Footsteps

Into Yosemite

Heather Dugan — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 00:08:23 +0000

With a roughly 3:1 ratio of road miles to trail miles, Yosemite National Park could never be properly seen from a vehicle. Not to say that there won’t be some stunning images framed by your open car window, but these are but teasing hints of what lies beyond. Shuttered blinks of glory. For anyone who [...]

Buskers by the Wharf

Heather Dugan — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 22:12:21 +0000

It’s got to be love, right? The attention span and focus of their audience is minimal, and most passersby are looking for lunch or the next ferry to Alcatraz. Street performers, or buskers, must relish the act of performing enough to ignore being ignored. Exposing a bit of heart in hopes of an answering smile, a [...]

On Her Own Road to “Amazing”

Heather Dugan — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 14:20:25 +0000

In honor of Hannah’s fifteenth birthday today, I’m reposting these reflections from her thirteenth year. Originally posted: February 1, 2008 I could easily trip over the milestones set within this past week. First, my oldest boy Zach turned 16, and then, on Tuesday, my daughter Hannah became an official teen-ager. She’s been an unofficial one, off and [...]

In Town Tourist: Rock House

Heather Dugan — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 21:48:29 +0000

Situated in the side of a sandstone cliff, the Rock House has a colorful history stemming from its concealed location. Horse thieves, murderers, bootleggers and Indians once crept through the 200 foot long recess. Today visitors to the Hocking Hills near Logan, Ohio can walk the dark expanse that once protected both the criminal and [...]

Journey to Sixteen (Eighteen…)

Heather Dugan — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 17:57:41 +0000

In honor of Zach’s eighteenth birthday Originally posted: January 24, 2008 Sixteen years ago tonight, I attempted to slow down the arrival of my first child by breathing into a paper bag. I had no idea if it would really help. I was pretty much at the mercy of the attending nurse by that point in [...]

In-Town Tourist: Frozen Falls in Hocking Hills

Heather Dugan — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 18:54:11 +0000

Verdant ferns and mosses nipped at the frosted edges of receding snow. For the moment winter was in steady retreat, sending occasional drips of icy meltwater to the back of the neck or tip of the nose from sandstone overhangs and swaying hemlock branches. We took advantage of warmer weather and a non-school day to hike [...]

Blue Lips in Bermuda

Heather Dugan — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 12:55:15 +0000

I peeked out my window a few minutes ago. It’s still here, there, everywhere… Snow. I’ll be running in it this afternoon, but I’m taking a little detour to Bermuda again beforehand. Originally posted: January 11, 2008 I was headed for snowy Highbanks Metro Park this morning and ended up in Bermuda. Sadly, this was not a [...]

Weather Watching

Heather Dugan — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 18:31:19 +0000

Beyond the obvious benefits of a good snowfall: full coverage of a lawn that The Scotts Co. would be proud to use in a “Before” picture and no muddy dog paws when Lily romps in the woods -there’s a school kid sort of thrill at knowing that the weather could trump all the “should”s in [...]

Snow Running

Heather Dugan — Sun, 03 Jan 2010 16:16:58 +0000

Yawn. Stretch. Feels good to be in 2010 (“Two Ten?” “Twenty Ten?” Someone let me know what we’re going with here…). The end of December brought central Ohio enough snow to try out my new YakTrax. It looks like January will keep us supplied with enough of the white stuff to make extra traction a good [...]

Care Center Carols

Heather Dugan — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 16:03:02 +0000

One box of ornaments remained hidden in an attic recess that was probably as dimly lit as the top of this year’s Christmas tree. And the kids covered the landscaping with enough lighting to blow a fuse and blackout the master suite as I was racing to get ready for an appointment last week. One [...]