Merlin’s favorite times of the year are the fall and spring, simply because that’s when windows can be open and he can watch (and smell) the birds and squirrels that he’d like to be outside chasing. Here, he peers intently at the back yard through the open window right next to my desk earlier this week. Merlin is the one who disappeared for a couple of days after an escape through a screen about two years ago. He doesn’t seem to eager to leave the comforts of home behind after that adventure.

Has it really been so long since I’ve been ‘real’ with someone?
Missing childhood connections leave us longing for missing love
Check out my re-runs if you’d like, because I’m on vacation for a bit
How would you live differently if you knew when death was coming?
Should I become prophet of doom or fade quietly into the darkness?
What will you do when ‘electing the right people’ doesn’t change things?
I’m trying to do something new — and I don’t know what to call it