I got hooked on sailboats at a fairly young age, with some "teasers" of experiences growing up. I was nine when we visited family friends in the Netherlands, and their teenage son took us in the family's little wooden sailboat, poling from their back-yard canal to the nearby lake where he raised the sails... (My … Continue reading History of a Helm-Hog
Tag: Travel
Cracking the Winter Chrysalis
I often joke that I'm a plant--I need my sunshine! The shamrock in our front window (inherited from my Irish great-grandma, and a decade older than I am) responds so enthusiastically to sunlight that you can almost see its movement toward the light when we open the curtains. My daughter says she's half-leprechaun, so maybe I'm … Continue reading Cracking the Winter Chrysalis
How to Bury an Owl
Ah, trick question! Of course you wouldn't bury an owl, because the Migratory Bird Act makes it illegal in the United States to be in possession of even an owl feather, let alone the entire dead bird. (Or three.) So of course this post is entirely a work of fiction. (Cough, cough.) Last summer I … Continue reading How to Bury an Owl
Blogging Tech-Tip: Flag Collecting
Though I'm no "techxpert," I do like to play around with various tools and gizmos online, and I thought maybe some of you would have fun with the same... I'm a stats-girl, and a maps-girl, so the new statistics counter released this week by WordPress tickled me greatly! It's a flag-by-flag breakdown of where … Continue reading Blogging Tech-Tip: Flag Collecting
February Sunshine!
It's probably a fittting follow-up to the other day's Imbolc post that today I'm privileged to share the Sunshine Award! Perfect item for February, when we all (at least those of us in the northern hemisphere) might be in need of a little extra light... My humble thanks to Susan, of Susan Writes Precise, who … Continue reading February Sunshine!
Subterranean Splendors–Shoshone Ice Caves
Catching up... The final stop on the road for the Western Byways editorial team... For sixty years Fred Robinson’s family has acted as gatekeeper to a hidden underground wonder just north of the town of Shoshone, Idaho. Situated across the highway from a trading post advertising Indian Beads, leathers, kachinas, knives, and (strangely enough) swords, … Continue reading Subterranean Splendors–Shoshone Ice Caves
From Volcanic Hotspots to an Atomic Town
Third day on the roads of Idaho for the Western Byways Editorial Team (see 'Western Byways on the Road... Carey, Idaho and Ice Fishing, Hot Springs, and a Duck-Hunting Writer)... Lunchtime... We’re parked on a dirt road in the narrow plain between the Lost River Range and the White Cloud Range of mountains. Normally at this time … Continue reading From Volcanic Hotspots to an Atomic Town

