Last spring the mother cat from the farm next door had a batch of four kittens. As they grew, they became frequent visitors to our doorstep where my wife offers sustenance to hungry felines. As they got bigger and bolder, three of those kittens would sneak in the door whenever they had the opportunity. One … Continue reading A new addition to our household
Whimsy
A Dark Poem
I should have known
I wanted a pickup, just a compact little pickup that I could drive to work, use for hauling stuff to the dump and for other little jobs on our acreage. An ad appeared in the local weekly paper for a refurbished pickup that was in my price range (cheap). I called about it, my wife … Continue reading I should have known
It’s that time of year again
There are twenty Manitoba maple (acer negundo) trees between our house and the road. They are not a hardwood tree like the maples of Eastern Canada, but still useful as ornamental and shade trees and perfect for young boys to climb. It is possible to make maple syrup from the sap of Manitoba maples, but … Continue reading It’s that time of year again
Thinking outside the zeitgeist – 4
Thirty years ago, renowned child psychologist made the observation that the world was all taken up with ecology and trying to preserve all flora and fauna in their natural settings. But, he said, that didn't seem to extend to human children. His view was that the natural, and ideal, ecosystem for raising a happy and … Continue reading Thinking outside the zeitgeist – 4
What’s in the bottle?
[First posted in October, 2017.] Image by Dmitriy from Pixabay Once upon a time a man was given a wonderful elixir that would cure every disease of mankind. He bottled it in plain brown bottles and offered it for sale to others. The price was very high and it didn’t taste very good, but it worked. As time … Continue reading What’s in the bottle?
A parable about a parable
[First posted July 2017.] The kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchant man, seeking goodly pearls: who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had, and bought it. The words of Jesus recorded in Matthew 13:45-46 Image by picasso from Pixabay Renowned investigative reporter Ernest Digger has just returned from … Continue reading A parable about a parable
Kittens on our doorstep
Four kittens have been providing us with entertainment for the last few weeks. They appear to make their home in the trees and underbrush that separate our yard from the farm next door. Every once in awhile they come out onto our lawn to roughhouse, chase grasshoppers, chase each other along the fence rail, or … Continue reading Kittens on our doorstep
Sleepwalking in the rubber factory
Last night I was working as a quality control inspector in a factory that makes moulded rubber parts for the automotive industry. I needed to find the temperature sticks to check the temperature of the moulds. There should have been a set of six colour-coded sticks which I could rub on the mould and the … Continue reading Sleepwalking in the rubber factory
Thinking outside the zeitgeist – 2
If money is our chief motivation for going to work every day, we will feel worthless when we can no longer hold a paying job. If the desire to serve others is our chief motivation, there will always be something worthwhile and useful for us to do.
Flatlander Faith 