I’ve been thinking about selecting a good topic to discuss this January, but the grey sky, wind chills, and snow are like a blizzard in my brain, obscuring creativity. Some days, when the sun shines on new snow, however, my mind clears and I appreciate that nature is beautiful. Many other days are gloomy whenContinue reading “How to be happy in January”
Author Archives: llzranch
Retirement Anxiety
I’ve worked part-time selling irrigation parts, in a kitchen dish room, and winding used film. My full-time jobs include working for a grant-funded group home, a developmental disabilities office, and a state college. I’ve been employed in some capacity for nearly fifty years. Each job provided a regular paycheck. My anxiety is on high alertContinue reading “Retirement Anxiety”
Water
Managing Without Plumbed Water I’ve been writing this blog to help me think about how and when to retire. My decision is made. I’ll be parting from my employer at the end of November, but I’d change that date if I’d have known my rural well was about to fail. I would have worked forContinue reading “Water”
Seasons
There’s been a little snow here early this fall after weeks of wet cold, and now late October warm sunshine. As the season progresses, I’m progressing toward retirement. I selected a last workday, and turned in a letter to make the retirement official. It is a really difficult decision to walk away from students andContinue reading “Seasons”
Barn Swallows
The barn swallows are gone for this year. They left sometime in September. https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Barn_Swallow/id I watch for their return Mid-May every year in Nebraska. I know they will leave end of summer and think I’ll say good-bye this year. I look for them in the evenings, and find they are already gone like quicksilver. OneContinue reading “Barn Swallows”
Animal Friends
We make commitments to each other in our marriage vows, to our children when we decide to become parents, and to the animals that share our lives. Dogs and cats sometimes live 15 years, but horses can live 25 or 30 years. Marriages end through death or divorce, as mine did. Commitment to myContinue reading “Animal Friends”
Hail Storm to Heat Wave
A severe thunderstorm with hail swept though eastern Nebraska and into Iowa on Father’s Day. I drove from a family reunion 70 miles west of my house, back toward home late afternoon. It was sunny and 75 degrees at the family gathering. As I drove east, the temperature dropped and a rain front became visibleContinue reading “Hail Storm to Heat Wave”
Vacation and back to school
A week exploring western Nebraska and eastern Wyoming ended with a visit to the Dignity statue in central South Dakota. She is impressive from Interstate 90 as well as from this view at the rest stop where she resides. The back of her blanket is beautiful as well. It was a peaceful and fitting finishContinue reading “Vacation and back to school”
High Summer
It’s late July, high summer season for garden harvests, flowers and mosquitos. It’s also the general timeline I gave myself to make a retirement decision. I can busy myself picking green beans, husking sweet corn and pruning flower beds to avoid difficult decisions. It’s been a great year for green beans. This is an earlyContinue reading “High Summer”
Windmills
I purchased a photograph of a windmill in Holland from a Dutch photographer, Adrie Nab several years ago. It is a beautiful photograph, and reminds me that windmills are changing. “The iconic Dutch windmills were once state-of-the-art flood control technology. They pumped water from uninhabitable marshes and turned it into farmland, redefining the landscape ofContinue reading “Windmills”
