The old ship’s bell rang out across the landscape. “Clang! Clang! Clang” The sound echoed around the neighborhood that I grew up in and it was the signal to come home. Most people where I grew up had a signal to call the kids home. My family had a ship’s bell. Another neighbor had a ...
Each fall, property owners repeat the cycle of managing the leaves that drop from the trees into their yards. What you do with these leaves can either benefit or harm your yard’s environment — as well as that of the lake or other waterway downhill from your property. Why? Because leaves contain significant concentrations of phosphorus and other nutrients. One way of handling leaves is to use a mulching mower to mulch the leaves right back into your yard. By mulching them into fine particles, the nutrients in the leaves will be released by decomposition back into the ...
In 1974 Jim Stafford co-wrote and recorded a popular song called, “Spiders and Snakes.” At least part of its appeal was Mary Lou’s line, “I don’t like spiders and snakes…” because so many people shared her feelings. Sadly, 45 years later, such attitudes remain. My younger brother hates spiders. My wife and younger daughter hate snakes. And if truth be told, I’m not crazy about ticks and yellow jackets. As we celebrate Halloween this year, let’s give spiders, snakes, bats, and their ilk a break. Too often, fears acquired in childhood last a lifetime. Spiders top ...
The bird’s black eyes stared unblinking into mine, as if the animal was searching for something deep inside of me that only a bird of prey could see. It was absolutely captivating. Time stood still as the vulture and I established some level of communication that was beyond anything I had ...
Woolly Bears. These fuzzy orange and black caterpillars seem to be everywhere: crossing roads, hiking down trails, wandering along the sidewalk. The rumors about how they predict the winter seem to be as prolific as the caterpillars themselves. One person told me that abundant ...
If you live in deer country, you know that autumn can be a dangerous season to be on the road. It’s when deer-vehicle collisions peak. In many areas, it’s not if you hit a deer, it’s when. Over the last 30 years I’ve hit six deer. I completely totaled one car and suffered more than $3,000 in damage to another. And in two other incidents deer actually hit my car after I had stopped, and they did not. Fortunately, my passengers and I escaped injury in each of these collisions, but the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimates that one million ...
