Category Archives: transitions

Search for Common Ground

911 Sixty Minutes’ story about 911 took me back to that tragic day. Sixty Minutes reported that remains are still being identified in 2025. With new technology, more remains will continue to be identified. Once DNA is confirmed, family members are being notified.  Unfortunately, many people’s remains are still unidentified. I was director of aContinue reading “Search for Common Ground”

The Thin Line

There is a thin line between excitement and anxiety. Excitement is a many-splendored peacock fluttering in one’s heart. This gorgeous bird is lime, gold and mauve with a deep blue elegant head set on a slender neck. He fans his long, turquoise-studded tail feathers and chirps happily about the adventure ahead. The Without warning, theContinue reading “The Thin Line”

Smoke and Haze

“Smoke from the wildfires burning right now in Canada has been affecting the skies, as you can see outside. And if you’ve been outside, you can sure taste it.”              Joe Manchin III, West Virginia Democrat Smoke and haze drift south from Canadian wildfires that continue to burn out of control. Air Quality Alert SmokeContinue reading “Smoke and Haze”

Bonding

Connecting “I think we are bound to, and by, nature. We may want to deny this connection and try to believe we control the external world, but every time there’s a snowstorm or drought, we know our fate is tied to the world around us.”          Alice Hoffman I have a strong bond to the ruralContinue reading “Bonding”

Finding Motivation

“We go through life. We shed our skins. We become ourselves.” Patti Smith Why write at all: Motivation during Covid In the past I’ve looked to nature and animals for writing motivation. Spring flowers and emerging life are Mother Nature’s invitation to go outside, hear the birds sing, smell fresh air, dip fingers in warmingContinue reading “Finding Motivation”

A Farmer’s Daughter’s look at Ag

I grew up on a family farm. There were always chores to do. I was more interested in reading than farming. I devoured every book and magazine I could find. We didn’t have books at home or at the little country school. I borrowed books from anyone willing to loan them. My rural schoolteacher borrowedContinue reading “A Farmer’s Daughter’s look at Ag”

WIND: A Personal Perspective

I’ve been thinking about wind lately. I grew up on a farm near a village of four-hundred people. My parents lived north of this village until I was ten. Their next rented farm was south of that same berg. These places were the kind of farms that don’t exist anymore. My folks rented their smallContinue reading “WIND: A Personal Perspective”

Spring into Summer

It felt great to have a few warm March days after a very cold February. It was warm enough to finally bring in the Christmas lights that I strung around the yard during the last warm days in November. All the electric cords were buried under inches of snow and ice for months. John GreenleafContinue reading “Spring into Summer”