Author Archives: Carol

National Nature Photography Day, June 15th, 2026 under 250 words Today we are encouraged to take the time to take a walk and photograph some of the plants and animals you encounter. I have selected five photos of my nature walks. I have included five postcard poems to go with them. Enjoy this virtual walk.Continue reading “National Nature Photography Day”

In my life, I have many friends, but only a handful of best friends. Growing up, I had two best friends: Cheryll and Laurel lived in my neighborhood. Neither of them went to the same school as I did. I went to Catholic school. Laurel attended Lutheran school, and Cheryll attended public school. Our bondingContinue reading “Best friends day June 8th 2026 419 words”

My grandfather, Clifford Turnbull, was the historian of the Turnbulls. He researched and had several stories of the origin of the name Turnbull. My ancestor, William, saved Robert Bruce, the heir to the throne, from a charging bull. As a reward, he was given lands and the name and crest of Turning the Bull. TheContinue reading “Ancestor lore, June 1st, 2026. 558 words”

This week, I was talking with my 93-year-old aunt, Jan. Her memory for dates and events in the past is better than mine. She told me of the story of how she met and married my uncle, Al.She started the conversation with the statement:Al and I were married 70 years this May 29th. I hadContinue reading “Lost Love 5-25-26. 433 words”

I was looking for a topic for this week’s blog. I discovered this is International Pickle Week. I found there are over 23 types of pickles produced. That doesn’t include other pickled vegetables. For this article, pickles will be the topic.My Mom made bread and butter sweet pickles from the whites of watermelon rinds. ThereContinue reading “In A Pickle, May 18th, 2026. 493 words”

To identify birds in my area, I use the Merlin App. It is free from Cornell University. The Merlin will identify birds by their song. Overlapping songs can be identified. I just step outside in the morning to record about a minute of bird songs. The Merlin uses a large bank of recordings to helpContinue reading “The Birds and the Bees, May 11, 2026, 678 words.”

When my parents moved into a new home on Eaton Drive, there were only older couples with no children. They were about three active boys. Later, my brother Brian and I were added to the mix. The worried neighbors became surrogate mothers. The Smiths lived across the street. When they moved to a small farm,Continue reading “Different mothers in my life, May 4th,2026 some Religious Content 535 words”

This past Saturday, we were celebrating Mass with our sister parish, Holy Name of Jesus at St. Robert of Newminster . We gathered to honor 20 years of sharing the needs of each parish. Holy Name parish has a large number of first and second-generation Hispanic families. The school, San Juan Diego Academy, has 179Continue reading “Pride and Prejudice, April 27, 2026. 406 words”

This week may feel more like Noah’s Ark rather than spring. Normally, we receive a little over 3 inches of rain in April. Here in Western Michigan, we received three inches of rain in the last three days. We still have more to come. Consequently, we have the Thorn apple River and Grand Rivers overflowingContinue reading “The flowers and the Weeds, April 20, 586 Words”

This week, I had a pleasant surprise. My poetry book is in the final edit review. I sent this to D and L Books at the end of February, not expecting to hear from them for several months. Instead, David Dvorkin wrote to see if I had a Library of Congress book number. I did.Continue reading “Compost, The Book is Borm, April 13, 2026. 211 words”