Post 31/2021 Friday 16 July . . . Today I got up early. The clock showed 6:06. Too early for coffee, just right for finishing the blog. Though as one pundit once said, "I do an hour's work before breakfast, but I like to have something to eat first." Was that Will Rogers? Will have …
Minding the past: fireworks, haying
Post 29/2021 Thursday 8 July . . . The fireworks display on Independence Day corresponds in a small way with the day-after photos of Amish farmers harvesting hay. July 4, July 5. These two days, in the grand scheme of things, stand still in reflection, even as time ticks on. We watched the fireworks in …
The celebration’s on
Post 28/2021 Wednesday 30 June . . . Here we are. To our north, people will celebrate Canada Day, July 1. In the US, people will celebrate Independence Day, July 4. The days are marked by fireworks, flags, cookouts, camping and more, each nation pausing to look inward, outward, onward, and, I trust, upward. Let's …
Are we there yet?
Post 27/2021 Saturday 26 June . . . There's no surefire certainty that we're getting close to the end of the global battle with SARS-COV-2 and its variants. Thankfully, everyone who has access to a vaccine and gets it plays a key part in helping to put the boot to the pandemic. We strengthen our …
From farm to further afield
Post 26/2021 Saturday 19 June . . . I grew up on a farm, then ventured further afield. In retirement I live on land that once grew crops of corn, wheat, and alfalfa, maybe even soybeans--a farm whose fields in the early 1960s sprouted a continuing care retirement community, Greencroft Goshen, part of the City …
All ears for cicadas, G7, fathers
Post 24/2021 Thursday 10 June . . . No cicada chorus has reached my ears yet. Let the boom begin. I will try to capture the sound if they indeed do crawl out of the ground in northern Indiana. We took an early walk today (to beat the heat) to the Goshen Dam, through the …
If . . .
Post 23/2021 Thursday 3 June . . . If Memorial Day Weekend provided parades, ceremonies, palaver and picnics, the month of June promises plenty more. Although, with the arrival of summer still a ways off (June 20}, I wish the temperatures right now were more seasonal, not this soaring into 90 degrees F. stuff. Bring …
Beauty bursts out
Post 22/2021 Friday 28 May . . . Spring unfolds in beauty with the colors, sounds and fragrances of late May. If you allow for cadences and language of the past (thee, thou), then you'll find that the two quotes I've selected timelessly underscore the beauty of creation. Or, if you choose, you can skip …
Pentecost, birth of the church
Post 21/2021 Sunday 23 May . . . Picture this. A sound like the rush of a violent wind. Divided tongues, as of fire, appearing among Jesus' disciples and others. Those assembled speaking in other languages. That's Pentecost for you. On this day, Christians around the world celebrate Pentecost, the birth of the church. The …
Childhood- and youth-fired memories
Post 20/2021 Friday 14 May . . . Thirty-seven years ago, my sister Kaye rounded up memories of our paternal grandparents, Solomon and Rachel (Yutzi) Bender, to be shared at a reunion that summer on the theme, "Remembering." I was reunited with these treasures in rereading them this week. Rich. Telling. Timeless. For instance, Dad …
It's About Now 