Besides being a trapper, my father was also a hunting guide, mainly guiding nighttime racoon hunts. This was a popular sport in Illinois during and after the Depression. Besides being a great way for men to get together at night to swap jokes, wade through bogs, and chase baying hounds, if a coon met itsContinue reading “Coon Hunting”
Author Archives: Judelaine
Mama’s Goat Barn
(Excerpt from the memoir Nettles and Roses) Mama’s goat barn before it was condemned. Oil painting by the author. In the summer of 1965 Mama placed a two-hundred-dollar silent bid on an abandoned house and the three acres on which it sat; the property abutted her land. Actually, the house had been a cozy cottageContinue reading “Mama’s Goat Barn”
Night Queen
Science says she’s nothing more than blood and bone and meat, molecules that know the rules, all kept alive by heat. But tell that to the ones that strive to see the morning light in their effort to survive the ruler of the night. Johnny Bock Paintings by Judelaine (oil paintings available at: https://www.etsy.com/shop/JudelaineArt)
Outhouse Spelunking
Excerpt from the memoir titled Nettles and Roses Papa, with Charles’ help, dug a new hole for the outhouse when the contents of the previous hole had almost reached ground level. One day shortly before a new hole was dug, Ted and I found ourselves examining Mama’s new refillable ink pen. Ted was nine years oldContinue reading “Outhouse Spelunking”
The Owl Catcher
Oil Painting of a Screech Owl Painted on A Wooden Panel by Author The child dragged a five-foot ladder as she walked the grassy path between a ripened cornfield and the bank of a slow-moving river. The child’s foraging bag hung from her shoulder and in the bag was a pair of her father’s workContinue reading “The Owl Catcher”
Playing with Dead Rats: Searching for Humanbeingness
During lunch break, a group of teachers, all women, had gathered in the lounge to savor cups of hot coffee, check out catalog bargains, and talk about home and school. In one of the conversations, a second-grade teacher shared that several little girls in her class regularly brought Barbie and Ken dolls to school. She remarkedContinue reading “Playing with Dead Rats: Searching for Humanbeingness”
A Christmas Story: Eight Hens Roosting
Excerpt from the memoir titled Nettles and Roses Sixty-four Year Old Santa Under the Christmas Tree (Henry David, a vintage doll, sits next next to Santa. Henry (named after Thoreau) was rescued from an abandoned cabin shortly before it was demolished.) After the house burned and while we were living in a one room tar-paperContinue reading “A Christmas Story: Eight Hens Roosting”
