Cats in Winter
Our three don’t go out so we don’t worry about frostbitten paws or frozen fur. It’s been snowing so much lately, they would be wet if they braved the elements–little Julia the black and white, with a cute moustache and … Continued
Super-Beetle at Twenty Below
Supposed to be the worst winter here in flyover land since 1982-3. And what do I immediately recall from thirty years ago? Not where I lived, nor who I lived with, but the car. It was a VW Super Beetle, … Continued
Cold as a Witch’s Titty
So my daughter used to say with a naughty smirk on her face. She was probably 8th grade, that age when children all of a sudden become aware of what makes adults laugh and then think better of it. Witches’ … Continued
Giving Thanks Today
For sadness because my oldest lovely is gone, yet looking through the trees out back, I see her face hovering in the pine branches… Thankful that she, Eleonora, had such loving care in Delaware, even through a topsy-turvy break, six … Continued
Morning Medley: the Commons
“My home is my castle” makes me think of an impregnable, guarded estate, high above the plebs. That might work for some city or suburban neighborhoods but not for mine in Saint Paul. Here with lots leaving about ten feet … Continued
What We Fear Can Sometimes Help Us – aka Bats!
For years “bat attacks” in my Minnesota residences wrought terror so extreme I was reduced to a quivering mass. What! Malevolent creatures flying across the moon, then swooping into my hair! Didn’t they carry rabies? On dark winter nights, I … Continued
Monarchs in the Mirror
My yearly summer jaunt up to the North Shore of Lake Superior used to run me home through a lazy blizzard of black and orange–not Iowa Hawkeye footballers, but Monarch butterflies on their way south and west. This year, I … Continued
Mouse Attack
Yes, we’ve had a few in our Saint Paul house over the years. One crept across the dining room floor, almost under Fluffy’s legs. She, the aged Maine Coon cat, sniffed at the tiny intruder, Fran scooped it up and … Continued
Wanna Know How I Beat the Heat and Saved $100 a Month?
Numero Uno: Gave up air-conditioning. Hated it anyway. Dried up the nostrils, made ears ring. Instead: we * Put in tight-fitting new windows with UV glass in the 1912 house.This meant winter and summer, the cold and hot stay … Continued
Insects Among Us
About eight summers ago, driving home to the Twin Cities from vacationing on the North Shore, I routinely encountered many Monarch butterflies taking their lazy flight south. Then suddenly a year or two later, there were almost none. Around the … Continued