I have not pondered on the porch in two days! I have been so sick with a stomach virus these last two days. Don’t know where I picked it up. I’ve been home all week except for a grocery pickup and a quick stop at Dollar General. Probably got it from the pickup window at…

From my archives… When you look at an ordinary object in an unordinary way you see it differently. I noticed how beautiful the female song birds were this year when I took time to really look at them. The males automatically draw your eyes because their featherings are so dramatic compared to the females. The…

I listened to Gerry Brooks making some comments today and one thing he said really resonated with me and made me think of Chief. When I would complain about having to do something I didn’t want to do, Chief would always say, “Just be glad you can do it.” Gerry Brooks said, “Look at things…

My day began with laughter this morning. I’ve been sleeping in the grandchildren’s room on a twin bed this week. My granddaughter is used to having her two older brothers in there with her so I slept in there with her. No bedside table near my bed but a large cedar chest at the head…

Both of my day camp girls were here today. We cooked cinnamon rolls and bacon for breakfast and ate in the lady den. Actually I ate perched in the swing and they happily had breakfast in the lady den on their trays. We piddled the morning away laughing at silly songs and decided to get…

Today was another wondrous day for a grandmother and a little granddaughter. We got our breakfast of bagels and muffins and fruit and headed to the porch to perch in the swings and watch the birds. She made the muffins by herself but was traumatized by my Mason jar measuring cup. All old Mason jars…

Today was a beautiful day with a few sprinkles of rain every so often but that didn’t dampen the fun at my house. My little Patty day campers and I had another happy day full of fun and laughter. We ate cinnamon buns for breakfast on the porch. We played Scrabble, one of us had…

Today was a beautiful day, blue sky, bright sunshine. Father Sky sketched blue and white and grey and purple clouds, layering them upon each other. The colors of the clouds were stacked like a paint chip card. It rained in the sunshine late afternoon and my granddaughter ran to the window and said, “It’s raining,…

A loving family is such a gift from heaven and I’m blessed with one. My three brothers and I and our children gathered together Saturday at baby brother’s farm to celebrate the beginning of summer. We call it the McMurray Fam Jam, been doing this for about ten years. We had the best time. We’re…

From my archives — Perched in the swing all day thinking I needed to get up and do a few chores but being retired I selfishly decide it’s okay to bird watch the day away waiting for the sunset to send me in the house. The male red-breasted grosbeak came back to my bird buffet…