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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
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nature

My Days Are Numbered — And So Are My Minutes

May 24, 2025 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

clock-12:01

My days are numbered, so I’ve decided to be miserly about how I spend what’s left of them.  Read more.

Let Me Tell You About My Daisies — And My Ankles

September 9, 2024 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

let me tell you about my daisies

Let me tell you about my daisies. Fresh and perky last week, they had faded and shriveled when I wasn’t looking.  Read more.

It’s Spring and My Garden Looks Dreadful. Here’s Why

April 20, 2024 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

heuchera-and-iceland-poppy-clashing

My garden looks dreadful. Here’s why. My plants won’t cooperate. The iris wants to be an iris. The azalea, an azalea. The poppy, a poppy.  Read more.

Not Dead Yet. That Feral Plum Tree Lives On

March 30, 2024 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

feral-plum-tree-blossoms

The old plum tree lying on its side was a messy scramble of black and useless branches. But it was not dead yet.  Read more.

Nature Giveth and Nature Taketh Away

January 27, 2024 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

nature giveth. nature taketh away. flowering-tree

Against all odds, a flowering fruit tree took root in the wild canyon below our house, but not for long. Nature giveth, nature taketh away.  Read more.

Blood and Guts in My Backyard. Or, Nature Tidies Up

December 2, 2023 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

blood and guts in my backyard raven-california

Blood and guts in my backyard: A half-eaten deer lay sprawled under my cypress tree. Ravens croaked the news from the tree above.  Read more.

Talking Turkey

November 18, 2023 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

A Thanksgiving turkey, roasted brown and ready to carve. Photo by Barbara Newhall

It’s Thanksgiving, time to talk turkey. Read more.

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LET’S CONNECT

ON THE FUNNY SIDE

The Night I Forgot to Make Dinner — A Rerun From the Archives

I forgot to make dinner

I planned a nice candlelit evening for my husband for that night, just as I’d dreamed of doing as a girl. Except I forgot to make the dinner.  Read more.

MORE "ON THE FUNNY SIDE"

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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!

 

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Dave-McQueen-Zodiac

Dying. It’s What We Do These Days

1986 home office with computer monitors, toddler and sleeping cat. Photo by BF Newhall.

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Theologian Harvey Cox: You Don’t Have to Believe to Be a Christian

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