Behind the Puddle
The stories behind the stories, reflections on the patio, the puddle, accessibility, home, writing, and the unexpected ways a small place can change how we experience our lives and the world around us.
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Behind the Puddle | Appreciation
The puddle has not changed because I watched it. I have changed because I stayed with it. I keep coming back to that. The puddle doesn’t know I am here. It doesn’t know I named the herons Stella and Stanley or that Hadley named a turtle Shelly. Pinecone certainly doesn’t know there are people who… Continue reading
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A Place Worth Returning To
There is something about finding this little toad tucked among the rocks beside the fountain that makes me ridiculously happy. He is not doing anything remarkable. He is simply sitting there, perfectly still, as if this is exactly where he belongs. Maybe that is what I love about him. We created this little corner for… Continue reading
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The Feeders Have Spoken
There are some experiments that require charts, careful measurements, and complicated conclusions. Then there are the experiments where you fill every bird feeder with the same familiar Walmart birdseed, sit back, and allow the flyer friends to make their position perfectly clear. This morning, every feeder looks remarkably similar, with about the same amount of… Continue reading
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Behind the Puddle | Treasure
If someone looked through the pictures on my phone without knowing me, I imagine they would have questions. There are a lot of birds. An unreasonable number of pictures of squirrels. Several photographs where the important subject is so far away that I have to explain what you’re supposed to be looking at. There are… Continue reading
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Decluttering Decades | Before We Begin, Start Where You Are
If you have lived in your home for decades, there is a good chance you can look around and see more than belongings. You see things you use, things you meant to deal with, things someone gave you, things someone left behind, things you might need someday, things you forgot you owned, and things carrying… Continue reading
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If It’s Good Enough for the Birds
Piper has fresh water just inside the door, maybe six feet from where she was standing. Clean water. Easy water. Water placed there specifically for her and Harper. Apparently, none of that matters when there is a fountain available. I caught her quietly helping herself today, standing beside the rocks and drinking straight from the… Continue reading
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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
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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
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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
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