August 2026
-
Puddle Stories | There You Are
The rain finally stopped this morning, and when I looked toward the tree, there was Pinecone. Perched on her familiar branch with a morning treat between her paws, she looked completely unconcerned about the fact that I had been wondering where she had been. I hadn’t seen her in a while, long enough that I… Continue reading
-
Behind the Puddle | Awareness
I can’t unsee things anymore. Before the patio, I knew there were birds in the backyard. Of course there were birds. I knew geese visited the puddle. I knew we had squirrels somewhere around here. I knew Great Blue Herons occasionally appeared. I knew the water went up when it rained and down when it… Continue reading
-
Puddle Stories | Where She Wanted to Be
Harper has a blanket. Calling it her blanket may be slightly misleading because it is a king-size blanket that technically belonged to the humans at some point. Those details no longer matter. Harper has claimed it, loves it, drags it around, suckles on it, and apparently believes wherever she goes, it should be permitted to… Continue reading
-
Puddle Stories | Still Enough
Our end of the puddle truly looks like the definition of a puddle today. We haven’t had much rain lately, and the water that usually stretches across the view has been reduced to shallow patches surrounded by algae, mud, and exposed ground. It isn’t particularly beautiful by the standards we usually use to describe water.… Continue reading
-
Behind the Puddle | Relationship
Brian and I spend a lot of time sitting beside each other behind the puddle. And most of it isn’t particularly romantic. We talk about what we’re having for dinner. Something that needs to be done around the house. A bird I think he should immediately stop whatever he is doing to look at. Whether… Continue reading
-
Puddle Stories | An Afternoon Postscript
Apparently, the Puddle wasn’t finished with today’s story. By afternoon, the birds were back. They gathered around the feeder again, several sharing the little rim at once, while another found its own place beside the running water of the fountain. The quiet little bird neighborhood I had noticed missing this morning had simply been somewhere… Continue reading
-
Decluttering Decades
Understanding Decluttering Decades Decluttering Decades is an approach to thoughtfully addressing the belongings, spaces, memories, responsibilities, and decisions that accumulate through a lifetime of living. It begins with a simple recognition: a home lived in for decades is different from a home that has merely become cluttered. The things within it were gathered through ordinary… Continue reading
-
The First Few Leaves
This morning, August 27, I looked across the puddle and noticed something so small I could have easily missed it. Almost everything is still green. The sky is bright blue, the trees are full, and summer has certainly not packed its things and left. But tucked into all that green is the smallest patch of… Continue reading
-
The Ones Who Still Show Up
A few Sundays ago, we conducted what became our very unofficial Great Birdseed Experiment. We filled one feeder with the Walmart birdseed our little neighborhood has always enthusiastically eaten and another with the special birdseed that seemed, at least in theory, like it should have been an upgrade. The birds made their preference quite clear,… Continue reading
-
Behind the Puddle | Delight
It really doesn’t take much to make me happy behind the puddle. Apparently, my standards for entertainment have changed considerably. A squirrel hangs upside down from a feeder? Excellent morning. A goose walks through the yard a little closer than usual? Obviously worth watching. A hummingbird appears? Whatever I was doing is no longer important.… Continue reading
You must be logged in to post a comment.