October is a magical month here in North Florida. The temperatures are pleasant, the leaves and grass are still green, and the meadows, vacant lots, and roadsides are abloom with yellow and purple wildflowers. After the long, hot, hard summer, the world seems fresh and …
Some time ago I worked with a very nice man who loved fall. On the first slightly cool day in October during the first year that I knew him, he arrived at work exhilarated, full of happy plans for the season, and he shared those …
On Tuesday, I took the day off from work. I really needed it. Tuesday was my day off, but I’m not going to tell you about Tuesday. I’m going to tell you about Monday night because it was even better than Tuesday. On Monday night, …
I know it’s after Christmas now, but I just have to pay tribute to my mom’s Christmas spirit. Even at 81 years old, she can still create Christmas magic like nobody else. At Christmastime (and, really, all the time) there’s a wonderful feeling at Mom’s …
Last Thursday and Friday I asked off from work so I could have a long weekend. But I didn’t plan to go to the beach or Disney World or St. Augustine or anywhere at all. No, I planned to stay home (with my cats and …
The other day I read an interesting opinion piece in USA Today suggesting that the current epidemic of depression in America (suicide rates have increased dramatically over the past 20 years) is largely caused by our culture’s overemphasis on personal accomplishment. Our emotional suffering, the …
Spring is my favorite season. It always has been. When I was a child, spring started, in my opinion, in February, when the wild violets appeared like magic in the little scrap of woods behind our backyard in Tallahassee. My sister Kris and I would …
I had the day off on Monday, which was nice because it gave me the rare chance to look around and appreciate. I could go slow. I didn’t have to rush. Rushing ruins everything. I had time to sit in the dry brown grass and …
Summer is my favorite season at Spruce Pine Cottage. It’s the green time, the lush, sultry time, the time when the rosinweed blooms and the garden is full of tomatoes. Box turtles come out in the rain. Nighttime is even better than daytime because there …
