When I visit in the eastern part of the country, I love to visit old cemeteries. So many old stories are contained in the family plots! This one interested me, in that all of the gravestones seemed to be tightly contained behind a walled barrier, as though saying, this is our plot, all ours, and don’t you…
They crisscross the sky like a gigantic tic-tac-toe game, the contrails of the jets that are too high to see, but there just the same. Because the Verde Valley is right on the fly way, we get traffic from Phoenix’s Sky Harbor to points west such as Los Angeles and points east such as Chicago….
I have a fascination with lichen, perhaps because it is so tenacious and tough. It thrives where there are few nutrients, and in the desert, where there is little moisture as well. For example, notice this desert lichen, a little crackly about the edges, but still hanging in there. It is hard to predict where…
What is interesting about double rainbows, like this one I caught over Sedona, Arizona, is that the second rainbow is reversed. It starts with red and progresses to violet on the other side. The second is also softer in hue, and very rare. They just don’t occur frequently. The second rainbow reminds me of quiet people, those…
Can you just sense the sinuous curl in the paper as it drifts from the trees? It was breezy the day I took this picture, (and no, I was neither participant nor recipient!) and I shared for a moment in the feeling of exuberance the streamers portrayed. Then I thought about what I’d do if…
Because I write mysteries that strongly identify with place, I am on the alert for other authors that do the same thing. The best I’ve found recently is the author of the Forgotten Coast Florida Suspense Series. I’d like to give a shout-out to Dawn McKenna! For example, here is a selection from the beginning…
Whenever I go touring historical houses, I always head for the kitchen. There I will find where the real work was done, and where the folks that did it hung out. Although this Southern mansion had an elaborate, curving, walnut-carved balustrade in the front of the house, this simple staircase in back, divided for male and…
I visited a quilting show recently, with beautiful, painstakingly crafted bed covers hung on the walls. But among the more modest displays, I discovered these three individuals. It’s hard to craft a perfect family, but this genius sewer came close. The mother is singing, the father is smiling, and the infant is tucked in safe…
I love old doors! When I found these two in an ancient house, I was hooked. They have weathered time and hardship and still are standing with a special beauty all their own. They remind me of family. My sister and I have had our differences over the years, and our moments of joy together….
In the summer the sun rises early in New Hampshire. I knew there would be something to see if I set the alarm and rose to greet it. But I’d flown across country the day before and spent a good part of the evening catching up with family happenings. I didn’t want to get up….