The Squirrel Wars

“It must have been the wind.” That was my first thought when found soil strewn about the stoop and some freshly planted annuals uprooted from their pots. It had been windy overnight. The soil was light. This was a plausible explanation. If there’s anything I’ve learned from living in Hot Dish Land, it’s that most […]

Sit Down and Eat

The server placed silverware, all neatly wrapped in a napkin, on a nearby table. She set down two full glasses of water. Then two cups into which she poured steaming coffee. She left the coffee pot on the table and set down two menus.Sitting a few feet away, savoring a Clara’s Special breakfast and a […]

Dire straits in the trades…

In the past several months we’ve had a lot of work done on our house and greenhouse. New kitchen cabinets, some electrical rewiring in the greenhouse and house and new plumbing in the kitchen. It’s all but finished now but it brings to mind how critical the trades are and how short they are of […]

B-52 Returns to Indo-Pacific for Bomber Task Force Deployment

JOINT BASE PEARL HARBOR-HICKAM, Hawaii — More than 200 Airmen and four B-52 Stratofortresses assigned to the 23rd Bomb Squadron, Minot Air Force Base, North Dakota, arrived at Andersen Air Force Base, Guam June 14 in order to conduct Bomber Task Force—or BTF—missions. BTF deployments and operations support U.S. Indo-Pacific Command’s missions by integrating strategic […]

Dear Minot, I Cried.

I cried when I found out we were moving to Minot. I broke down when I found out we had orders out of here. I get it; Minot has a lot of downsides. We all know what they are. Also, it’s easier to ignore the disadvantages in the energetic summer months rather than in the […]

What’s in a name?

Rod Wilson and his wife, Sue, are visiting family in California, consequently the responsibility to write “A View from Our Side” falls to me this week. As publisher, I generally handle the business side of running the paper so writing a column is not something I normally do. Nonetheless I’m happy for this opportunity. As […]

Summer Fire Safety

According to the U.S. Fire Administration, over half (57%) of grill fires on residential properties occur in the four months of May, June, July and August. Grill fires on residential properties result in an estimated average of 10 deaths, 100 injuries and $37 million in property loss each year. To ensure a safe grilling experience, […]

What’s killing the honeybees?…

Believe it or not, there are people out there who still don’t know what’s causing the “mysterious” death of honeybees. I thought this was old news, but apparently not. For a time, that was the case. Nobody knew what was killing honeybees. But research in France during the 1990s proved that a class of chemicals […]

T-ball Explained, Sort of

Oh, my goodness! What sport is it where the jersey is the same length as a bathrobe and players from both teams are as mixed as a bag of marbles at the same time? The answer is T-ball, which apparently includes kids from birth to a year or two older. No knowledge of the rules, […]