Holiday Howlers
No. I am not communicating with owls, just miscellaneous rants for the season. I have been saving up a number of “pet peeves” to air out when everyone is in a better mood, comparatively speaking. Take a break from moaning and groaning about the prices and the crowds and the goods available and let me complain about something altogether...
Hands-On Birding
Attempt to hold some seed, then a hungry Black-capped Chickadee! The cold weather is back — and so is Bird in the Hand! From now through April, visitors to The West Woods can enjoy the unforgettable experience of hand-feeding wild birds just a short walk from the nature center. Have you ever had a chickadee land right in your hand? This...
Is it time for strategic hibernation?
Please pass the pumpkin pie—and that paperwork you’ve been putting off. Thanksgiving is about good food, friends, family, and gratitude. But it’s also a rare pause in our busy year, a moment when everyone finally ends up in the same room. Between the laughter and the leftovers, it might be the perfect time to do something unexpectedly meaningful: talk together...
Salt of The Earth?
Visited the Himalayas lately? Lost tons (!) of weight? Paid ANY attention to the latest in food(!) fads online? Got the recipe? A person can hardly open up any random commercial site without seeing somebody urging you to LOSE pounds and POUNDS and POUNDS of ugly, unwanted FAT. And how do you do this, you say. Well, it’s the Pink Salt Trick, of...
Is it time for strategic hibernation?
Now that the air’s turning crisp and the days feel shorter, it’s clear that nature has its own way of reminding us to slow down and get ready for what’s ahead. This year’s market activity has had a similar vibe—progress hasn’t moved in a straight line, and there’s been no shortage of noise and uncertainty. When that happens, many...
(OFA) Old Farmers’ Almanac
The Daylight Savings Time switchover has not often been so noticeable …for me anyway. Probably because of the looooong autumn (bordering on summer, really), the early evenings have seemed quite abrupt. Mornings, of course, are lighter–I do not have to use my flashlights as much--though I still do–and I trust that folks can see me coming better than had...
(OFA) Old Farmers’ Almanac
Done with All Saints’ and All Souls’ Days, done with Election Day, done with the Full Beaver Moon (Didn’t see them out celebrating), daylight has been saved once more…what else is on our plate for November? We already did “Clock hands spin, let’s sleep in! Snowfalls begin and frost nips your skin”. Well, to further quote the OFA, “Veterans deserve...
Changing The Way You Think
With the recent time change, many of us have been resetting clocks and routines for the season ahead. It’s a good reminder that even small shifts can make a real difference—especially in how we think about money. Most financial conversations focus on performance—returns, market swings, retirement timing. Important topics, but sometimes that focus on numbers misses the real question: What’s...
Candy, And Then Some
Gotta get me a clicker/counter gadget so that I can have an accurate reckoning of how many trick-or-treaters that show up at my porch. The guess this time was somewhere around two hundred or so. Other estimates around town were pushing for three hundred–not exactly a surprise, since most other communities around did their ”beggars night”, as it is...
You’ve Got More Capacity Than You Think
As fall settles in, many of us turn our attention to seasonal routines—clearing the yard, checking the gutters, bringing in the plants before the first frost. It’s a time to take stock, to clear out what’s finished and make room for what still holds promise. Any seasoned gardener knows that once a plant outgrows its container, its roots stop spreading...
The Importance of Regular HVAC Maintenance
Presented By DeBord’s One Hour Heating & Cooling The seasons change, but one thing should always stay constant in your house. This constant should be the desired temperature that you want your home to be. It should always be easily achievable. Over time, foregoing regular maintenance may seem convenient. However, the performance of your system slowly degrades over time as...
Hello Again
Let’s get down to brass tacks. I am, to put it politely, unreliable. Gimme a week off and, “Lo, and Behold !” I’ll take whatever the traffic will bear–one week, two weeks, whatever. The danger is, will anyone even notice and say, “Whatever happened to that non-sport columnist that wrote about odd stuff from the almanac and such? Who...
During Scary Headline Season, Here’s What Really Matters
Halloween may come once a year, but for many people, anxiety around money and the future lasts far longer. Debt, stretched budgets, or savings goals that never seem to stick can feel intimidating—and easy to avoid. This year, many Americans are confronting a tough mix of financial realities: higher living costs, increasing energy bills, record household debt, and an uncertain...
Government Shutdown: What It Could Mean for You
Federal government shutdowns tend to sound more alarming than they usually are. While headlines spark anxiety, history shows these episodes rarely leave lasting scars on the economy or markets. Did you know that since 1976, the U.S. has experienced 20 funding gaps, resulting in 10 shutdowns with most only lasting about a week? Even the longest, 34 days in...
Rusty…
The new boarder seems to be settling in just fine. "Rusty" the light orange kitten , newly acquired, is eating just fine, is being prime kitten-like in behavior so far...cute, cute, cute. He follows me, or anybody, really. I heard that he followed the postal worker the other morning...also somebody walking home from the Y. He's getting to be...
