We sent him off with a great winter coat when he left for the north last year—a coat and warm gloves and a scarf and hat. Everything he needed to weather the cold. This morning, my weather widget took forever to report the conditions in Cleveland—a metaphor perhaps for the beating that the midwest is […]
Tag Archives: weather
Winter Weather
Sun, 5 Dec 2010, 08:42 PM (-06:00)
1. Visions of Hot Chocolate Dateline: Central Texas. Yesterday we sat outside eating sandwiches and trying to find a shady spot, squinting our eyes from the blazing sun. “It’s hot!” Trudy said. Indeed it was. And she didn’t have sunblock on, which was the cause of some conversation. Not bad for early December, by my […]
Celestial Bodies
Sat, 25 Sep 2010, 12:04 AM (-06:00)
Jupiter has been rising with the full harvest moon lately while Venus sets with the sun. The rain has been falling. The gound is wonderfully soft to walk upon. The grass has been growing. And the Zexmenia. And the Russian Sage. And the Wright’s Skullcap. And the Oak trees. And… And ants are herding aphids […]
Water, Water Everywhere
Tue, 7 Sep 2010, 05:05 PM (-06:00)
The August heat was brutal—not on us, we can always sit in the shade and drink iced tea or retreat to the house, but brutal on the garden. As we dug in the dirt last weekend, preparing for fall, we looked in horror at the parched, dry dirt just below the surface that we had […]
Before and After Sunset
Sun, 18 Jul 2010, 09:36 PM (-06:00)
1. Just Before Sunset The day had been hot. But now the sun was going down behind a thunderhead in the west, lighting up the margins of the great towering cloud silver agains a blue sky. And a cool breeze was blowing. Storms were approaching from the east, with flashing bolts of lightning against the […]
A Backyard Walk
Wed, 30 Jun 2010, 09:54 PM (-06:00)
Let’s go for a walk in the back. I’ll show you around and tell you some stories. [Click on the photos for bigger images. This is going to take a while. If you’re busy, feel free to leave at anytime.] Let’s start on the patio. Here’s our little pond. It’s in a 3′ cattle tank […]
Really (in two parts)
Tue, 29 Jun 2010, 04:36 PM (-06:00)
1. Really? “Are the rain barrels really full?” she asked from across the dining room table, gently questioning what I wrote. I was momentarily silent. Only the fair and industrious Trudy would know that it would take more than yesterday’s rain to fill up the two barrels on the south side of the house. “Well […]
Don’t Go Emptying Your Rain Barrels…
Mon, 28 Jun 2010, 08:45 PM (-06:00)
1. The Approaching Storm “Watch the radar,” she said. “Don’t go emptying your rain barrels until you know it’s going to rain.” The fair and industrious Trudy knows her husband well. So I sat at the keyboard periodically glancing out the window, eyeing the approach of black clouds from the west. And I watched the […]
Saturday Morning Triptych
Mon, 10 May 2010, 04:04 PM (-06:00)
1. Bun Run A good day for a taco.  The sky was grey but not ominous.  The temperature was comfortable.  A slight breeze blew as I put a book under my arm and walked out the door to go to Torchy’s. A mile into the walk, I came to the big street and waited for the […]
Curbside Blossoms
Mon, 5 Apr 2010, 05:49 PM (-06:00)
I really need to go out and run with the dog — go out now before it’s too late and the 100-degree temperatures set upon us again. But first I need to tell you a short story… “Do you think people walking by notice our flowers?” Trudy asked the other day. People walk by sometimes, […]