Memories from a Marine Mom

from a talk given on Memorial Day 2015, Wishek ND I am so honored to be here today. I did not directly earn the right to stand before you on Memorial Day. However, important men in my life have served and won this right on my behalf. My grandfathers, Grandpa Willis and Grandpa Henderson served in World War…

Prairie? Great Plains? Same or Different?

Half the material I read calls this area the prairie. The other half uses the term Great Plains. Since I live here and write about life in North Dakota now, I decided that  this is the time to figure out the difference, if any, between these two terms. Yes, a prairie and the Great Plains…

Sitting on the 100th Meridian

I have indeed gone to many wonderful places. Now I am sitting on the 100th meridian up here in North Dakota. I am not sitting on anything real, like a chair or a porch swing: a meridian is simply one of many imaginary lines that divide the globe into equal sections. I am in the…

Listen for the Music

I was in Denver last week to attend a preaching conference. I do not usually attend this conference, which moves around to different cities, unless I can stay with friends, thus reducing costs. My son, Kerry, lives in Denver, so attending this year’s conference was a no brainer. However, I stayed at the home of…

Denver Bound

On Monday I fly off to Denver again, to a minister’s conference. Yes, even ministers have their version of rock-stars, and I will be hearing some of my favorites speak about……..preaching! The event planners are considerate of minister schedules, so the conference begins Monday PM and ends Friday at noon. This ensures that we can…

Fire Danger: High

I am not a stranger to forest fires, having lived at various times in California, Arizona, Colorado, and Wyoming. My closest encounter was in Northern California, around 1993. I was camping in Hendy Woods State Park, with my young son and friends, in a borrowed pop-up camper. In the wee hours, the rangers woke us…

Bird Jackpot

Sunday evening, my friend Don and I walked at a lake area/park south of town. Trees are not yet fully leafed out so we can still see nests, some vacated, some in use. I aimed my monocular at an especially large nest and discovered it was inhabited by a Great Horned Owl, sitting on her…

Daylight, Bees

Last summer I spent about a month in Northern Montana while on my 6-week sabbatical. I was intrigued by the extra longs days up north. I enjoyed sitting outside in the evening until 11 PM or so, when dark began to settle in. So, I have been eagerly anticipating the arrival of extra long days…

25% of Cars Cause 90% of Pollution from Vehicles

This is not a list of specific autos that are heavy polluters; rather, the amount of auto pollution depends on a number of factors! Consider this from Treehugger.com: “A new study by researchers at the University of Toronto found that 25% of cars and trucks are causing about 90% of pollution from vehicles. The scientists…