Were these tears of joy for life spared or sorrow for life lost? The emotional reality was that her house was still standing — that my dear friend and others survived — fully encircled by the death of nearly every tall tree nearby. They said it lasted only a few minutes. I had been…
I still remember my reaction when I first learned about this horrible thing called Lyme disease. Few people knew about it then, but by 1991 the problem had become serious enough that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) required doctors to report any new cases. The number of confirmed diagnoses has grown steadily…
Three weeks into the spring, after a series of warm days, the daffodils in my yard are finally blooming. However, bloom time is determined by one’s position in the sun. The former homeowners planted a long row of these garden-variety Narcissus bulbs along the property line. The line begins in a sunny spot and ends…
This past week, after a late-winter, overnight snow, I went out early in the morning to clear the driveway before any tire treads packed down the path. As a result, I got to see the day’s first touches of sunlight, which broke through the thick clouds only briefly. In fact, within a few seconds after…