Corky Pickering

As I sat down to my laptop, I realized that this column would be published on the 4th of July, our country’s birthday. It is a day of parades, barbecues, hot dogs, and fireworks. A day of family …

It’s been a brutally hot week, with yet another in the works. I check the temperature first thing every morning, hoping that it will once again be in the 60s. I give my dog Max as much time outsi…

People write columns about what’s on their mind and what folks currently find interesting. I’ve already written about the heat (which thankfully seems to have broken from “surface of the sun” temp…

I decided that I no longer want to buy a Tesla Cybertruck. I've been writing for three years about getting one. I've watched all the YouTube videos and got excited when they first appeared on the car haulers heading north on I-5.

After ten years of procrastination and lazy *** excuses, we finally made it to New Clairvaux Vineyards for the blessing of the grapes. Eight years ago, we made a brief foray into the winery when we were a stone's throw away during one of our random drives. I had recently read about the place, so I thought we would check it out. It wasn't much of an experience, as we just drove into the big parking lot and saw that the place was closed. But that was our recon, and knew we would be back someday. And “someday” was finally last Saturday – right in the middle of the Park Fire.

Some of my fellow columnists occasionally pontificate about writing their columns. They occasionally comment about their colleagues, but I haven't said much about them, other than it's painfully obvious that they do a lot of work and research on their columns, unlike me.

Animals never cease to amaze me. I presented a somewhat tragic history of our chickens in a column this June, when we were down to our two final layers. Now, there is only one left. I feel like I'm writing a “Highlander” fowl story, where “there can be only one.” And believe me – this smart little Barnevelder is the ultimate survivor of the Pickle Ranch chickens.

I don’t know how many seniors actually play games on their smartphones or tablets. One online source stated that one-third of folks 65 and over play games at least weekly on their smartphones, but…

Learning about your community can be fascinating. The paper used to run an old story every day from a hundred years ago. I loved reading that frank, straightforward style, that included only the facts about the arrests of horse & cattle thieves, robberies – you name it. It sounded like it came straight from the […]

It's the time of year when we have to turn the lights on when we get up. At least you do if you or your dog gets up at six o'clock. It's the same thing – you both have to get up. I like daylight at 5:30 in the summer. Whenever I get up in […]