nature – Page 18 – FIRST DATE, WORST DATE EVER!

If There’s Music in the Park

June 16, 2018June 16, 2018 Posted in best, California, children, dancing, drinking, family, fruit, girlfriends, humor, Lafayette, memoir, music, nature, outdoors, relationships, singing, summer, vacationLeave a comment

We’ve waited all winter for this. It’s finally pay-off time. Every town in the Bay Area springs for a summer concert series in its town park, town square, or patch of grass. If a person is willing to drive, he/she can hear free outdoor concerts six nights a week for almost three months. We’ve waited… Continue reading If There’s Music in the Park

The Power of Nature

June 14, 2018June 14, 2018 Posted in act of God, aging, best, California, car accident, care giver, caregiver, hiking, humor, memoir, nature, outdoors, trees, turtles1 Comment

Sun, trees, dirt, flowers — my nose is full of the smell of Eucalyptus leaves. I used to hike twice a month with my senior hiking group called DASH. Then my sis moved in with me so that I could be her care giver. My hiking days stopped except for once last summer when I… Continue reading The Power of Nature

Sorry About That

June 5, 2018January 17, 2020 Posted in Black Diamond Mines, California, firsts, hiking, humor, menopause, menstruation, mines, nature, relationships, surprise, worstLeave a comment

Aileen had a date in her early fifties that neither she, nor the guy will ever forget. They met online. He suggested a hike out to the Black Diamond Mines in Antioch. She agreed, although she wasn’t much of a hiker. During the hike and while climbing in and out of the mine tunnels, Aileen… Continue reading Sorry About That

On Guardian Angels

May 27, 2018May 27, 2018 Posted in best, California, church, humor, last, memoir, nature, relationships, religion, worstLeave a comment

A friend and I had a glass of wine together the other night and reflected back on our lives and the times we should have been died but didn’t. Some would call it luck. Others would call it having a guardian angel. Some would say that was a weird way to spend an evening. At… Continue reading On Guardian Angels

Mountain Lion

May 22, 2018May 22, 2018 Posted in biking, California, escape, hiking, humor, memoir, Mendocino, nature, relationships, survival, Van Damme State Park, Washington, worst2 Comments

The latest mountain lion attack got me to thinking about how we humans hike, bike, and enter into cougar country and should know what to do in the event that we run into one. The newspaper article today tells about the two mountain bikers in Washington this past weekend that encountered a mountain lion. The… Continue reading Mountain Lion

Nature’s Prayer Moment

April 29, 2018April 29, 2018 Posted in birds, California, church, friends, gardening, humor, memoir, nature, relationships, religion, writers2 Comments

Yesterday morning I stepped up to the kitchen sink to fill the tea pot and looked out my window at the flowers exploding in my yard. I glanced over to the fountain where I saw dozens of identical birds taking drinks in a clumped up circle around the top of my round fountain. Their backs… Continue reading Nature’s Prayer Moment

Long-playing Ski Buddies

April 6, 2018April 6, 2018 Posted in best, California, car pool, dating, flirting, humor, marriage, nature, relationships, skiingLeave a comment

Ellen was in charge of the ski cabin for the In Skiers in San Mateo. Mark joined the Powder Hounds even though he was just a beginner. Mark called Ellen to arrange for a room in the InSkiers cabin. Ellen had a cold and sounded like Lauren Bacall when she answered. Mark liked that. On… Continue reading Long-playing Ski Buddies

DUI Date

April 3, 2018April 3, 2018 Posted in California, cars, dating, drinking, firsts, friends, guardian angel, humor, nature, relationships, roommate, Stockton, tennis, worstLeave a comment

Lesley was a college freshman at UOP in Stockton when a big football player type guy asked her on a date. Lesley had already met his roommate, so she thought she was safe with Chad and said yes. Chad took Lesley to a party, but when his roommate came up to say hi to Lesley,… Continue reading DUI Date

Mornings Are Best

April 1, 2018March 31, 2018 Posted in California, caregiver, dancing, friends, gardening, humor, memoir, nature, neighbors, relationships1 Comment

It’s the end of the month. I need to pay the bills. But not right now. I am sitting at the kitchen table with my cup of tea and two dogs under my feet. The house is quiet. Only the sound of the refrigerator is in my ear. Since it’s the weekend, the freeway noise… Continue reading Mornings Are Best

Grizzly Bear!

March 30, 2018March 30, 2018 Posted in Alaska, bears, California, church, friends, grizzly bear, guardian angel, guns, hunting, nature, relationships, travel, vacation, worstLeave a comment

In 2008 you take your wife, Liza, and your teenaged kids to Alaska. You stay near the Princess Lodge in a fishing cabin on the Kenai Peninsula. It’s the third week of July, so it doesn’t get completely dark until around midnight. After dinner you suggest a hike in the woods along the Kenai River… Continue reading Grizzly Bear!