-
Signs along Interstate 88 in Illinois mark the Ronald Reagan Memorial Highway. Officially designated as the Ronald Reagan Memorial Tollway, whatever it is called, it is one of the better-maintained, low traffic roads in the Midwest. I made a day-trip to Chicago using I-88 on Tuesday. Partly because of that highway, a day trip to… Read more
-
While in the kitchen making soup this week, Iowa Public Radio announced new weekend news programming. Someone had to be removed to make room in the lineup. It was sad when they announced it was Fiona Ritchie whose Thistle and Shamrock I’ve been following for many years. She has been a mainstay of my weekend… Read more
-
It is a basic function of government to fund operations. With the Federal Government, it’s complicated, yet is a primary reason we send U.S. Senators and Representatives to Washington. Both Iowa Senators, Joni Ernst and Chuck Grassley recognize the need to fund the government without shutting it down first. This is evidenced by their vote… Read more
-
I’ve been sleeping in fits: lucky to get five straight hours, I’d rather have, and need seven or eight. This morning I woke after five, couldn’t sleep, read 50 pages of poetry, and still couldn’t get back to sleep. I got up and worked my daily routine, made breakfast, and laid down and slept for… Read more
-
There was an opportunity to fill the apple cider vinegar containers so I took it. With an abundant apple harvest there are plenty to juice and turn into vinegar. I’ve written about vinegar-making multiple times in the last ten years. All I have to add is this is one of the best apple seasons since… Read more
-
While clearing brush in the front yard I picked up something that caused a rash. My arm is red and it itches. I happened to already have a clinic appointment this week so I asked them about the rash. They prescribed a cream, and messaged it to the pharmacy approved by my insurance company. It’s… Read more
-
If a person overnights at our home they are likely to be offered a breakfast of hash browned potatoes, scrambled eggs, and fruit in season. Add some coffee or homemade juice and it makes a fine breakfast. The meal in the photo includes tomato, a pear, and potatoes, all grown in our garden. We haven’t… Read more
-
Contrary to what letters in this newspaper reported, the climate crisis remains. It is a crisis. It is peculiar to our time since the Industrial Revolution. Readers of the Gazette should know about it. Media stories covering the impact of a changing climate continue to appear: Canadian wildfires, heated ocean temperatures off the Florida coast,… Read more
-
Late season kale takes on a special quality when overnight temperatures get cooler or freeze. Toward autumn, I begin harvesting the whole plant and use the leaves until they are gone. Then I harvest another plant. The same goes for collards. I cut the stalk at ground level and take the plant to the composter… Read more
-
Birds may not like it but I mowed the plot where weeds grew after garlic was harvested. They flock in to feed on foxtail seeds. A person can’t see them until they are startled and fly away. Lucky for them, the next plot over, where I plan next year’s crop of garlic, has some weeds… Read more
Tales from the pilgrimage.
Journey Home 