Carnival is over, Lent arrived with Ash Wednesday this week. People are giving up on habits – to probably take them up again after 40 days –, or they take on specific tasks – to give them up again after 40 days. But what is it with these 40 days? Of course, it has to […]
Across the Fence: Wetlands
A friend of mine, Washington State author and artist Jennifer Chushcoff has written a beautiful book titled “Washington is Water”. Indeed, whenever I am on the road, I keep thinking she nailed it. And especially in the winter season. We are living on dripping wet lands in the western part of this state. Part of […]
Across the Fence: Salt On Our Tongues
As a kid, I heard of oversalted soil on which nothing would grow anymore. In ancient times, sometimes, the winners of a battle would salt the earth of their defeated enemy in order to prevent future harvests; Roman general Scipio Aemilianus Africanus did this to Carthage after the third Punic War. You wouldn’t believe, therefore, […]
Across the Fence: Playground Preferences
The other day, on a walk around Chambers Bay Golf Course, I came past the playground and pondered with how much love it has been set up. There were quite a few kids playing there, not all of them physically distancing; but in one corner, on a swing, sat a little girl all by herself, […]
Across the Fence: Outside Inside
It’s this grayish, wet time of the year in which we don’t know whether we might expect snow in the Lowlands of Western Washington or not. Personally, I find it a cozy time of year when you can appreciate your home and take care of it, and maybe even enjoy walks in the drizzle. What […]
Across the Fence: Inauguration
Inauguration Day is nearing in the United States. We all know that this is the day a president elect is sworn in on their office. But where does the term “inauguration” come from? Yes, from the Latin language. But what does it mean? Let’s go back to the ancient Romans and their customs. Whenever there […]
Across the Fence: A Route of Surprises
Do you catch yourself getting bored with a specific traveling route to a destination? Well, it happened to us the other day when we headed to the coast near Astoria, OR, to celebrate my husband’s birthday. In the past, we had done the I-5 route all the way to Longview and from there straight into […]
Across the Fence: Communicating on a Deeper Level
By profession, Stefanie Skupin from Tonasket, WA, is a veterinarian. But she doesn’t practice in the United States. Instead, she has created her own field of work – that of a communicator and facilitator. With animals and with people. Something that began way back when she started out in Cape Town, South Africa. “I have […]
Across the Fence: An Ending
As this is the last weekend The Suburban Times is published in 2020, I wish to thank the readers who bore so kindly with me this year and commented so wonderfully. For once, I thought on a festive occasion like this, a poem – in this case, a sonnet – might be an appropriate response. […]