I don't normally tell people where I was born. I grew up in Virginia so I claim that state when asked "Where ya from?" But I'm going to tell you and since there aren't many of you, it might go unnoticed. Jersey. I have trouble saying it. If you don't understand that, let me explain.

First, somewhere in my childhood I heard someone call New Jersey the armpit of the nation. Oh yeah! That's where I want to be from.

Fast forward WAY into adulthood and I am preparing...

I've heard it said that it's not a good idea to allow your horses to graze on acorns. I had a little oak tree in my Mississippi front yard. It dropped acorns about a half inch across. My horses, quite conspicuously, hung out under that tree in the fall. I knew what they were doing, the buggers. But I always wondered how in the world those acorns could be a problem for horses.

Fast forward several years and many states away, I live in a home surrounded by oak trees. When the acorns...

During the year I spent in paradise, aka Hawaii, I really loved the beach but I really missed seagulls. Having grown up in the Tidewater area of Virginia, a beach without seagulls is like a day without sunshine. (best I could do)

Now I'm in New England and there are plenty! Thank goodness I'm near water. And trees. And the good gulls of the air.

Today I was walking out in the beautiful sunshine and there must have been 50 seagulls swooping and swirling overhead....

Here I go, starting the day off with a song stuck in my head. Not a song from the radio that keeps playing over and over. (I'm listening to audio books these days anyway.) Not an old favorite hymn. Not even a contemporary favorite. No. My mind is playing a song that I haven't heard in....oh, I don't know.... DECADES????

"Really?" I think to myself. "Dr. Hook?"

You remember Dr. Hook, don't you? The band named after a fictional person, or was it historical?...

A couple of days ago I decided to run - jog really. So I took to the track - it's a great track, brand new and spongy. I took a second lap and noticed a lone soccer player. He was tapping the ball into the air with his feet, over and over without it ever touching the ground.

"That's awesome" I said with a gasp as I rounded the bend. "Thanks!" He seemed pleased and tapped even faster. I veered off to a different path and, by the time I rounded the same bend, soccer-boy...