3:02am

Adopting a new pet just after losing another

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It's probably better to wait. Kind of like remarrying soon after a spouse dies -- my brother did it, and his new wife confided to me that she's constantly trying to behave like Wife #1 so he'll be happy with her. She feels that he resents the ways she's different, so she tries to erase her own personality. That's sad! But I had the same feelings of resentment when we adopted Toby soon after Moby was run over in the street outside our house. The young woman at the animal shelter talked u… read more

2:23am

Why starlings are so named

We lived in a lime-green, two-story house on a curve of the Hoquiam River just before it met the Pacific Ocean. At high tide, the chicken yard and my big, hopeless garden were flooded. We had three elderly neighbors and acres and acres of forest all around us. The only light at night came from the moon and stars. So it was surprising one afternoon, when my husband was away and our baby was asleep, to hear a loud banging and commotion upstairs. Our four-year-old and I ran up to see what i… read more