The hogs are with us again. They have been with us since De Soto brought them here for food in the 1500s. In the early 1900s, Russian boars imported for sport escaped hunting preserves and bred with De Soto’s legacy and the free-ranging feral pigs of regional farmers. The cross turned survivors into thrivers, creating … More To Sweat Like A Pig
Dumb as a box of rocks. A few fries short of a Happy Meal. Half a bubble off plumb. You can’t fix stupid. When I hear some of the humorous and colloquial expressions we have for people prone to ill-considered actions, it evokes the memory of a story my dad liked to tell about his … More Two Bricks Shy Of A Load
We allow ourselves some satisfaction in knowing how to make things and fix them when they break. We know how to grow food and preserve it, and though the tomatoes in the garden down the hill might cost a king’s ransom in labor, the cost is offset by the health benefits of pushing a wheelbarrow … More Facing The Future
The floor of the forest is decorated by fallen petals of vigorously blooming mountain laurels, lifting the gloom of gray and green days soaked in air that wets your face without rain. A hummingbird feeds outside the kitchen window and I move slowly, trying not to disturb her breakfast. Beneath the umbrage of dark clouds … More Toasting The Good Old Days
“Ne praesumas de crastino die, sed age recte hodie.” (Presume not upon tomorrow, but act rightly today.) The word “presume” is from the Latin praesumere, which means to “take in advance.” We use the word to mean assuming something is desirable or true based on probability, such as “I won’t presume to give you advice.” … More Not To Presume…
The first thing I do when I wake up in the morning is stretch. The second thing is to ward off the adorably relentless paws of Peaches who, the moment she detects signs of awakening, is keen to, first of all, eat because she is starving and has never eaten in her entire life, and … More Through The Window And Beyond The Fence
I don’t like cats. Cats are nasty, petty, self absorbed and murderous. They kill songbirds just for sport and ignore the mice that eat the wires under the hood of my truck. The cat in my lap thinks she’s the queen of the universe. I’m ready to be adored. Nowwww. Nowwww. I like dogs. Dogs … More Biscuit
The welcome silence of this sylvan spring morning is misleading. Underneath the quiet is a rich tapestry of sound: bird talk, a gentle breeze moving the treetops, the distant alert of a crow, and the nearby objections of a chicken. Tree frogs are encouraging the clouds to produce more rain, and a squirrel is using … More When The Phone Stopped Ringing
The Farmer’s Almanac I buy every December has not been opened since, and I’ll admit there’s nothing in that book I couldn’t find faster on my phone. But there it sits with its planting guides and planetary positions, short stories and anecdotes, a decorative but dusty bit of nostalgia. My grandfather would chuckle when people … More Ticket To The Stars
The peach and pear blossoms might have been a bit too optimistic, but I’m happy with the cold snap of this April weather. It was 28 on the mountain last night. A few hardy hummingbirds came early too, and we will take their feeders inside tonight so they can have a warm breakfast in the … More Something Out Of Time
Outside The Box 