Last week I carried the shovel into the backyard and began turning over the grass in preparation for our garden. I then edged the area with 4×4 landscaping timbers. I leveled the boards, then used spike like nails to attach the timbers. Yesterday I was about two thirds of the way through when my neighbor […]

Read more "Garden"

Our backyard neighbor fired up the grill over the weekend. Starting the propane blaze without cracking the lid. But rather than the clear propane smoke, back smoke poured out of the grill. He opened the lid to find the charred remains of a bird nest. Thankfully no birds. (Or unthankfully if you are fan of […]

Read more "Nesting"

The door bell rang about an hour after we went to bed. I stumbled out of bed, sleep stupor, and threw on pants. The bell rang again and then there was pounding. I pulled open the door and found a police officer… two days – two run ins with the law. The first encounter began […]

Read more "Arrested…"

“There’s no crying in baseball.” Tom Hanks in A League of Their Own Of course crying in t-ball is another matter altogether. At Ivy’s first practice the coach lined up the girls to play catch. Each little pair of girls was given a t-ball baseball (rubber core, but still hard) and then the throws began. […]

Read more "Crying…"

“Is the Easter Bunny a real bunny or a man in a costume?” ~ Ivy while playing “catch” in the backyard. There are some questions I can not answer without rambling. Which is a good strategy – because no child can listen to their parents rambling, and instead they imagine the answer… After our conversation […]

Read more "Bunnies, Baseball, and Hope"