Novelist | Singer
Valued reader, I know there are a million dog stories out there, and many of us read them. Is it overkill? Perhaps. Or perhaps writers write about dogs because they are so special. They are happy all the time. They are loyal, present, honest, playful, smart and they seem to know what we want and…
Among my choicest green practices is the meditative task of hanging laundry. I do have a dryer, but use it only sparingly and in the winter, but my clothesline dangles laundry even in January if the weather is favorable. Even frozen clothes dry eventually. I was in high school before my parents bought a clothes…
I plant nasturtiums on the side of my driveway, where the soil is too lousy for most anything to grow. But as long as they get water, those edible delights with their groovy name thrive in the sandy soil. They flower better in poor soil as well. A nasturtium is useful as well as beautiful….
I search out the plover mom and the chicks in the creek, just south of Good Harbor Beach, where tidal water fills and empties twice daily from the marsh. I almost step on them in my quest. They are huddled in a shallow trench that someone dug into the wet sand. The mom breaks and…
Extraordinary things can happen as long as we focus on doing little ordinary tasks every day. Trent Preszler—episode on CBS Sunday Morning I’m over 60 now, and at times I feel I haven’t accomplished much in life, particularly when I watch a show like CBS Sunday Morning and witness the incredible lives of notable individuals…
After a dogless six months, we brought our new boy, Sailor, an eight-week-old Australian Shepherd puppy into our house. Changes to our routine are now well established by COVID. While the shutdown has been an interruption, without a dog, we’re now free to stay inside until we actually have to go out, rather than being…
After our rescue with Skip was a no-go, we decided to wait for a while. It felt like a failure, though I knew it wasn’t our fault. I pondered how lucky I had been with my Lila, who was also a rescue; neglected and possibly abused. She loved the family who had purchased her but…
My friends all know about the dog I lost in September 2020. She lives like an angel embedded in my memory, perfectly behaved, most beautiful face, smartest, well trained, understood hundreds of words, Best Dog in the World. To add height to that already noble pedestal, she lived to be 17, spending a couple of…
She is panting for no reason. The day before she seized several times. During one episode, she fell, peed herself and landed on her side at the brink of the open stairs off the deck. I had to catch her to keep her from falling down the flight. Last night she woke me twice and…
We’re all used to COVID by now. I read back through my terrified entries about washing groceries, avoiding any contact with people besides my husband, and fighting my terror of touching anything that doesn’t exist within the walls of my own house. No one has been here, and the house looks like it wouldn’t be…