Patches When she was a tiny kitten, Patches was delivered by her mother to Grant's patio. He lived then in a ground level condo which had a patio enclosed by a wooden fence. There was no way in except over that fence and Patches could not have climbed it herself, so her mother has to … Continue reading Patches, Sophia and Bob →

Auburn, WA 2008 When is a sign a sign, or a coincidence just that? From what one may gather, the winter of 2018-2019 is not one that shall soon be forgotten by the good folk in Washington State. In all the time I spent there, I was spared such dramatics. The hills are steep and … Continue reading Hearts? →

A couple of years ago I was introduced to the writing of author Jacqueline Winspear. Although she lives in California now, she was born in Britain. Her parents and grandparents, like mine, endured the terrible World Wars and that time period became the backdrop for Ms Winspear's amazing series of mystery books featuring Maisie Dobbs. … Continue reading An Extraordinary lady →

February, 2019 This is not a complaint, but what has happened to the moon of late? For weeks after coming to Cambridge, I was glued to a window most nights, intoxicated by moonlight. Enjoying a night sky again, no longer deprived by light pollution, was so fantastic. I expected to hear choruses of angels. Dawn … Continue reading Missing the moon →

Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com "And now," as Monty Python used to say, "for something different....." The rather ill-tempered looking chicken here portrayed is not known to me personally. I had to upload a free portrait, my library offering nothing in the way of fowl. Too bad, really, as I should like to have been … Continue reading A Chicken story →

"Blackie" Such an original name for a black cat. But then I wasn't planning to become her person. After some seven years of fostering cats, my limited facility was full of older, crankier cats and cats with medical issues. The only phone calls I was getting were from people who wanted to offload another "rescue" … Continue reading Blackie →

The old maple, Auburn, WA The first trees I remember noticing as being other than something tall and green, or tall and brown when the weather was cold, were what the French called "fromagers", "cheesemakers". I can't recall that they were in any way reminiscent of any type of cheese, but at the age of … Continue reading Tree stories →