The Cat’s Meow
Well, maybe. We have a new prospective Porch Kitty. Rusty (not a serious automotive epizootic but a light orange mini-kitty) has arrived. He is currently exploring the territory; the porch itself and the front steps pretty-much define it so far but the veteran Porch Kitty, SunnyBoy, has not been exactly a Welcome Wagon representative. There were plenty o’ low growls...
12 Weeks Left in 2025: What Will You Lock In On?
Economic headlines and uncertainty can make even the most capable people freeze. Experts call it money paralysis—the feeling that the stakes are so high you’re better off doing nothing at all. But doing nothing has a cost, too. Inaction quietly eats away at progress. This fall, a new idea has been gaining traction: the Great Lock In of 2025. On...
National Indoor Air Quality Awareness Month
Presented By DeBord’s One Hour Heating & Cooling The fall season is bringing cooler temperatures to many regions of the country. That means you and your family will likely be spending more time indoors, making October a fitting time to recognize “National Indoor Air Quality Awareness Month.” Why should you care about Indoor Air Quality? One reason is the amount of...
Keep The Change
The on-line spoofers are at it again. Second or third call this week letting me know that I have won fabulous sums of money, if I will just call back to this number. What the number is, I cannot really tell because the caller either speaks so fast that their words (numbers) are unintelligible or their whole message is...
Did You Know?
The typical small business may be even smaller than many consumers recognize. According to the 2022 Annual Business Survey from the U.S. Census Bureau, 49 percent of small employer firms with fewer than 500 workers have between one and four employees. An additional 16 percent of such firms have between five and nine employees. Such data indicates that nearly...
Small Cut, Big Signal: How the Interest Rate Change Will Affect You
This month, the Federal Reserve lowered interest rates by a quarter point. While modest, the move is significant — it marks a turn after a long stretch of holding rates steady at elevated levels. For households and businesses alike, this adjustment is a reminder that financial conditions are always evolving, often in gradual but important ways. Even a small rate...
The Odds We Live By
How often have you started an important task, only to end up scrolling instead? Experts say our attention spans are shrinking, and economists now view attention as a scarce resource—every bit as valuable as time or capital. We’re only beginning to calculate the real cost of distraction. When focus slips, it’s easy to fall into subtle psychological traps that drain...
Salt of the Earth
I cannot be the only one being urged to try the “Himalayan Salt Trick”. It’s everywhere online and in some publications too. Every digital salesperson–we’re lookin’ at you, Oprah–has a tear-jerker of a tale about how they’d slipped into avoirdupois Purgatory and would not go outside without being wrapped in a sheet. Their love life was shot, their wardrobe...
Hands OFF!!!!
What is it with people who seem to think that everything…EVERYTHING…is theirs to do with as they please? Whatever…whenever…wherever…however they please. How does this get to be a mind-set? This is a vandalism state of mind and it does none of us any good, least of all those who “get away with it” and continue to behave in this...
The Odds We Live By
Among last week’s headlines, two very different stories stood out. The first was impossible to miss: a nearly $1.8 billion Powerball jackpot finally found winners in Texas and Missouri. Big lottery wins always dominate attention—after all, who doesn’t like to imagine what they’d do with a billion dollars? The second story received a bit less coverage. It described a reporter...
Here Kitty, Kitty, Kitty
That was me after the football game on Friday. Driving home on Liberty St.--late–just past SkyLanes, I spotted a cat in the road…putting at least one of its nine lives on the line…and had to swerve to avoid being the deliverer of that fate. I pulled into the space by the car wash, fished out my flashlight and went...
Your Successful Season Starts Now
As summer draws to a close, we’re reminded how quickly life moves. Economic reports shift week to week, headlines swing between optimism and caution, and the rhythm of the seasons keeps marching forward. It’s tempting to wait for the “perfect” time—whether adjust our financial lives, or pursue happiness. But time rarely slows down, and opportunities seldom arrive wrapped neatly...
OMG!!
What a beautiful way to end a Summer that spent WAY too much time resembling the hinges of hell. Gorgeous finale. Activities of all sorts (Zach Peterson Memorial Bash, Cleveland Air Show, Great Geauga County Fair, all of the miscellaneous family gatherings–all of it!) got to soak up the sun, break out the BBQ, kiss one season goodbye and...
Your Playbook For Uncertain Times
Labor Day marks a turning point — routines shift, backpacks return, and the first crisp hints of fall are in the air. Change can feel exciting and yet uncertain. The economy is shifting too: The Federal Reserve has suggested the possibility of an interest rate cut, a move that could ripple into borrowing costs and everyday confidence about money. Uncertainty...
The Value of Humility and Collaboration
In the world of finance, we often talk about numbers, trends, and strategies. But equally important to long-term success is a quality that doesn’t appear on balance sheets: humility. Recognizing what we know and—perhaps more importantly—what we don’t is essential to making sound financial decisions. It is tempting to believe AI will provide clear and reliable answers. While these technologies...
