This is a tough one. Especially when you are, ahem, “serving” in a professional capacity. Here are a few suggestions for when to keep your mouth shut: *  When you don’t know what to say. *  When it is none of your business. *  When […]

One of Bessie’s chicks has notably long legs and is bigger than all the rest. A friend and I immediately pegged this baby as, horror of horrors, a rooster! I only say “horrors” because all ten chicks I bought were supposed to be hens, which […]

Once upon a time, in the middle of the 20th century, a beautiful nature spirit was born, in the form of a human woman. This woman was named Susan Hertel and she spoke to all of nature and painted it as well, and became quite […]

I have a friend. Her name is April. April had a horse whose name was “Mo.”  She had him for 30 years — since she was 11 and he was 6 months old. She lost him just a couple of years ago. She and I […]

I think we all know what a horse trader is. That’s the person who buys horses like this poor fellow here, cheap, usually because they’re in a bad way. They then pump them up cosmetically, often masking weaknesses with drugs, and resell them for a […]

Bessie’s chicks are two weeks old today. And they’re totally bionic! They’re not only huge for their age, they are breaking all the rules. For one thing, to my understanding, chicks are supposed to be kept above 90 degrees farenheit until they have lost all […]

My mantra for the last few years has been simple: To live life well. I am not “religious” in the way our culture views that term, and I don’t know the Bible well, but I do know that one of Christ’s urgings to his followers […]

While building up the fire at dawn and cuddling Frida, who, God bless her soul, had slept through the night again, I was listening to an Easter program on National Public Radio. The interviewer was talking to Jewish rabbis, Christian pastors, and others as well […]

Do you remember Frida Kahlo? She was that amazing Mexican painter and idependent spirit in the mid-1900’s? She was famous for her unique “uni-brow,” the effect created by her thick eyebrows that grew so close together they looked like one long line of hair. Anyway, […]

Like Sabrina here, many domesticated animals enjoy spending time and doing things with their people. But, like their human counterparts, they have individual preferences for what types of activities they like to engage in and what types they absolutely abhor. Sabrina loves to be out […]