A barn raising reflects commitment to community
The middle-aged man sat in the van watching what he really wanted to do. His physically weak condition didnt allow him to help rebuild the barn that had burned a month earlier. I knew this man, and knew his heart was with these good people, people from across the community who came together to help resurrect the barn. My friends presence moved me as much as the corporate act of mutual aid...GLICK
When Jen Brumfield calls, you can be sure a rare bird is involved. Jen lives in Cleveland but was on a field trip to our part of the state. She called to say that she was at Wilderness Road at the south end of Funk Bottoms Wildlife Area and had just spotted a Loggerhead Shrike. About that time Su Snyder pulled up, and soon the word was spreading about the great find. For Su this was a new Wayne...Loggerhead Shrike makes a rare appearance in Wayne County
When Jen Brumfield calls, you can be sure a rare bird is involved. Jen lives in Cleveland but was on a field trip to our part of the state. She called to say that she was at Wilderness Road at the south end of Funk Bottoms Wildlife Area and had just spotted a Loggerhead Shrike. About that time Su Snyder pulled up, and soon the word was spreading about the great find. For Su this was a new Wayne...
Ohios Exotic Animal Control Law aims to balance public safety and animal owner rights
Q: What is the Exotic Animal Control Law? A: The Exotic Animal Control Law (EACL) is a new law in Ohio that restricts and regulates the ownership and use of what are called exotic animals. The law defines exotic animals to effectively include any non-human animal that is not ordinarily kept in households. Examples include wolves, tigers, snakes and non-domesticated reptiles. Q: What...When life goes wrong, when life goes right, mom is by your side
When life goes wrong, what is a mom to do? We face so many challenges each day, and we have to find a way to put it all together again. Like piecing together Humpty Dumpty after his fall, moms are responsible for piecing together the puzzles of life whether things go well or not. Its a big job, but somebodys got to do it – and I guess that falls to mom. Sometimes the bump in the road is a...
The Necessity of Faith
Faith is to believe what you do not see; the reward of this faith is to see what you believe -- Saint Augustine Do you have any faith? If so, how much faith do you have? Do you have a little or a lot of it? In the last edition of Live On Purpose, I discussed hope and the nature of it. Hope is the idea that things will get better over time. However, faith is acting on what we hope for...
Time for a test that doesnt really matter to anyone
Lets start with a multiple-choice question, since those are almost always easier than ones that begin, In October of 1843, something really important happened, and unless you can recall what it was and can write 250 intelligent words about it, youre going to fail this quiz and probably wont become a success in life. I know, I know: A total buzz kill. I mean, I understand why my...
My first whiff of fall
While on my way home yesterday I smelled it I smelled fall. Someone living along my asphalt trail home must have raked up enough leaves to burn a pile. I could see no skyline smoke trail, but the smell of fall was indeed moving silently across the Plain Township acres. My Amish friend Rachel and her neighbor Eli have both been selling late harvest vegetables, pumpkins and gourds at the end of...
Pictures, pride and pruning Garden this year one of the prettiest ever
This year we had one of the prettiest, most well-manicured gardens we have ever had, thanks to the good Lord and lavish June rains. My daughter, whos in grad school, was also a big part of that. She had three weeks off from her projects/studies and helped whip our garden into shape after Id been gone for two full weeks and my husband gone for nine days. We arrived home from our travels to...