• Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary menu
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • HOME
  • ABOUT
  • BLOG
  • WRESTLING WITH GOD BOOK
  • CONTACT

Barbara Falconer Newhall

Veteran journalist Barbara Falconer Newhall riffs on life as she knows it.

  • A CASE OF THE HUMAN CONDITION
  • MY EVER-CHANGING FAMILY
  • WRITING & READING
  • MY ROCKY SPIRITUAL JOURNEY
  • WIDOWED
  • FUNNY BUTTON

killing plants

Is It OK to Kill Stuff? Yes, If It’s a Mosquito or a Eucalyptus Tree

July 22, 2023 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

invasive-eucalyptus-in-california

Is it OK to kill stuff? I couldn’t kill the spider lurking in my shower. But I can kill invasive eucalyptus trees and dive-bombing mosquitoes.  Read more.

A Case of the Human Condition: I Did It — I Offed Those Frightful Snapdragons

June 29, 2009 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

I yanked those ugly maroon snapdragons out by the roots. My front yard color scheme has been restored, and all is right with the world.

Primary Sidebar

GET MY Riffs on Life BY EMAIL

True stories often told through a humorous lens–because you just can't make them up!

We respect your privacy and do not share your email with anyone.

 

LET’S CONNECT

ON THE FUNNY SIDE

Is My Writing Too Nice?

NASA-satellite-michigan

I sometimes wonder when I sit down to write — am I too much of an optimist? Am I too hopeful? Too trusting? Is my writing too nice?  Read more.

MORE "ON THE FUNNY SIDE"

CATEGORIES

  • A Case of the Human Condition
  • My Ever-Changing Family
  • On Writing & Reading
  • My Rocky Spiritual Journey

 
Need some levity? Push my Funny Button!

TO MY READERS

Please feel free to share links to my posts with one and all and to quote briefly from them in your own writing, remembering, of course, to attribute the quote to me and to provide a link back to this site.

My Oakland Tribune columns, btw, are reprinted by permission of the Trib. With the exception of review copies of books, I do not accept ads or freebies of any kind. Click on the "Contact" button if you have questions. Enjoy!

 

DON’T MISS!

barbara falconer newhall on instagram

Where’s Barbara? On Instagram, of Course

madrone-sapling-in-cage

Widowed: Jon’s Memorial Tree Is Thriving — Both of Them

before her son in hospital with appendicitis. Barbara Falconer Newhall's son gestures expansively before the appendicitis attack. Photo by Barbara Newhall

My Son Is in the Hospital With Appendicitis 2,000 Miles Away. How Do I Mother Him From Here?

president barack obama giving speech in cairo, 2009. sentinel photo.

The Rhetorician in the White House — Or, How I Learned to Love the Passive Voice

MORE DON'T MISS!

© 2009–2026 Barbara Falconer Newhall All rights reserved. · Log in