All Purls. No Swine.
A recent post on Ricochet, in which a member published a simply gorgeous photo that a member of his family had snapped of a Great Blue Heron, asking for other members to share their favorite nature photos, prompted a memory of a post of my own from five-and-a-half years ago now. I'm reprising it below.… Continue reading Perseverance Pays Off
So. I’ve about wrapped up, absent a bit of trim and the installation of an outdoor-accessible nest box–not an immediate priority because the elderly ladies involved rarely lay eggs anymore–the construction of my assisted-living chicken coop for the geezers. It’s going to have to stay in the driveway for the winter, but it is on… Continue reading And Now For Something Completely Different: Chicken Clucker Edition
One of the most delightful parts of my weekend is opening my email (yes, really, I know how sad that sounds) on Sunday sometime and discovering Douglas Murray’s latest “Things Worth Remembering” installment for The Free Press. I’m a basic (paid) subscriber to the site, so I get all the links and can read the… Continue reading “Seeing God in a Cat”
October 3, 2023 is the 107th anniversary of the birth of James Alfred Wight, better known to the world as James Herriot, the author of upwards of a dozen beloved books about his Yorkshire veterinary practice from the 1930s onwards, and one of the three most influential authors of my book-filled youth. (The others were… Continue reading Changing My Life, One Book at a Time–Happy Birthday, James Herriot!
I have no bloody idea what "National Holistic Pet Day" is. Wait one, while I investigate. Oh, here: [National] Holistic Pet Day was set up to try and bring more publicity to the idea that holistic treatments, where a pet’s lifestyle, diet and environment are fully considered, are more beneficial for their temporary health and… Continue reading Happy National Holistic Pet Day!
Cross-posted from Ricochet.com, yesterday, August 19, 2023: Lo, these many years ago, those of us in the early days of the personal computer industry, we who depended on the success of the technology-in-its-infancy for our livelihoods, lusted after something we dubbed “the killer app.” It had nothing to do with actual violence; we longed only for… Continue reading Adventures in Birding
If Florence Nightingale were still alive, she’d have been 203 years old in 2023. She was born on May 12th, 1820, just a few short months after Mad King George (of American Revolution fame) breathed his last. By the time she died, 113 years ago this week, on August 13, 1910, George V (the current… Continue reading The Lady With the–Cats?
It's been almost exactly eight years since I published a version of the post below on Ricochet. (Time really does fly when you're having fun.) I was reminded of it this week, when I had a rare encounter with health care of the human sort myself. On Monday night (it's now Saturday), I did my… Continue reading Ruminations on the High Cost of Healthcare, and How to Bring it Down–2023
I've known for many years now that there may come a time in my life when it's time to let go. And at this point--when it comes to the edge of my 79th year on this planet--I might be ready: Nature’s first green is gold, Her hardest hue to hold. Her early leaf’s a flower;… Continue reading Moving On. You May Kiss the Bride!
Chinggis is my (by this time) rather elderly rooster, he who once was lost (as have been a startling number of others in my life) and was one of two whom I tripped over on a walk down the road, on a day towards the end of January 2021. His lucky day. After a frantic call… Continue reading Chinggis Makes His Move