by Carole Duff | Aug 24, 2015 | Local or Human Interest, Nature, Writing and Reading |
The dogwood leaves have begun to change here at Vanaprastha. Dogwoods are among the first trees to show fall color, their leaves turning from green to scarlet then wine-crimson. Echoing nature’s life-death cycle, they reflect both beauty and loss. Recently, I read The...
by Carole Duff | Aug 17, 2015 | Local or Human Interest, Nature |
Paulownia, also known as the Royal Paulownia, Princess or Empress Tree, looks like vegetation out of a science fiction novel. A deciduous tree, the Pawlownia grows quickly, from eight to twenty feet in one year, and sports large, heart-shaped leaves in opposite pairs...
by Carole Duff | Aug 10, 2015 | Faith, Family, Local or Human Interest |
It was mid-afternoon at the UVA Medical Center when I checked in with the receptionist. She asked, “Name?” I answered and handed her my appointment confirmation. The phone rang, and she picked up saying, “Please hold,” then asked me, “Date of birth?” I replied, and...
by Carole Duff | Aug 3, 2015 | Local or Human Interest, Nature |
Remember the story about the little girl who played the piano at a recital and kept going despite obstacles and mistakes? My turn – and what an adventure! Last week my friend Sarah stayed with us for a few days. We had a grand time. The first evening, Keith treated us...
by Carole Duff | Jul 28, 2015 | Family, Writing and Reading |
As I drove south on 29 to visit my mother last weekend, I thought about Vivian Gornick’s Fierce Attachments, a memoir about the author’s relationship with her mother. Though younger than my mother, Gornick also grew up during the Depression and War years and was a...
by Carole Duff | Jul 6, 2015 | Local or Human Interest, Nature |
Last week while weeding Japanese stilt grass out of a bank of groundcover, I reached for a clump of grass near the rock flow below the square foot garden. Less than two inches from my hand, a fat snake slithered sluggishly into a hitherto hidden passageway in the...
