View from Hickory Heights: Wildlife can entertain

November 15, 2024

Hickory Heights has an abundance of wildlife. I enjoy every minute of it. This morning, I watched a black squirrel running around the yard. First, I saw him in the grass. Then he was halfway up a tree. I let my dog out, but the squirrel did pay any attention. I know there are at least two of them around my yard because I have seen them both at once. They are fun to watch. They run a little, then stop and stand up to look around. If there is nothing to disturb them, they continue on their way. One winter I watched a squirrel as it made its way through the snow. He would duck under the ...

Rounding Third: Little surprises make for one good day

November 14, 2024

Last week, I had a day just filled with little surprises – nice ones. Prior to Thursday, if someone had told me that surprises were heading my way, I probably would have wondered which tire was ready to blow. Or which utility bill was going to double. But on that sunny day, the good little surprises began early. I woke up before the alarm and I actually felt rested. Sleepless nights have become all too common, but this wonderful feeling? Wow! That NEVER happens. Is this how all those cheery morning people wake up every day? Most mornings, no matter how much time I’ve spent in the ...

1503 and other inconvenient truths of nation

November 9, 2024

For many years, Western Civilization (Western Tradition) has been under assault from the Marxist Left – in schools, colleges, the media, woke corporations, etc. Why? Simply because the foundations of the Western Tradition (dating to around 1750) assume the individual’s right to “Life, Liberty, and Pursuit of Happiness”. It stands in opposition to the Left’s authoritarian collectivist / socialist objectives where the individual can only exist as a servant on the State plantation. The Western Tradition, which ironically led the world out of slavery, is disingenuously being ...

Someone is watching me

November 8, 2024

When I think about the things that have happened, I came to the conclusion that someone has been watching over me. I have had several mishaps with jewelry that have ended very well. First, I lost a pin given to me the year I graduated from college by the family that I babysat for. Since my last initial did not change, I was able to keep wearing it. One day I wore it to my volunteer duty at Warren General Hospital. Part way through the morning I realized the pin was no longer on my sweater. I looked everywhere I had been that morning with no luck. I headed for home very disappointed. I ...

It was an October for losers

November 7, 2024

Three weeks ago, I wrote about a breadless October. A one-month diet regimen. I honestly had no idea how many foodstuffs fall under the Bread category, or how often that category entered my digestive tract! Dear Richard and I decided to try just cutting that one item – in all its varieties – out of our diet. I had heard from a high-flying, banquet-going friend about his loss of 20 pounds merely by giving up bread. We were lulled into a sense of confidence by thinking how easy it would be. But we learned that bread is everywhere – it lurks around every corner. A neighbor, ...

View from Hickory Heights: The full moon

November 1, 2024

If you live around this area, you certainly cannot have missed the beautiful full moon that has been present for the last few nights. Thanks to John Stehlin, the meteorologist for WICU television, I learned that this moon is called the “Hunter’s Moon”. It was actually a Super Moon this year. He has been a wealth of information about all things meteorological that are going on around here. Just the week before we were able to see the northern lights. I did not know that you had to view them with your camera instead of the naked eye. We have been able to see them for several months ...