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If it’s fall, it’s mushroom time! And that means it’s time to play the mushroom game again. Can you tell which of these neighborhood mushrooms are real, and which ones aren’t?

I guess all buzzards are feral by definition. But I call this group “the feral buzzards” because they have taken up residence in the neighborhood feral cat colony. I first saw this phenomenon in a little coastal town in Florida. … Continued

I have seen a wild coyote in the neighborhood once. This is not it. This is not it, either. These are “lifelike predator replicas,” otherwise known as coyote decoys. No, they’re not meant to attract more coyotes, but to scare … Continued

During the pandemic, the world came around to a new way of shopping: curbside delivery. It seems as if the parking log seagulls caught onto the trend, too. They still order stale takeout bread. But now they pick it up … Continued

Well, here’s something you don’t see very often. A Tyrannosaurus in traffic. And do you know why you don’t see it more often? Because Tyrannosaurus wrecks!

I’m usually pretty happy when I walk down the streets of my neighborhood. Apparently, the streets are pretty happy, too.

I thought I had come across a sea anemone in my neighborhood. By a path. In the woods. Far from the sea. Turns out it’s an anemone stinkhorn. Whatever it is, it’s pretty. And apparently, it’s pretty stinky.

I’ve introduced you to some of the more memorable citizens of my neighborhood. The leprechaun. The zombies. The stick people. Well, here’s our favorite creature. I call him Sigmund, because he reminds me of one of my favorite Saturday Morning … Continued

According to the neighborhood sorting hat, I’m a Ravenclaw! (Yeah, only Harry Potter fans will find this funny. And I’m not even sure about that.)

My neighborhood sits in the shadow of a giant volcano. Aerial photos hardly do justice to its imposing size. It is so big, all who stand at its base … appear to be no bigger than ants.

All kinds of people live in my neighborhood. Including stick people. They walk to school, ride the school bus, play at the park, take walks and hold down jobs. They’re just like the rest of us. Only skinnier.

We have more pirates in the neighborhood. But we also have more Marines. Law and order prevails.

This is a strange time. To say the least. With store closings and social distancing, it’s hard to get together with friends and neighbors. But my neighbors are still finding ways to say hello. To send messages of hope. To … Continued

My neighborhood is full of friendly faces. Sometimes, though, they”re in the most unusual places.

When winter gets a little too dreary and my soul yearns for the sight of a colorful garden, I don’t have to go far. I just look at one of the neighborhood bottle trees. The sight of a bottle tree … Continued

I don’t know why sewer medallions fascinate me. But they do. OK, so I probably made up the term “sewer medallions,” but what else would you call those plates attached to storm drain covers? The ones that remind you to … Continued

Right before Christmas, I did a blog post about the reindeer mailboxes in the neighborhood. I started to include these two mailboxes, but decided they needed a post of their own. After all, these are not Christmas reindeer mailboxes. They’re … Continued

For centuries, windmills have harnesed the energy of the wind to pump water and grind grain. Here in the neighborhood, we’ve been on city water for a long, long time. So why all the windmills? There’s only one option. The … Continued

Columbia, SC, is in the path of totality for the solar eclipse next week. On Tuesday, everybody around here will be focused on the sky. But here’s a reminder to look up everyday. You just never know what you might … Continued

There used to be an Ursuline convent in my neighborhood. No, not the original one. That was in downtown Columbia and was burned by Sherman’s troops. Even though it was supposed to be spared. If the convent had been in … Continued

When I walk through my neighborhood, I see stories everywhere. And some of these stories are found in the things that are lost or thrown away. It’s not always the items themselves that inspire a story…it’s the combination of items. … Continued

I’ve mentioned before that our neighborhood is 100 miles from the nearest ocean. But that doesn’t mean we don’t need good lighthouses here. To keep ships from running into garden benches. To keep birds from flying into houses. And to … Continued

  When remodelers are busy at work, I’m glad Captain Obvious swoops through the neighborhood. If he hadn’t set out this Port-a-John sign, we might have thought this lovely room was a home addition.

In February 1865, Sherman and the Union Army occupied Columbia. And while they were here, they rudely fired on our unfinished state house. The damage from the artillery fire was never repaired. Instead, bronze stars mark the six locations where … Continued

By the time I was born, this neighborhood was already well-established. But 20 years earlier, a neighbor’s friends asked why he had moved out to the country. There were horses in the neighborhood then, he said. Of course, there were … Continued

What happens when you tear down the neighborhood bank? Well, this past fall, we had a chance to find out. Apparently, the bank building falls down. But not the bank vault. Three months later, the bank vault is still standing. … Continued

Like many kids, I often wished my house had a tower. Not the princess/royal castle kind of tower, but the hidden staircase/secret room kind of tower. Like a tower you’d find in a Nancy Drew Mystery. One that you could … Continued