by Carole Duff | Apr 25, 2016 | Family, Nature |
I’m sitting at my desk on the main floor of our mountain house at Vanaprastha when I hear the crackle of speakers connected to Keith’s desktop in the loft. That usually signals Keith is done with his serious writing for the day and is opening iTunes. Confirmation:...
by Carole Duff | Apr 18, 2016 | Faith, Nature, Writing and Reading |
Cornus florida, the flowering dogwood native to eastern North America, is Virginia’s official state floral emblem and state tree. In spring, dogwoods flower in clusters surrounded by large bracts, which unfold in either white or pink. Tight-clustered fruit, oval red...
by Carole Duff | Apr 11, 2016 | Dogs & Other Creatures, Nature, Writing and Reading |
For the past several days, high winds with gusts over 20 mph have been blowing here at Vanaprastha, sending our dog Heathcliff into 110 pounds of panic. He paces, his toenails clicking across the wood floors and dog tags jangling. During the day, he wants me to scoot...
by Carole Duff | Mar 28, 2016 | Dogs & Other Creatures, Faith, Local or Human Interest, Nature, Writing and Reading |
“Look,” I said to my husband, touching his arm and pointing, “there’s a tiger swallowtail.” Our dogs perked up, scanning the mountain for critters – and our plates. The butterfly danced over our heads, dodging and flitting as we ate supper on the deck again last...
by Carole Duff | Mar 21, 2016 | Nature, Writing and Reading |
Rate my weather day: **** Thursday, March 17: Scattered Clouds, warm, chilly at night then hazy (and smelly) from the forest fire in the Shenandoah Valley. (Morning class at WriterHouse in Charlottesville was terrific, and our St. Patrick’s Day corned beef...
by Carole Duff | Mar 14, 2016 | Local or Human Interest, Nature |
Last week, the weather was warm enough for my husband and I to eat outside on the deck, and at night to sleep with our windows open. We woke in the morning to the sound of a phoebe singing a spring song. I imagined the male bird advertising his availability. Then I...
