Dear Folks: August 21, 1994
Dear Folks,
Sunday morning, gray sky, gentle breeze, preparing for a rain. Another rain. It’s like a tropical rainforest around here this summer. Inside and outside things droop and sweat and mold. Outside the vegetation is so thick it’s almost overbearing. Squash vines with leaves the size of umbrellas are traveling over the garden, over the lawn, taking over the world. [...]
Dear Folks: June 19, 1994
Dear Folks,
Whew! What can I say?
It’s been quite a week!
The very best part has been the rejoicing of all my friends. The Germans have a word Schadenfreude, which means, if I understand it right, taking joy in the bad luck or suffering of other people. I don’t know whether there’s an opposite — Freudenfreude? — which means taking joy in [...]
Dear Folks: May 23, 1994
Dear Folks,
Having sailed through the Winter From Hell — 35 below and snowstorm after snowstorm — without the slightest sniffle, I woke up yesterday on one of the most brilliant days of the spring with a seized-up throat. Last night I tossed around and built up towers of pillows, trying to keep one nostril open — you know how much [...]
Dear Folks: March 20, 1994
Dear Folks,
TRIPLETS!!! Born on the hour of the equinox! What a way to start the lambing season!
The lambs are not due for two more days. I turned Wally in with the girls on October 23, and it’s a 150-day gestation period. The ewes that are in heat when the ram arrives usually pop precisely 150 days later. The others all [...]
Dear Folks: February 20, 1994
Dear Folks,
WOW! It’s PLUS FIFTY out! The snow is still piled high, but it’s MELTING! It’s dripping off the roof and trickling down the driveway and sounding like tiny streams running everywhere. The SUN is shining! We in this valley, who can barely remember a day above zero, who automatically pull on three layers before venturing outside, who thought the [...]
