Recent Articles

Defining Moments

They say only living for the future makes you miss life. I have tried not to do that. On our five acres in Madera, we worked like dogs, making an oasis out of thin topsoil and hardpan.     I made up my mind to pay...

Cleaning Culverts

I love rain. When I was a boy, you could hear the rain on the roof. I suppose that was because there was not a lot of insulation up there. While I was sleeping, snug in my bed, my father would be out checking the gullies and culverts under...

Black Salve

I suppose most of us can remember things that parents did to keep us well. Our lives are filled with little sayings that can be of aid in situations of illness. Personally, I can never remember if you feed or starve a cold. This gives me...

Moonie Bugs

My Grandmother Sheely was a shy woman who’s love ran deep. Grandma taught me quite a bit, as I spent many afternoons with her after school. One of the things she showed me, in the powdery dirt under the oak trees, were moonie bugs or...

The Wheelbarrow

The movie Raising Arizona stars Nicholas Cage and Holly Hunter. Great movie; early Coen brothers. The song “Away Out on the Mountain” (Jimmy Rogers, 1928) is used, especially the yodel part, which was whistled in the...

Falling in Love in the Rain

The Smell Of Green When it rained there The drops had water in them; Magnified by drips...