Attribution: EgorovaSvetlana, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, indulges the keeper as he wallows in a memory of the early days of cross-country skiing—wooden skies with metal bindings that required constant attention from the rapidly evolving world of ski wax. To replace out-of-season trout fishing or grouse hunting, the …
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Category:Weather
Kickass and Snow Sounds
Attribution: Breaking ground in deep snow by Trevor Littlewood, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, joins the keeper and Phyllis in listening to the sounds of a snowy day coming out of the muting gloom: *The scrape of a passing snowplow. *The buzz of the neighbors premature snowblower. *Command signals …
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Kickass and Others’ Misery
Attribution: Javier Vieras, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, notes the sensations to be had by the keeper and Phyllis’s crowd in learning of the misery of others—some sympathy of course, but more feelings that “they” probably deserve it followed by an overall smugness that it is better them …
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Light in the Sky
By Geoff Carter Photos by Geoff Carter My wife and I went up to our cabin in the Wisconsin Northwoods about a week ago to enjoy the fall colors and to relax a little bit. The leaves were a little past their peak, but it was still beautiful. Golden ash, scarlet maple, and yellow birch …
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Time of the Season
The Pen in Hand Blog
Illustration by Michael DiMilo
Kickass and First Snow
Attribution: W.carter, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons Photo by Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, noting the keeper’s long experience in dealing with seasonal rotations, consulted with him on the appropriate reaction to the first “dusting” of snow on portions of the local landscape. The keeper’s response follows: “Don’t cry. Crying only turns tears into …
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Kickass and Alaska Living
Attribution: Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, reports the keeper and Phyllis harboring warm feelings about Alaska with its embrace of nature and its frontier character. It comes up in breakfast conversations as a possible place to go and hide from the …
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Kickass and Winter Prep
Attribution: Mennonite Church USA Archives, No restrictions, via Wikimedia Commons by Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, reports the keeper and Phyllis, acknowledging their cellular kinship with all living things—trees, creatures, insects, etc., note the preparations for the coming winter that are hard wired into the evolutionary survival programs of most life forms—except for humans. …
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Kickass and Weather
Attribution:Mathias Krumbholz, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, asks the keeper and Phyllis to explain their decision to reschedule a planned drive across mid Wisconsin just because advance weather information tells them they would be in the middle of a band of possible severe thunderstorms most of the afternoon. …
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Kickass and Weather Forecast
Attribution: Gus Polly, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, reports that the keeper and Phyllis will be filling in from time to time for some of those dedicated experts who are being fired by the Musky Money Monkeys who now infest and manage the WHITE White House. Starting with …
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Kickass and Dad’s Wagon Rides
Attribution: Photo by Luismi Sánchez on Unsplash By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, turns it over to the keeper on this very windy day to remember a story his dear old dad told of his own boyhood in North Dakota when he hooked his coaster wagon to big tumbleweeds and let the wind pull him across the …
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Kickass Stays Inside
Attribution: U.S. Air Force photo/Senior Airman Justin Weaver, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, cautions the keeper to restrain his inclination to smugness over the fact that when winter comes roaring back from its AWOL status with ice and snow and cold wind, the keeper’s “Independent Living” lifestyle at …
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