Articles by Shannon Bardwell
Possumhaw: It’s Chick Days
I’m not quite sure if we’re seeing the bringing out of chicken days with the change of weather; however, several feed stores are starting to sell chickens and all the accoutrements. Get ready. We have neighbors out here in the Prairie raising chickens.
Possumhaw: Home sweet home
You ever wonder why you live where you live? Last week it was cold and cloudy outside. The kind of day that you love to stay inside and catch up on things you need to get done. Or maybe you just need some time to stare out the window and watch the seasons change.
Possumhaw: Birds are flying, cat’s ah sleeping
While I was beginning to write this column, I was drawn to the birds flitting outside the window. One bird made a slight bump at the window then flew on his merry way.
Possumhaw: The customs of Valentine’s Day
The legends of Saint Valentine are many. Prior to many legends of Saint Valentine of Rome, he was incarcerated in jail for ministering to Christians persecuted under the Roman Empire.
Possumhaw: A Quiet Winter
This column will be rather random since we spent the last few weeks being homebodies. We pulled out comforters, added warmer clothing, and covered large areas of glass windows with afghan blankets to help keep the cold out.
Possumhaw: Weather or not we’re together
Please don’t worry about the use of weather instead of whether the days have gone gray and cold outside, a bit of humor may lift the spirits.
Possumhaw: Bears, oh my!
My good friend Barbara and I were sitting in the sunroom sipping coffee and eating muffins when I looked out the glass door and saw a critter whisk by like lightening.
Possumhaw: The Cleaning Woman
Back in the 2000’s I wrote a few short stories published in short story books. Since I mentioned a few New Year’s Resolutions last week, I thought I’d share an excerpt about my friend Margaret.
Possumhaw: Nearing the New Year
The next two days will go by quickly. Tomorrow will be New Year’s Eve, bringing in an entirely new year full of who knows what? Our Christmas was nice and quiet, and I hope your Christmas was a good one as well. The day after Christmas we drove north to spend a brief bit of time with a lovely family member who now lives far away.
Possumhaw: Christmas then and now
All of us once were children full of wonder and joy with a heart that could hardly wait for Christmas. My family found our trees where the Boy Scouts and the Optimist club sold Christmas trees.
Possumhaw: Me & Jimmy
I have a nice collection of Christmas stories. I thought I’d share a few over the next two Tuesdays before Christmas Eve arrives.
Possumhaw: Caught in the middle again
It’s exactly one week since Thanksgiving as I write this column.
Possumhaw: No place like home
Last week we had a wonderful Thanksgiving. It was a quiet time between Sam and I until his sister and her husband arrived.
Possumhaw: Black Bellied Whistling Duck and its bride
Six years ago, a Black Bellied Whistling Duck landed in the big lake. The bird is an amazing creature.
Possumhaw: Ladybug fly away home
Tis the season for ladybugs swarming about by the thousands. They crawl inside the upstairs room where the sun heats the little critter, allowing them to warm up as the morning turned cold. They can be found on the porches, outdoor walls, the garage, the boat shed and sometimes on your shoulder or your sleeve.
Possumhaw: Building blocks of reading
My college roommate and I were both readers, and we came from families who taught us to love books and read their stories for enjoyment.
Possumhaw: The testimony of John Tate
My name is John Tate. I am an inmate at Oktibbeha County Jail. If you close your eyes just a minute I can tell you how I got there and the action that I did and how it affected the people that I love, my wife, my kids, my mother, my father who was dying of cancer, my wife who was on chemo.
Possumhaw: For the love of pansies
The hot summer sun finally left us. For several months a drought caused deep cracks in the ground while the grass, flowers, and trees lost their usual growing time.
Possumhaw: Time of the season, his and hers
For weeks now Sam has been blowing the falling leaves back into the woods where they belong. It’s a time of “abscission” described as the natural detachment of parts of a plant and ripe fruit, though typically dead leaves.
Ole Miss softball lands D-II Player of the Year Boyer
July 22, 2025
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