• 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

st. jerome

Dead Stuff – Which I Will Be Too One of These Days

March 27, 2014 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

The bark has fallen off a dying valley oak tree at Bishop's Ranch, Sonoma county, CA, revealing the sun-bleached grain of the heartwood. Photo by BF Newhall

The fifth-century Saint Jerome kept a human skull on his desk to remind him of his mortality – memento mori. But if you’re like me and you like to take walks in the woods, you don’t need a skull taking up space on your desk to remind you that sooner or later everything dies, including you. That’s because the woods are full of dead stuff. Read more.

In My Rain-Battered Garden — Nothing Is Forever, Not Even Those Poppies

March 31, 2012 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

I mucked around in the soil beneath this blue beauty, but I couldn't find the Annie's Annuals ID stick. Anybody know what it is? Photos by Barbara Falconer Newhall

St. Jerome kept a human skull on his desk to remind him of his mortality. We gardeners don’t need a skull . We’ve got stuff dying on us every day. Read more.

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

A Woman Can’t Be Too Rich, Too Thin or Have Too Many Toys Stored in Her Basement

A woman can’t be too rich, too thin or have too many toys in her basement –if the grandkids are coming.a-woman-cant--be-too-rich-too-thin-or-have-too-many-toys-stored-in-her-basement

A woman can’t be too rich, too thin or have too many toys in her basement — if the grandkids are coming.  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!

Orange tulip with green and yellow streaks, detail of "Fusion," a floral design for the 2015 Tulip Exhibition at the Mountain View Cemetery, Oakland, CA. Design is by Kay Wolff of Kay Wolff Design, Berkeley. Photo by Barbara Newhall

A Cemetery Comes to LIfe — With Tulips

Barbara Falconer Newhall at work on a manuscript for "Wrestling with God." Photo by Barbara Newhall

Writers Need Editors – And Mine Wants My Manuscript Turned In, Now

Actor-christopher-dennis-superman

Widowed: The Superman at My House

Cover of the book "Trump's America: The Complete Loser's Guide," by Scott Dikkers.

Jesus Was a Loser — Does That Make Donald Trump a Winner?

MORE DON'T MISS!

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