Darlene's Digest

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Wave that flag! It's #FlagDay

- June 14, 2026

“You underestimate the will of the American people,” he poked his finger in the air for emphasis. “When you push us, we push back. Hard. John Bull cannot bully America into surrendering now any more than you could 40 years ago. Have you already forgotten the lesson of Fort McHenry?” He rummaged in his desk and pulled out a tattered newspaper, much folded and creased. “My mother sent this to me with the letters, a newspaper from home. A Mr. Key wrote a poem about the battle, titled ‘The Defence of Fort McHenry’. Look here–‘the land of the free and the home of the brave’. That’s America, Charley!" --- SEA CHANGE (High Seas, book 1) June 14 is Flag Day, the day the United States honors our nation's star spangled banner. It's more fitting than ever as we celebrate the #250thAnniversary of the United States, so if you've got a flag, fly it proudly!

Our big hole in the ground

- June 04, 2026

A red-tailed hawk swooped above with a piercing kee-yar! before perching in a tree to keep an eye on them. A steady chorus of insects buzzing testified to the day’s warmth, but Sophia heard the gurgling of water slipping down the sides of the ravine through the ferns and shrubs. The steady trickling cooled the surrounding area, even up here at the top. At the bottom, a stream glinted in the sunlight shining full on it, unhampered by the trees ringing the Chalice. “Where does the stream go?” “Underground. This area’s full of streams that disappear, then reappear later. But that water’s good. We can fill our bottles as we go down, but we’ll make camp up here.” -- The Bride and the Buccaneer One of my earliest books, and one of my favorites still, The Bride and the Buccaneer allowed me to take a meandering journey through some of my favorite spots in North Central Florida, from St. Augustine to the remains of the Bellamy Road, and in my own backyard, the Devil's Millhopper Stat...