In August and September 2017, painted lady butterflies invaded the Plains. They clung to flowers and bushes, drinking their nectar like new and strange autumn-time blossoms of orange, red, and black. The monarchs usually steal the glory, but the painted ladies (vanessa cardui) of 2017 took the spotlight. Plentiful and nourishing rains in California had […]
Some news for you! My good friend, Melissa Amateis, has published her first novel. She is a World War II scholar and writer, and The Stranger from Berlin is out on Amazon Kindle. It is the story of Jenni, a Nebraska war widow, and Max, a history professor from Germany, who find themselves entangled in […]
Nature has a metaphor that perfectly illustrates what it means to live creatively. Friends, I present to you the humble seed: offspring of flowers and pollen, a hard little mote that can survive millennia in a frozen tundra or a hot summer in the back garden, add specks of flavor and texture to your muffin […]
I am back! You may notice that the blog is a little more stream-lined and simplified. As with anything–from this blog to my novels to how I organize my apartment–I’m always seeking ways to make things work and look better. Sometimes that takes a period of reevaluation. And sometimes that period is long for many […]
During this year of turmoil and uncertainty and isolation, it’s no wonder that the classic television show M*A*S*H has remained a safe haven. It’s probably been circulating on my watch list for over two years now, since I discovered it on Hulu. It is a habit that I’ve never been able to shake, and I’m […]
