Timely Writer

February can be the cruelest of months in New England. It can be full-bore winter with all the snow and freezing temperatures we’ve avoided this year in December and January. It ain’t over ‘til it’s over. It’s also a month of holidays and days of recognition, some serious, some shady and some downright silly. READ MORE

The North American bird population declined by three billion birds between 1970 and 2020 scientists say. Researchers working in a protected forest in New Hampshire found that the number of beetles there had fallen more than 80 percent since the mid-1970s, while the bugs’ diversity has dropped by nearly 40 percent. The staid New York Times noted an “insect Armageddon” with losses in the quintillions. Birds need insects. Georgetown University’s bird researcher and conservationist Dr. Peter Marra says, “You don’t publish a paper on the loss of three billion birds and go back to your day job.” READ MORE

I’ve been wary of slumber parties ever since my then 7-year-old sister Jean Marie left my Beatles White Album on a radiator. Back in the U.S.S.R.?  Permanent vacation. While My Guitar Gently Weeps? Cry me a warped vinyl river. Gone. Gone for good… almost. READ MORE

eBay lists 93,000 pillowcases under Home Décor and if you don’t know what thread count or waffle weave are then join my club. READ MORE

Melissa Leclerc may be president of the board of directors and operations manager for Motley Mutts Rescue, a Hooksett non-profit dog rescue enterprise, but she’s quick to point out that Motley Mutts is possible because of its six employees and “countless” volunteers. READ MORE

I entered the highfalutin world of thoroughbred racehorse ownership about two years ago. How big is my stable? It’s a one-horse stable. To be more precise it’s a 1/5,000th of a horse stable. READ MORE

It has been lo, these many years since I bore the thousand insults of bookstore shoppers venturing my way. Spotting a plastic employee name badge is license for invective but it is no license for shared stupidity. I patrolled the aisles for three chain bookstores in the Manchester area over 15 years: the now-defunct Lauriat’s and Paperback Booksmith, and Barnes & Noble, known in some corners as Barney Noodles. READ MORE

I thought I’d have a bit of fun this month, sports fans, by creating headlines that might have been for the Union Leader, the paper we love and hate or even love to hate. READ MORE