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By JiJi Russell Visiting herbalist Geo Derick at her rural Clarke County apothecary transports me to the fascination of my childhood, when I spent many open-ended afternoons walking the deep woods discovering tiny flowers, plants, and stones that I suspected had special powers. Derick, a clinical herbalist and organic gardener, believes in that specialness, and […]
Why Is My Pet Limping? Cranial cruciate ligament injuries in dogs By Matthew Nicholson, DVM There are many reasons why a pet may develop a lameness or limp. Some of the causes can be sudden in onset, while many may have a gradual progression. It is important to recognize the onset of symptoms, activities that […]
Five Generations At Dunbeath Farm By Annie Young Nestled into the Shenandoah Valley are historic farms filled with stories that span generations. One of these farms is Dunbeath in Clarke County. Dunbeath Farm has been family owned and operated for five generations, and that family has a strong connection with the land that is their […]
Telling My Son About Tar Sands Oil By David Lillard I often learn more from answering my 6-year-old son’s endless questions than he does. Usually we make it a game, searching out answers together to queries like, “How many stars are there?” or, “What is in our air?” (it’s almost 80 percent nitrogen). But he […]
Experiencing a Health Set-Back? Experts Say Remain Practical, Yet Open By JiJi Russell Most of us have experienced a health setback at some point in our lives. Maybe a recurring back injury limited your activity level more and for longer than you had hoped; or perhaps one of those recent tenacious flu strains snagged you […]
Safe Haven For The Night By Doug Pifer My wife and I often look out the kitchen window at our big, white martin house these days. A flock of seven bluebirds appears around five o’clock or so each evening. Back and forth they fly to the martin house, perch on the porches, and look in […]
The Future of History By David Lillard It’s a late September afternoon, and the wind is whirling. That hurricane moving north from the Gulf wasn’t expected to hit hard in Clarke County, but the horizontal rains and leaves blowing past the window make you wonder if the forecast has changed. You pull out your smart […]
See what’s going on around the county in February and early March.
What We Can Learn From Third Graders I’ve been reading Doris Kearns Goodwin’s book Team of Rivals about President Lincoln and his cabinet. In every chapter, it seems, there is an account of a long speech by a public figure that drew a thousand people or more—often in towns no bigger than Boyce or Millwood. […]