Columns

The merry heart makes a cheerful countenance. Proverbs 15:13 As I drove north to Seven Ponds Nature Center in Dryden, I hoped to see Teresa Rolland and Rhonda Kaltz, fellow long-term members of the center's Friends of Herbs group. Our paths cross sporadically...

"Posture is important, and so is your stance, but doing things incorrectly is the way to hurt yourself or others," my father said when he taught me to shoot a bow and arrow. I was eight years old and got a kid's bow for my birthday. I don't remember how heavily it...

The morning my third-born left for school with her two older sisters, I wrote my first journal entry in a castaway notebook. Then I drove to our local library. I could at last relax alone with a book until I picked up my baby from kindergarten. Rather than another...

The earliest pioneers did not attend established religious services – there were no churches. Initially, the families would read the Bible and possibly sing hymns at home. As additional people moved into the area, people with like religious beliefs would gather at a...

My granny grew the prettiest variety of African violets on her kitchen's windowsill. I could never keep one alive. Until December 2020. Dinner guests arrived bearing a beautiful basket filled with an arrangement of miniature perennials, the main attraction a light...

"Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good! His faithful love endures forever." (Psalm 118:1 New Living Translation). As I look out the window there is a light blanket of fluffy whiteness on the ground. With the coming of the snow, things began to feel like Thanksgiving...

At last, our blissful autumn bid us adieu this past week. Then, up from the valley our middle-aged asparagus patch called my name. When I planted twenty-four crowns twelve Marches ago, at the end of growing season, I let some spears develop ferns to turn brown and...

Today’s fast-paced life is a breeding ground for stress, and the holidays, which are just around the corner, often add an extra layer. Unlike our parents and grandparents who enjoyed simpler lifestyles, our lives are so busy we rarely have time for everyday tasks much...

On these late autumn mornings, I wait for the fog to burn off before hen chores. This allows the ladies time to lay a handful or two of eggs for the freshest and most nutritious breakfast known to mankind. As I'd expected with the shorter days and cooler weather, our...

As a kid of eight or nine years old, I liked to walk along railroad tracks and pick up interesting debris. The best score was a railroad spike, but I also collected a lot of anthracites. I don't know why I was fascinated by coal, but I was. One day I was showing my...