, so that’s my wish for you this year. I wonder if 20/21 vision will be even better. (By the way, did you … [Read more...]
Have your own fun Christmas Book Flood!
Iceland, that far northern climate where nights are long and days are short, publishes more books than any other nation in the world. Their special Jolabokaflod … [Read more...]
