Sharry Miller

Goat Trail Hike

Have you ever noticed all the sounds wind makes as it travels through leaves? A dull, quiet roar through Devil's Club's oversized foliage, a dry rattling through autumn's aspen and cottonwoods, a soft hiss through spruce boughs. A windy forest is a very noisy place to hike. Add to all that wind noise the ever-present roar of the Lowe River, occasional Dopplerized vehicular whines on the highway, and the tumbling of numerous small rivulets and... Read more →

Power of Imagination

They're coming to take me away...away...away.... Oh, wait, no, that's paranoia, not imagination, although I suspect the two may be closely related. Imagination is a wonderful and terrible thing. It can soar us to the heights of wonderment or plunge us into the depths of terror. Certainly the ability to be entertained by books and movies depends on our capacities to suspend disbelief and use our imaginations, to fall into strange new worlds and live,... Read more →

Thoughtful Gifts

Wendy gave me a thoughtful birthday gift today. I was so touched that not only did she give me a gift, but she showed that she pays attention to this silly blog of mine. Some time ago, I wrote a post (which I can't seem to find now or I'd link to it) about keeping a perpetual calendar on recipe cards. The idea is that you have a card for each day of the year,... Read more →

Writing What You Don't Know

An internet acquaintance, Andi Cumbo, has written a book about the enslaved people who used to live on her family's Virginia plantation. Her working title is You Will Not Be Forgotten, and I have learned a great deal about Andi, her book, and her writing process as I've read her blog posts about the book. One of Andi's laments was how little she knew about the people about whom she was writing. Often, all she... Read more →

Restless Dead

I walked down the gravel road, skirting potholes and searching for good traction. It was a road I’d walked many times, but seldom in winter. My timing was optimal: enough snow to make it look like winter, but not so much that the road plows would have built up unsurpassable berms along the highway and make it impossible to get to the road. As I always am when I spend time outdoors, I was disappointed... Read more →