Possumhaw: Nature all around us

Outside the kitchen window the wild cherry trees grow with leaves of red, the harbingers of fall. Our trees are freckled with green and red in a variety of shades.

Partial to Home: A deadly silence

Were he Catholic, chances are Jimmy Carter, who turns 96 later this week, would be destined for sainthood. Since his 1980 defeat by Ronald Reagan in his bid for a second term as president, Carter, with his wife Rosalyn, has devoted himself to humanitarian causes.

Slimantics: Caledonia farmer ponders pumpkin potential

Fall has arrived and, for once, the weather around here seems to be in agreement -- cool mornings and evenings and tolerable afternoons. The older and more sedentary I become, the better I like fall, especially when the calendar and the weather are in harmony.

Possumhaw: Well, well, all is well

The well ran dry. Actually, the 40-year-old pump just quit. Sam called the well man and asked if it might be still under warranty. Of course, Sam was joking.

Ask Rufus: Art, Hurricanes and French Explorers

It is amazing how people, places and events are so interconnected.

Albert Laws: Remembering the 1936 Lee High football team

Lee High School of Columbus was the mythical National High School Champions in football in 1936.

Slimantics: Mississippi hurricane damage confined to hurt feelings

For a day or so, it looked as though Hurricane Sally would touch down on the Mississippi Coast. By Monday, the storm had already entered the gulf and seemed to pause there as if deciding which direction to take.

Possumhaw: Just being neighborly

Years ago, a neighbor fashioned a loop and hook from a metal coat hanger and affixed it to our gate. The coat hanger has long since rusted. Routinely over the summer, a bag appeared attached to the hanger filled with the best tomatoes you have ever put in your mouth.

Slimantics: A killer in our midst?

There's a killer on the loose, last seen in west Oktibbeha County. Details are few.

Ronnie Musgrove: Delaying Medicaid expansion is costing Mississippi

Recently, an article appeared in the Mississippi Business Journal recommending the State of Mississippi not adopt Medicaid expansion.

Slimantics: Nostalgic for Levi vs. Lee politics

When people talk about today's political environment, the words used most often to describe it are "polarized" or "tribal."

Possumhaw: Six Saturdays and a Sunday

Things have settled into some kind of normal around here. Sheltering has been going on six months now, allowing us to develop new routines. Routines that put some framework into our days but are also extremely flexible.

Partial to Home: Under a watermelon sky

About a week ago, in the waning days of August, Gerry Jeffcoat gave me a watermelon he'd grown. A Congo Red, he said when asked the variety.

Ask Rufus: De Soto's Tombigbee crossing

Lately the ghost of Hernando de Soto has popped up on Facebook. I have seen several comments about where his expedition crossed the Tombigbee River, probably on December 16, 1540.

Slimantics: Magnolia Flag faces an uphill climb

On Wednesday, the state's flag commission made its selection for a new state flag. With more than 3,000 flag submissions, the eight members narrowed the list to two finalists -- the Great River Flag and the Magnolia Flag, the latter designed by Rocky Vaughn of Starkville.

Leroy Brooks: Our community and Harry Sanders' comments

As a consummate reader, I find myself always going back to the great leaders to find inspiration. It was my reading of words by the late Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and other situations evolving around our nation that prompted this column.

Possumhaw: The eastern horse lubber

It seemed a long time since we'd seen rain falling across the fields or raindrops dimpling the surface of the lakes. Watching the hurricanes and tropical storms develop we were hoping we might get a slow gentle rain while not causing harm anywhere else. The misting started last Tuesday.

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