It’s true. In case you haven’t heard, the season for growth has hit the Bradbury household.
It is Tuesday evening and I am ready to leave the office. However there is just one thing needed yet... this column to be completed.
Dear Trooper Kathy: Why do they say that Thanksgiving time is the worst time for crashes? Is this true?
A good starting point for pruning any plant is to remove dead, diseased or damaged stems as soon as you see them. Dead stems attract insects and invite diseases to develop. Also remove crossing branches, water sprouts (vigorous upright growing shoots that form on trunks or side branches), and suckers (vigorous shoots that develop near or from below ground).
It’s no secret. I hate football. Up until recently, I firmly believed it was ruining my life.
Growing up, Thanksgiving meant family, friends and special people who didn’t have anyone to spend the holiday with.
Have you ever been so happy with how things are going? Your job, family or life in general? Things are clicking along so well, you wonder when the bridge you just discovered to happiness will collapse?
“If you eat too much Halloween candy, you’ll turn into Halloween candy,” I joke with my children.
Trick-or-treating is a customary celebration for children on Halloween.
This past weekend I made the 400 mile trek to International Falls to visit my children.
A couple of years ago, my son made a heartfelt plea that he needed to be with his Dad. Knowing that I do not posses the same qualities as a Dad, I agreed. And because my son and daughter were a package, I didn’t consider keeping one behind.
The last few days have been a harsh reminder that winter is on its way.
I was home this past weekend which allow-ed me to get a few more things done around the apartment. Some treats baked for the staff, some leaves (in my sun porch) vacuumed up, making homemade stew and chicken noodle soup in small batches.
Another growing season is over and during the next month it’s time to prepare for winter. Once the plants have finished producing or the frost has completely ended the season, it is time to dig or pull the plants. What you do next can have a big effect on what happens in your garden or landscape next year.
Just recently I took a walk down memory lane when I was going through some old scrapbooks and photo albums. I came across an email I had gotten explaining the cost of raising a child from birth to age 18.
Mind you that while these numbers may not seem staggering or outrageous, I was given this 12 years ago when I had my son. In 2000, the calculated cost of raising a child from birth to 18 was about $160,140. That translated into $8,896.66 per year, $741.38 a month and $171.08 per week. Or merely $24.44 a day.
I’d like to introduce you to Nahli, a frail seven-year-old South African boy. He may appear frightening at first sight, with dark circles framing his big sunken eyes and infections covering his skin. Nahli sleeps in the streets of Kinshasa on his pile-of-trash mattress, trying to survive each day by panhandling. Some days Nahli settles for a half-eaten apple he finds in a nearby trash can. Nahli’s father died of AIDS two years ago. When his mother remarried, her new husband resented Nahli with such a vengeance, he beat and tortured him. Running away to survive, Nahli ended up in the streets. Funds and protection are hard to come by.
Last Friday as I was driving to the fire reported north of Sleepy Eye at the intersection of Highways 4 and 68, I couldn’t help but wonder how our fire department was going to get ahead of the wind and flames without losing an entire field or worse yet, someone’s home.
Kids. One minute you love them and the next minute you scratch your head wondering how this devil spawn standing in front of you, teeth nashing and foaming at the mouth over who got the bigger half of the cookie, could have possibly come from you. And after a tearful “I’m sorry” and a hug after a timeout, peace is once again restored for the next five minutes.
There are many times when you think you know your kids and they throw you for a loop and make you look like a liar.
