By Eilene Lyon This one, found on a walk down the mountain above Bergen, Norway, left me scratching my head. Is there supposed to be a hyphen in there somewhere? Is someone hunting invisible witches, or is the witch hunter invisible? Or is the witch an invisible hunter? Now I’m extra confused! And why does... Continue Reading →
Colored People
By Eilene Lyon At the grocery store checkout yesterday I saw a blue person. I don’t mean someone who was depressed, choking on a piece of gristle, a zombie, or (heaven forbid) a corpse. It would be rather disconcerting to find a zombie or corpse in the grocery checkout line – probably not good for... Continue Reading →
Reatha Gusso, 1932
Week 18: #52Ancestors – Close Up By Eilene Lyon Being an Army brat, I didn’t grow up close to my extended family. But I always had a special affinity for my paternal grandmother, Reatha (Gusso) Halse. Her home was in Corvallis, Oregon, and she worked at Oregon State University in the chemical lab supply room.... Continue Reading →
Dexter Cemetery
Week 17: #52Ancestors – Cemetery By Eilene Lyon This may strike you as a strange project, but I never claimed to not be weird. There is this little cemetery in Dexter Township, Codington County, South Dakota, where I am related to a vast majority of the “inhabitants” in one way or another. Note that the... Continue Reading →
Earth Day and Pogo
By Eilene Lyon Today we celebrate Earth Day, an international event that takes place in nearly 200 countries around the globe, involving roughly a billion participants. Throughout the 1960s, environmental legislation was going nowhere, as Americans roiled about our participation in the Vietnam War. Wisconsin Senator Gaylord Nelson, an environmental champion, decided to create a... Continue Reading →
Stella Braves The Storm
Week 16: #52 Ancestors – Storms By Eilene Lyon Stella Gusso didn’t ordinarily let the farm dog in the house, but something didn’t feel right. The building clouds were ominous-looking. Stella’s husband and the other men of the family were not home that evening, so Stella brought the begging dog indoors. The noise of the... Continue Reading →
Pay Your Taxes!
Week 15: #52Ancestors - Taxes By Eilene Lyon The moral of this story is written in the title – pay your taxes, or there will be consequences. In this case, I am referring to property taxes, and what could happen if you don’t pay them. One of the more intriguing (and mysterious) people in my... Continue Reading →
Hasta…
By Eilene Lyon My dear Readers, The world beyond my computer beckons, and duty calls, so I must somewhat curtail my output for a couple months. First up is a vacation (Yea!) and then I will be out trampling the cacti in the Chaco region for a bit. Thanks to WordPress scheduler, I have some... Continue Reading →
Starry, Starry Night
By Eilene Lyon I adore the Don McLean song of that name, and the Van Gogh painting that inspired it. Most of all, I love the starry night itself - the one I'm privileged to enjoy just by walking out my bedroom door at night. I live in what you would classify as a "dark-sky"... Continue Reading →