“Everybody complains about the weather but nobody does anything about it.” - Calvin Coolidge (maybe) Weather is unpredictable, despite what meteorologists and almanacs tell us. As I get older, the best predictors of impending weather changes are a dull sinus headache or aching joints. Even then, the accuracy is limited to merely knowing something “might” happen. This summer has featured some weird weather. In Tennessee, winter and spring were mild and unusually-dry seasons. When the heat...

Longear sunfish are beautiful fish. Their bellies are emblazoned with fiery orange, a color that bobs and weaves through their flanks, dancing alongside iridescent dashes of cerulean and greenish gold. Turquoise rivers meander through their faces, gill plates and fins. No two fish offer the same combination of colors and patterns. Each is stunningly handsome. Longears are not big — a seven-incher is a good one. Aggressive feeders and breeders, they are often found in shallow eddies and slack...

Over the past several years, I’ve become an avid gardener. Like any worthwhile pursuit, gardening relies on instinct, research, experience and a fair bit of luck. And a lot of time (or thyme, if you’re into herbs or homonyms). But, if you put in that time, if you apply lessons learned and if you use really good soil, you’ll produce some vegetables or grow some pretty flowers. Unless it rains a lot. Or not at all. Or if it gets too hot. Or if there’s an unexpected freeze. Or if a giant...