While I was planting verbena this afternoon, our new puppy Aura had her first encounter with the electric fence of her little corral. I’d never been around when such a thing happened and I was almost as upset as she was. She yowled, then ran, but wasn’t sure where to run. Didn’t know what was […] Read More

A garter snake is on the list of entities I’ve always thought of as ridiculously harmless. Like dandelions, cotton candy, soap bubbles, toads, puppies, primary colors, large print, milkshakes, and the board game Candyland. So today I was weeding the periwinkle and startled a two-and-a-half foot striped snake sunning his/herself on the ledge at the […] Read More

The ability to relax is underrated as an act of courage. I tend to have tense shoulders all the time. And I’ve just now come from the dentist where I tend to turn into a 5 foot 8 inch steel plank. A snootful of nitrous helps, but still I can be fairly tense. Somehow tight […] Read More

I’m ever scanning the world for sterling examples of boldness to report on, and I found some true moxie yesterday in my local News & Observer. The story by Kathleen Purvis was about Hog Heaven, an inn and spa devoted to an appreciation of pork. “‘I figured if California could have the Napa Valley, maybe […] Read More

I picked out this camel pin (for Husband Bob to give me) just because I liked it. Probably also at the back of my mind was the fact that when I was a kid my mother smoked three packs a day of unfiltered Camels and I have good memories of the image. I also think […] Read More

By popular request (Regular Contributor Debbie Whaley suggested it), I’ve posted here a few of the bold blossoms around my house. They’re bold to peep out because we live in woodland amongst herds of deer and large swathes of shade and voles and other diggers, including something that can only be the Tunneling Yeti. And […] Read More

The hilarious and wise Roy Blount, Jr. writes a don’t-miss column in the Authors Guild Bulletin (he’s president of that group.) His most recent entry is about the economy and writers. It applies to more people than writers. “Look. It was imprudent of us, in the first place, to become authors….For 33 years I have […] Read More

The new puppy arrived at our house yesterday. What does this have to do with bold? Well, Husband Bob is extremely bold to take on this dog. She–Aura–is a sweet soft, though rather large, mastiff puppy now. She’ll become a 140 pound animal, a Boerboel, bred as a guard dog. Already, at about four months […] Read More

When I got to my office today, I discovered that I’d left home the cord that goes between my laptop and the power strip– called a power supply? or battery pack or something like that. And of course the battery in the machine was out of juice. And I had appointments etc. and no time […] Read More

I sat down this morning to start proofreading my novel and wound up making substantial and marvelous changes to the opening. (Some might not call these substantial since the events didn’t change, but I do: the emotion became clearer and stronger.) This reminds me once again: it’s not only our will and resolve and conscious […] Read More