Ode to a Cup of Tea

Oh, what wonderful relief!
A witches’ brew steeped stealthily in the wee hours of the morning
Slippery elm, rose hip, cinnamon bark and licorice root
Water heated in a pot over an eerie orange glow that lights the
Early morning and warms the chill
As the wind howls outside in these still moon-lit hours
Accompanied by the ominous implosion of my [...]

Elk, Bison and Rental Cars

The first big trip that my husband and I took was to the Land Between the Lakes along the Kentucky-Tennessee border. We had taken the scenic route through this parkland that is managed by the USDA and saw signs advertising an elk and bison prairie. I convinced my reluctant husband that seeing elk and [...]

Evolving a Compassionate Heart

For quite some time biologists have debated whether or not any natural selective forces could act on modern humans to influence the makeup of the human genome. The argument against modern humans, at least those in developed countries, being subject to natural selection says that because of the technologies and medicines that we have developed [...]

Endless Summers of Childhood

The cicadas buzz in the closing Queen Anne’s Lace, much of it brown and curled at the edges, aged with a summer almost spent. The sedges are burgundy-brown, decorated atop by the occasional Monarch, and showy goldenrod shoots skyward in clumps of blazing yellow. The prairie has entered its burgundy and gold period. Only a [...]

The Pitter-Patter of Language

On Friday evening, when the thunder bumpers were booming outside, I used my computer to check the local radar. My husband looked over my shoulder and asked, “Well?”
“Well, there’s some red stuff just east of the Iowa border, but it will probably pitter before it gets here.”
“Pitter?”
“Yes, pitter. An official meteorological term. I’m surprised you’ve [...]