South & Southwest Fort Wayne Indiana News
Father’s Day has come and gone, and I find myself still thinking about my father. He has been gone for almost 41 years, yet there is hardly a day goes by when I don’t remember something about him. Father’s Day is a special day for remembering, but …
Read moreBlackbirds are taking over the bird feeder as they wipe out another sack full of seed. Cardinals and mourning doves are still vying for the seed, but they are vastly outnumbered. We have had the redwing blackbirds recently, but these are the …
Read moreWhen God finished creating the earth, and everything that was in it, He looked upon what He had made. “And God saw everything that He had made, and behold, it was very good.” (Genesis 1-31) That makes me wonder if he was looking upon West Virginia …
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Twilight trails dusky fingers across the land tonight, cooling the edges of the sun-scorched day and bringing night to the hills once more. There is a definite note of fall felt in the air now, reflected in the cooler nights and seen in the more …
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We awoke to snow covering our home in the hills, but the sun comes out sporadically and tries in earnest to melt it. There are bare spots showing now, but the air is still quite cold. The songbirds still flock to the bird feeder, with lots of bright …
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The sun is trying valiantly to peek out this morning, after several days of rain. This month has behaved in true February fashion, with soggy ground and plenty of rain. The yard looks bare and forlorn; with all the snow gone, winter’s debris can …
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Winter hit our hills with a vicious blow this past weekend, after we were used to the mild, although rainy, days of the past few months. It began with the snow and ice that covered our hills and highways, and then the temperature dropped lower and …
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A heavy frost covered the ground this morning, sparkling in the approaching sunlight that is beginning to bathe our hills. I am reminded of Mom’s remarking on a frost such as this, “It looks like a young snow!” Our days have been unusually mild …
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The whippoorwills are gone now, flown away to warmer climates. The summer sun is gone too, although it stayed here longer than usual. The frogs and crickets still sound their lonely cries, intermingled with the last of the katydid’s dirge. …
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Autumn entered our hills with wet feet, and it has been mostly damp ever since. Our hills are not the colorful scene as usual, since there has been no frost or freezing weather. We still can look forward to bright autumn weather, which is yet to …
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Gardens carry a rag-tag, end-of-summer air, and is almost gone. Only a few scraggly tomatoes and sweet peppers turning red remain. If you search through the dry, rustling cornstalks, you may find fat, yellow ground cherries growing close …
Read moreThe days are still hot and humid as summer lingers on, but there is a change coming soon. August brings the tail end of summer as the gardens finish their work for another season. The ripe smell of corn tassels hang heavy in the air as the cornstalks …
Read moreI would like to send a great, big hug to all my friends who have missed me, and especially to those who have sent cards and letters telling me so. Most of you guessed the reason why—I fell again, and fractured my right arm, which kept me from writing …
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Midsummer heat blankets our hills, as July slips away into the past. August is ready to enter, with her showy flowers and languid, sleepy days marked by misty mornings and hot, sunshiny days. Above the spotted Joe-Pye weed, the butterflies …
Read morePlacid June days seemed to have exploded with searing heat and booming thunderstorms that pop up at the drop of a hat, but refreshing cooler nights that are most welcome. The newly mown hay dries in the fields, and the fragrance of sweet clover …
Read moreHow long do you keep missing your father? Our Heavenly Father took my Dad to heaven 39 years ago, yet there is not a day that I don’t think of him. I can still see him coming down the hill from the Ball Diamond carrying a bouquet of wild flowers that …
Read moreToday is West Virginia’s birthday, and I am pondering the reason why God chose to put me in this particular place. I have a fierce loyalty to my native state, and, wonder if I would feel the same way had I been born elsewhere. I could have been born …
Read moreApril has left us, and with her departure is taking most of our wet and gloomy days, and, leaving us with sunshine and blue skies. How our hearts have longed for these warm days of spring! The children are overjoyed to be able to run barefoot through …
Read moreApril tucks her slightly damp robes about her and glides gracefully from the hills, leaving tranquil May to reign for the next month. May has always seemed to be a dainty little maiden, wearing flower-sprigged garments and tripping lightly …
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April showers bring May flowers, but what does April snow bring? According to my late mother, who was a fount of wisdom, April snow brings babies. Also, April snow water was a good remedy for burns. As for the babies. I wonder now if you rubbed April …
Read moreThe cold, rainy days of March seem to have bled over into the usually warmer days of April, with more rain and cloudy skies. Some folks have remarked that this has been the wettest March that they can remember, and it seems that way. We look forward …
Read moreIt was still dark when the women arose from their beds, hurriedly put on their garments, and started down the path to the sepulcher where the body of Jesus lay. The pine torch flickered, sending out a warm smell of resin that blended pleasantly …
Read moreMarch did come in like the proverbial lion, howling ferociously and throwing his weight all around. He is still crouched in the shadows, flinging cold temperatures and a few snowflakes about. We awakened to a skift of snow, but sunshine has …
Read moreA fine snow is sifting down upon the countryside, and the cows stand on the hillside and look bewildered at the change of weather. After a few mild days, it is hard to re-adjust to winter making another swipe at us. It is still February however, …
Read more“In winter’s cold and sparkling snow The garden in my mind does grow. I look outside to blinding white, And see my tulips blooming bright. And over there a sweet carnation, Softly scents my imagination. On this cold and freezing day, The Russian …
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