Chords

You鈥檇 think by now that I鈥檇 have learned to keep my thoughts inside my head, but if you鈥檝e read this column for any length of time, surely by now you know I鈥檓 not hardwired to hold back.聽

Declared

The Carpenter and I have entered year two of an NFL pool and this year, I鈥檝e deflated my water-wings to dive in with an enthusiasm he wasn鈥檛 quite prepared for. Yep, this football season, I鈥檓 making waves.聽

Web

She dangled from the eavestrough of the barn, upside down and balled up, completely content in a matrix of invisible thread. She was about the size of a toonie.聽

Back at it

We鈥檙e back at it: the routine that September brings. Full calendars. Coordinated schedules. Structured time. Registration fees. The never-ending saga of the question that has no easy answer: 鈥渨hat do you want for dinner?鈥

Butter

Corn on the cob is about as genuine an end-of-summer tradition as any end-of-summer tradition gets and I am here for it. But it鈥檚 not because of the corn so much as it is the butter. It鈥檚 all about the butter.聽

Quack

I have two words for you: chicken yoga. Wait, hear me out. Chickens are lovely creatures. They need to investigate everything. Skittish, but not anxious. They are fluffy and poised, able to meander about with effortless confidence that borders on arrogant and indifferent. Good qualities.

Marvel

I meant to pack the anti-nausea medicine. Motion sickness and vertigo are inherited traits. I cannot read in a moving car or sit backwards on a train. Roller coasters? Forget about it. Those glory days are behind me.聽

Mystic

So long July, you most beautiful of months, you. Thanks for a great birthday, for introducing me to amazing people, for unexpected adventures and for the reminder that I have an amazing community around me. It鈥檚 been fun.

Ducky

Well-meaning friends and colleagues have told me throughout my life that I need to stop worrying and learn to let things go, like water rolling off a duck鈥檚 back. Let the opinions and actions of others roll right off my back.聽