Ladybug, Ladybug, fly away home
“Ladybug, ladybug, fly away home. Your house is on fire and your children are gone.” Perhaps this old nursery rhyme, chanted by children when ladybugs landed on them, originated among farmers in England. They knew the value of ladybirds, as the bug was...
What About Those Rolling Stones?
Rain showers punctuated the day, and last night wind ushered in a cold front. Acorns and small branches battered the outside deck like gunfire. Our two large dogs huddled in the basement man cave while Keith and I watched Ghost Story, the 1981 film starring Fred...
Three Dog Tales
Remember me? My name is Pullo, but it used to be The Abandoned Dog Who Showed Up At Kim and Margaret’s Farm. Kim is Keith’s brother, and Carole wrote about me and took my picture when she and Keith found me while visiting Kim and Margaret back in August. I’m a...
Moscow by day and at night
With the exception of the Kremlin and cathedrals such as Saint Basil’s in Red Square, old Moscow by day is plain, even drab, a throwback to the grim Soviet days. Traffic snarls the city streets, despite heavy metro use. But at night, Moscow becomes a magical place...
Rural Russia is a different world
Most residents of Saint Petersburg live in apartments, and many also own dachas or seasonal homes located in the exurbs, surrounding the city. But east-northeast of the city lies a vast region of lakes, rivers, and forest plains—a different world. Here are a few...
Which story is true? You decide.
“In Russia, we have the official story and the other story. Which is true? You decide.” So spoke our local guide as we strolled around the Kremlin of Uglich, one of Russia’s Golden Ring cities on the Volga River. In 1584, upon the death of Tsar Ivan IV (officially...