Opinions

Yup...another pic of a pileated woodpecker. The photographer just finds them to be fascinating birds. This one was seen last week in Union County.

Mother Nature is playing tricks on us...

After getting home from another exciting day of editing copy, generating a couple of actual stories and taking a few photographs, I suggested to The Other Half on Monday evening that it might be good to check the calendar. Given how some of the events of the day had unfolded, I was starting to...

Strange birdfellows? Your writer consulted with a fellow scribe at The Paragraph Factory if “strange birdfellows” seem appropriate for this image of a mockingbird and a killdeer. The fellow scribe was OK with it.

Little bit of this...little bit of that...

Once again this week, we’re going to go with a little bit of this...and a little bit of that... Is it just me, or does the wind pretty much just keep on blowing...day...after day...after day...? It’s been nice seeing crocuses and daffodils... Meanwhile... Yours truly went for a walk (big surprise...

Super Bowl snackers? We had a couple of special visitors on our front porch last Sunday night. The picture is a bit fuzzy ‘cause it was shot through two windows. An attempt to join the critters on the porch for a better photograph was unsuccessful.

Starting new holiday tradition?

Last Sunday afternoon was nearly perfect...in terms of the weather...and the little adventure your writer experienced in the bright February sunshine. All in all, it wasn’t a bad way to spend some time on an unofficial national holiday. National holiday? Sure. Unless you were hiding in, or under,...

A Chinese “weather balloon” passed through the sky over Union County last Friday evening. I’m guessing the folks in China spend a lot of their time worrying about the weather in Southern Illinois.

Look...up in the sky...

Late last Sunday morning, Bob and I were sitting out on the front stoop, enjoying the warm sunshine, which was quite welcome after our recent rounds of snow, sleet, ice and cold. The promise of spring could be seen on both sides of the stoop: green leaves popping up through a layer of unraked...

Some treasured finds...trilobite fossils which were discovered while wandering around in Union County.

Mammoth bones...teeth from big ol' shark...

At least I don’t need insulated chest waders, boats, diving apparatuses or remote-operated cameras to enjoy one of my favorite pastimes. Last weekend, I was doing a little bit of catching up by reading copies of USA TODAY which had shown up in our mailbox just across the street. The mailbox, by the...

Magical Mystery Tour? Nah. With apologies to Messieurs Lennon and McCartney, I do not think there is mention of a southbound freight train in “Magical Mystery Tour.” I’m guessing there has to be a country music song with lyrics about such a train... By the way...the photograph is explained in the column...

Thank you, Clarence, for paying attention...

Do you believe in guardian angels? We’ll get back to that question in just a bit. But first, a few words about one of the photographs which accompanies this week’s column. During the afternoon of the 11th day of the first month of the now not so new year of 2023, yours truly went for a ride out to...

Didn’t expect to see Big Foot while out for a walk on a cold Sunday afternoon in January... Mr. Foot did not do a very good job of hiding, either...

Big Foot spotted on Sunday afternoon walk...

Last Sunday afternoon was all about habits...or maybe routines...some still kept...some, well, not so much...and a little bit of BIG FOOT, too... Hang on to your seats...this will be almost as exciting as that Detroit/Green Bay NFL game Sunday night. Almost. Sunday afternoon, instead of taking a...

Two white-tailed deer might have been getting ready for a big New Year’s Eve celebration when they were spotted last Saturday afternoon.

Traditions continue...without any frostbite

So...is a tradition still a tradition if the tradition happens a week late? On the final day of 2022, yours truly took a walk in a creek bed...and cooked something on the grill. Under “normal” circumstances, such activities would have been part of your writer’s day on Christmas Eve. As you may...

Four calling birds...actual cost $600...although we do not think anybody would pay that much for starlings...

$45,000 for birds...pipers...drummers...

The inspiration for this week showed up on the dining room table Monday evening, which, truth be told, was a little bit late. Oh, well. While making my way through a stack of have-not-been-read-yet copies of USA TODAY, a headline in the December 2-4 edition of “The Nation’s News” caught my...

Looking for whipped cream? This raccoon was spotted one afternoon last week...way, way up high in the mostly bare branches of a tree along a rural road in Union County.

Whipped cream even makes Monday better...

Thank goodness for whipped cream...the condiment that can even make Monday a little bit better... ...well, I think it was Monday... November 21 was the Monday before November 24. November 24 was Thanksgiving Day, which happened to fall, once again, on a Thursday. And that’s the catalyst for this...

Opinions

Mother Nature is playing tricks on us...

Little bit of this...little bit of that...

Starting new holiday tradition?

Look...up in the sky...

Mammoth bones...teeth from big ol' shark...

Thank you, Clarence, for paying attention...

Big Foot spotted on Sunday afternoon walk...

Traditions continue...without any frostbite

$45,000 for birds...pipers...drummers...

Whipped cream even makes Monday better...

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