Short stories and photos shared with humor and love
Hope springs eternal, especially when the bulbs and buds burst forth. We muck along through colorless days and worry spring might have forgotten us. Then, a tiny crocus sprouts near the corner fire hydrant, a pink apple blossom pokes out of the branch near your office window, and you brave a quick breath of optimism. [...]
The lights flickered a bit yesterday as a frozen rain pelted the windows and a steady stream of fire trucks raced by. Spring storms in Wisconsin can be particularly challenging. An icy sarcophagus traps budding branches and sends them crashing to the ground. Broken limbs lay across streets all over town and leave jagged edges [...]
If you could have heard the thunder snow yesterday afternoon in Appleton, you'd know exactly what it meant. That sound was God applauding his favorite kind of humans, the ordinary ones who rise to the challenge of the storms he sends their way. Kind strangers showed up everywhere. Two of them hooked their lines to [...]
Spring poked its head in the door on Monday like some shirt-tail relative invited to the family reunion. Here in Wisconsin, we eyed her up cautiously. We saw features we recognize, but we couldn't quite place this odd, though perfectly pleasant, weather. Still, we waved her in. Sixty-five degrees on a single digit day in [...]
My favorite seasons are green. There’s Packer season, of course, (Go Pack Go!), Christmas and, now, asparagus. Joyful seasons all. I like asparagus season because it opens the door to summer and you know strawberry season is coming up the walk. I also appreciate its lack of fanfare. If you aren’t actually growing the stuff, [...]