Ah spring. The grass is green and the mower is just begging to be fired up. The grass on the golf course is also green and the golf cart is ready to roll. The water on the river is sparkling, the outboard is fueled, the minnow bucket filled, and that […]
Jack Elliott – Squirrel Pie
It’s a retread, but true, and comes as a warning to grandparents expecting sneaky grandkids over the summer. Sunday, July 25, 2010 The gene pool has been visiting in force these past weeks. The questions and methods of weaseling desires out of the grandparents are sophisticated enough to put most […]
By Jack Elliott China Day 9 It’s our last day on The Yangtze. This morning we visit a Pagoda that sits atop a magnificent rock. The Shibaozhai Pagoda at Zhong was built 300 years ago during the Qing Dynasty. It is now surrounded by a small dyke that protects it […]
It happened “Along about knee deep in June” a few summers back. It was a beautiful summer morning as the usual crew pulled up to the debating table at the Bakery in Rainy River. I prompted Val for an order of toast and a half-dozen other voices chirped in, “Me […]
The poem expounding the virtues of June and vines ripe with strawberries that melt in your mouth is idyllic. But the truth is ‘knee deep in June grass’ and time to fire up the lawn mower. The whole topic of lawn care raised its ugly head at the debating table […]
The gardens around our house I had built up a couple decades past have subsided. The mostly peaty, muskeg soil I used has rotted down leaving me with more old, hard clay than my potatoes like. Time for rejuvenation. So I had Kipp dump me a big load in the […]
Men, thank goodness have wallets. Although they will swell to the proportions of a cane toad before exploding, they’ve nothing on the female purse. The lady’s handbag or purse is a wonderful invention run-a-muck. Invented before pockets, the purse has a lineage and personality as unique as each owner. First […]
After a long hard day getting the garden and lawn in shape, there’s nothing like a long soak in the tub. Sure a shower will get the grime off, but what about the aches and pains? If you come from my generation, out on the farm without indoor plumbing or […]
Its spring and the roadsides and lawns are turning a beautiful yellow. Time for a rededication. It’s that time of year again when the lawn warrior girds himself for battle. Weapons belt bristling with digger, snippers, three varieties of weed killer, and other assorted instruments of war, the grim combatant […]
One fall while in Kenora I stopped around to visit with Sweet Charlotte and Big Pie. “So you’re headin’ for Florida again this winter?” queried Big Pie looking sadly at the big snowflakes that were drifting down out of the November sky. “Yeah, staying around for this isn’t my idea […]
“How you doing? ” It’s a greeting that rolls off our lips without thought or hesitation. “Fine.” Is the answer we expect. Again without thought or hesitation. Lawrence Gushulak always replied, “Terrible.” It was unsettling. My automatic reply of, “That’s great!” caused me a great deal of pain as I […]
China Day 5 We were ready for the 5 a.m. wakeup and standing at the restaurant door eager for brekkie before setting out for our morning flight to Wuhan from Xian. We bid our Xian guide Ruth farewell and headed for check in. Tina our Sinorama care giver is fantastic. […]
