News, nature, and community throughout the Emerald Triangle
I Believe in You Without knowing how, decorating the tree became a chore done silently and swiftly this year. Dripping glass icicles were placed so they wouldn’t be broken but I didn’t marvel over their delicate artistry. Handmade cookie ornaments made when my oldest two were small got a swift smile but no real lingering. But one red box with
Read moreWild Mistletoe with a Swag of Spanish Moss Daily Photo The lights are shining on Christmas trees throughout the land. Doorways and chandeliers are festooned with mistletoe tied with bright red ribbon. Tender lassies stand on tiptoe to plant soft lips on freshly shaved cheeks still bright with the bloom of youth beneath this festive foliage. But why? No one
Read moreMargo McReynolds Gooch Photo from Redwood Times by Susan Gardener With mostly absent parents, Margo Gooch (13) is being raised by a grandmother who is often ill. Money is extremely tight in their small home and another girl in her situation might be floundering but instead, somehow, she radiates light and captures the hearts of almost everyone who knows her.
Read moreSeason’s Greetings Daily Photo Like Christmas, the Pyracantha is an import from Europe and Asia but our native Robin likes its berries anyway.
Read moreCrystal Ball Daily Photo Looking into my crystal ball I see that Christmas is coming and next month, at this time, I’ll be decorating a tree.
Read moreSteaming hot apple pie Want to come by? Getting ready for the first Christmas dinner (tonight with my husband’s family, the second on Christmas Eve with mine), I’ve been dipping luscious red strawberries in chocolate, rolling Peanut Butter Balls in more chocolate, cooking Roundie Brownies to be topped with even more chocolate dipped strawberries, and, of course, the pie. The
Read moreAbove all, I’ll miss my cousins—her voice, his energy, her sweetness, his considered remarks, her giggles, their stories about their lives. Without them, Christmas fades like old color photographs—still essentially the same but paler, thinner somehow. I can remember a time before them. I’m the oldest in my generation and at first they all lived far away. But then their
Read moreFor those of you who need a little mistletoe for Christmas kissing, here is a photo. I haven’t seen any of the real stuff for sale though its all over the oaks up here. I simply didn’t understand why a poisonous parasite is supposed to encourage kissing. So I did a bit of research. The actual word mistel means dung
Read moreI’m IT! (Actually I look a lot like Cousin It when I get up in the morning). Apparently, it is a tradition among bloggers to “tag” others with a request to post on a certain theme or respond to questions. Jen, another Humboldt blogger, tagged me. I might have pretended not to notice such a crass demand (I’m sneaky like
Read moreStorytellers embellish, change the order of truth, change truth, and, in fact, sometimes, they lie. If they are good storytellers, they do this in order to expose a larger, more universal truth. But, whether my natural inclination as a storyteller serves a greater purpose or not, the fact is I struggle constantly against the tendency to fabricate reality in inappropriate
Read more