Guest Column
Dear readers, I’ve received quite a few emails in response to my column. The vast majority are from people who identify with something I’ve written. But I do receive a fair number of questions, and today I thought I would share some of those with you. Read more
A mostly cool April, wrapping up with a little heat wave, reminds us that summer awaits on the other end of May. While I have not forgotten that summer’s heat and humidity is barreling towards us, I do seem to have forgotten just how brilliant the dogwood blossoms are every year. Were they this pretty last year? I think they were, but photos and memories just can’t replace the real thing. Get out for a walk and enjoy them while they last. Read more
Birthdays are a funny thing. They occur throughout our lives and there is no surprise that each person has one every year on the exact same day. And yet, people have varied reactions to them. Read more
The seed catalogs start coming in January, and I am always jealous of the photos: huge, glossy, unmarred vegetables unlike my own smaller, insect-gnawed produce. I’ll buy my usual beans ‘n’ taters ‘n’ maters from the local dealers, but I always thumb through new catalogs and pick a couple of unusual items I cannot find locally. Read more
April, once we get through any foolishness on day 1, quickly carries us much deeper into the joys and perils of spring. The eye-popping yellows of early-blooming forsythia and jonquils are soon replaced by the eye-watering yellow of tree pollen. The increasing sun angle and warmer days don’t require winter coats but do call for a layer of sunscreen. Plentiful rainfall has lawns greening, dogwood flowers about to burst open and trees ready to use a little biochemistry to turn that ground water and extra sunlight into a rich, green forest. Read more
Recently I was in my doctor’s waiting room with three other ladies. We were all masked up, of course, but that didn’t stop us from from chatting and laughing to pass the time. Read more
A teen in Nottingham, England went into a coma last March after being struck by a car and just awakened this week to an odd world of COVID and masks and quarantines. We may envy him that he missed the last 11 months. Read more
During my time teaching Earth and space science, I was occasionally asked, during our astronomy unit, “What’s your favorite planet?” My quick response was always the same: Earth. That was not one of the responses students were hoping for, but I persisted and still do. We share our solar system with seven other amazing planets as well as thousands of other very cool space objects but we have, far and away, the best of them all. Read more
A new temporary storage facility has been built on Route 15 here in Zion Crossroads. I am constantly amazed at how popular these types of places are. Apparently many of us have more stuff than can fit into our home, so we rent space to store it. And not just any space, but space that is both heated and air conditioned! Our forefathers would not understand this phenomenon, I’m sure. Read more
While there are drawbacks to wintertime walks on the big planet, there are also some big advantages. There are no issues with humidity and sweating, there are no flies, ticks or mosquitoes looking to snack on you, no spider webs to wrap around your face and no danger of surprise or attack from snakes. Read more
Regional Area Events
Online Poll
If it might improve local broadband access, would you give your electric provider a free easement on your property?
A Culpeper landowner filed suit against Rappahannock Electric Cooperative because the company tried to use a new state law to install broadband equipment within existing electric easements on private property.