Clik here to view.
The All American Camel
Between my former home nestled in Oregon’s Willamette Valley and my new home in eastern Missouri, is just over 2000 miles of road. Google maps estimates the drive time at just about 31 hours if you...
View ArticleClik here to view.
How I Became a (Mostly) Crazy Fish Lady
About five years ago, my husband suggested we join the estimated 10 million other American households that maintain at least one aquarium full of fish. I agreed mostly because it seemed easier than...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Puppy Love and the Harbinger of Death
In 1898, The Connecticut Quarterly included an essay entitled “The Black Dog.” Written by geologist W. H. C. Pynchon and printed not long after his mysterious death, the essay relates the story of a...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Absolute Leisure and Peace
In May of 1906 the Atlantic Monthly published a piece by American nature essayist John Burroughs who wrote of his experience camping in Yellowstone National Park with President Theodore Roosevelt. The...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Not a Bear. Not a worm. Not a meteorologist.
This week saw the official beginning of autumn on September 23, and the accompanying loss of productivity that results from I sure hope you like pumpkin! photo credit: JeepersMedia via photopin cc an...
View ArticleClik here to view.
A Shocking Turkey Recipe
The holiday season is nearly upon us, beginning here in the US with Thanksgiving next week. And if, like us, you’re hosting family for the big day that means it’s time to make plans for your turkey. We...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The 2nd Grade Butterfly Effect
First published in Collier’s magazine in June of 1952, Ray Bradbury’s “A Sound of Thunder” went on to become one of the most frequently re-published short science fiction stories of all time, but the...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Your Favorite Dinosaur and the Lie Your Science Teachers May Not Have Told...
In 1870, renowned paleontologist Edward Drinker Cope published a description of a newly discovered giant plesiosaur (an extinct aquatic reptile that a reader less informed than you might mistakenly...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Hi ho! The Fourth and Final Voyage of Kermit the Frog
Christopher Columbus, famed explorer who kind of resembles Fozzie Bear. Licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons On September 18, 1502, on his fourth and final voyage to the New World (which...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Smarty Pants and the Bird Brained Scheme
My youngest son is fixing to turn eight soon. I think I have mostly come to terms with this, balancing that inevitable feeling of loss a mother experiences when her children begin to rely on her less...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Straight Up Infestation: A Motivational Tale
I don’t know about you, but I’m glad it’s finally November, a time for cooking up a big pot of soup, building a fire in the fireplace and reflecting on the many blessings for which we are thankful. Oh,...
View ArticleClik here to view.
A Nation So Blessed, Our Dogs Have Love Handles
If you read this blog very often, or if you’ve read the “About This Blog” page, then you know, I don’t do politics in this space. I only rarely even skirt the edge of controversy, because there should...
View ArticleClik here to view.
A Fine Specimen of a Novel Except for not Having a Head
On September 10, 1945, a farmer by the name of Lloyd Olsen was expecting his mother-in-law for a visit and so he set about doing the unsavory work of killing a chicken for dinner. He scooped up a young...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Slipping in Unicorn Puke
In the early part of the fourth century BC, a historian by the name of Ctesias returned to his native Greece after traveling through India and Persia, where he served a number of years as physician to...
View ArticleClik here to view.
A Clever Person Does NOT Stick His Head Inside a Lion’s Mouth
In 1820, nineteen-year-old Isaac Van Amburgh accepted a position with the Zoological Institute of New York, as the cage boy whose job it was to clean out the cages of the exotic animals kept by the...
View ArticleClik here to view.
A Talking Dog that Cares About Grandmama
This week brought with it at least two stunning pieces of news. The first is that highly decorated Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps does not swim as fast as a great white shark, even if he wears a...
View ArticleClik here to view.
What the Duck?
Sometime in the 1930s, hunting buddies Frank Schutt and Chip Barwick returned to Memphis, Tennessee from a weekend of duck hunting in Arkansas. Like many hunting trips, this one allegedly involved a...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Running is Still Stupid: A Tale of Perseverance as Told by an Ugly Guy
In 1915, Edward John Moreton Drax Plunkett, the 18th Baron of Dunsany and a prolific writer known to his readers simply as Lord Dunsany, produced an updated version of another prolific storyteller’s...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Black Bears on the Move: Suburban Shock and Awww
On November 14, 1902 US president, outdoor enthusiast, and big game hunter Theodore Roosevelt experienced a profound moment of awww when he refused to shoot a young black bear. The president was the...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Head Foot Awareness Days
Sometime toward the end of 1873, Newfoundlander Moses Harvey found the bargain of a lifetime. For just ten dollars the amateur naturalist and writer purchased the carcass of a giant squid. Harvey...
View Article
