These squirrels keep second-guessing me. They don't completely trust that I mean them no harm. They're still timid when they come down...

No freelancing tips. No story about an interesting client encounter. No quippy squirrel humor. We discovered a baby mockingbird out of...

I've written about the lean times when you're a freelancer. Those weeks when there is NO work to do. During these times, it's vital that...

The squirrels aren't always on time. Some days, I throw peanuts out at 8 am, and they still haven't arrived for breakfast. Since I can't...

Lately, 3-4 squirrels have been in the backyard each morning. They each vie for the spot closest to the peanut bowl. One of them seems...

Apparently, squirrels have trust issues. While they have adapted to dealing with humans in urban areas and find them unthreatening , they...

In one of my favorite movies, Apollo 13 , these words were spoken by Lead Flight Director Gene Kranz. He told the engineers to figure out...

I've seen two very cool things this past week, both of which have left me at a loss for words. I love Sandhill Cranes . I cannot express...

There is another squirrel in the midst. I don't think I've seen Bertrand in a while, although he may show up mid-afternoon when I'm...

Bertrand, and his friends, want to feel safe eating their peanuts . But they react differently when the peanuts are in the shell. This is...

The birds have been showing up after I put out the peanuts and as soon as Bertrand begins eating breakfast. So if he wants to be the...

I've been sick for a week with the typical winter head cold—sneezing, watery eyes, runny nose, and coughing. The coughing is the worst...

The Husband shared an article with me that said this: "Do your not-best. The need to give your absolute best in every situation is a lie...

The title character in If You Give a Moose a Muffin , by Laura Numeroff, is a very distractible moose. In the story, a moose visits a boy...

Bertrand is a creature of routine and habit. His morning ritual consists of the following: Climb down from the tree across the street....

I've been mentally down lately. Freelancing is hard work. Not the kind of hard work you have when working on a significant project at a...

Squirrels are not ants, and they prefer a solitary life. Tree squirrels choose to work and live alone. In severe cold spells, they will...

A long week is winding down, and I’m feeling the weight of another slow period of freelance work. This is how Bertrand looks when he is...

Ten years. Ten long years. That’s how long I’ve been dreaming of working as a book reviewer for a well-known company. For almost two...

One disadvantage to freelancing is having to look for and bid on jobs daily. Through this constant challenge, I have realized that I will...