In my backyard — When I was a young girl, my family would gather together on Sunday night for the Wonderful World of Color by Disney and watch a nature film. The stories were always about the antics of one or two wild animals — raccoons, bear cubs, baby mountain lions — finding a…

Gardening, it’s a generational thing — Hi there. My name is Julie Ringwood. I’m a grant writer by day and a sometime writer the rest of the time. I’ve worked as a court reporter, insurance broker, and therapeutic horseback riding instructor. …

Best damn, gluten free, peanut butter and chocolate chip cookies ever! The benefits of peanut butter and chocolate: Peanut butter contains omega-6. This fatty acid lowers bad (LDL) cholesterol and increases protective (HDL) cholesterol. …

What Gives?? I’ve been writing on Medium.com since November 2021. I write memoirs as I’m getting up there (69) and things feel differently than they did when I was younger. I just feel the need to talk about my family, so I do! …

A non toxic method for keeping the ants at bay! Have you ever gotten up in the morning and found ants all over the sink and/or countertops? Today they came out of the bathroom and traipsed across the hall into my office, for crying out loud! My husband, who is…

And lived to tell about it another day — Arriving at our annual family camping trip at Onion Valley in the Inyo National Forest, I am always surprised by the majestic beauty surrounding the campground. It is a nature lover’s dream with lodgepole pines, aspens, wild tiger lilies of deep yellow, intense purple monkshood, and pale pink lacy alliums…

And they flower all year round — If you need a splash of color and want something easy to grow that flowers throughout the year, try geraniums. Geraniums are members of the Geraniaceae family, and there is quite a bit of information out there regarding whether the plant commonly called geranium is really a pelargonium. There are…

What does it stand for now? — In grade school, every morning before school began, we said the pledge of allegiance to the American flag with our little hands over our hearts, saying words we did not understand. It was obvious that the flag was important and held in high regard. I remember when anyone had to…

My personal regimen — I feel I am constantly bombarded by social media and fear mongering by news stations, and I am continually being fed negative information whether I like it or not. I can watch people dying or suffering all over the world. If it’s not on the news, it’s on YouTube or…