Come Sit for a While
And let your cares float away on the wisps of whispering breezes.
Works for me every time.… Read More
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Points of View
If you can start the day without caffeine,
If you can get going without pep pills,
If you can always be cheerful, ignoring aches and pains,
If you can resist complaining and boring people with your troubles,
If you can eat the same food every day and be grateful for it,
If you can understand when your loved ones are too busy to give you any time,
If you can take criticism and blame without resentment,
If you can resist … Read More
On the Menu
One of my great joys in life is heading out to the garden to collect food for dinner. Weather like this simply adds to the adventure.
I’m usually very thankful for rain, but with all the wet weather we’ve had, it’s really slowing down some of the crops.
As you can see, my selection still mainly rests with cool weather crops. Here, we’ve got some snap peas, a variety of lettuces, a bowl of fresh-picked raspberries, and a bunch of … Read More
When Knowing Dog Training Comes in Handy for Raising Kids — Or Operant Conditioning: Part 2
In my earlier post on Operant Conditioning: Part 1, I explained how it can be used with great success at motivating 2-leggeds and 4-leggeds. I shared the example of how, at Cait’s suggestion, I used +R (Positive Reinforcement) along with -P (Negative Punishment) to help motivate her to change an undesired behavior (chewing with mouth open) to a desired behavior (chewing with mouth closed). You can read about how we did that here.
In this post, I’d like to … Read More
Gifts and Guests
As much as anything, what I love about gardening are the nice surprises — what I call the “Gifts” and “Guests.”
The gifts come from seeds that I didn’t intentionally plant. Since I use open-pollinated seeds, and I save my own seeds from year to year, I’m always allowing a few plants to reach the stage where they can set their own seeds. Invariably, a few of the vegetables don’t get harvested and wind up composting on the ground. When … Read More
On the Hunt
It’s in the air today, along with the gathering thunderclouds. Everyone around here is hunting for something.
Our Great Blue Heron is on the hunt for his lunch.
He seldom misses.
He’s snagged himself a nice fish.
Oh, there’s something else fishing there along the side of the pond!
Is it our Fisher (a weasel)?
Nope. I’d recognize that fluffy tail anywhere. Looks like Finn’s found some good hunting by the pond too.
Kiera and Wink are hunting for a … Read More
When Knowing Dog Training Comes in Handy for Raising Kids — Or Operant Conditioning: Part 1
When I was young, I was quite shy and never liked drawing attention to myself. One of the ways this manifested was that I spoke very softly. My wonderful father was bothered by this trait and took it upon himself to remedy the situation. Anytime I spoke, he’d interrupt and insist that I speak more loudly.
Interestingly, this constant reminder to speak up did not have the effect of making me speak louder. Instead, I’d step closer to be heard … Read More
7 Best Dog Raising & Training Books
Maybe you’ve seen this ditty passed around in an email:
Ten Rules for Being Human
1. You will receive a body.
2. You will be presented with lessons.
3. There are no mistakes, only lessons.
4. Lessons are repeated until learned.
5. Learning does not end.
6. There is no better than Here.
7. Others are only mirrors of you.
8.What you make of your life is up to you.
9. All the answers lie inside of you.
10. You … Read More