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...
by Carole Duff | Jun 29, 2015 | Faith, Family |
Two decades or so ago, my mother told me a story about one particular afternoon meeting of the neighborhood book club, which Mother had founded. During their active child-raising years in the 50s and 60s, the ladies took turns choosing a book and hosting the monthly...
