“Nothing has hit me more squarely than the joke that once you turn 50, you get into birdwatching.”

“I grow vegetables every year, but not well.”

“A chicken inside the house? Hilarious.”

“My birdlike attention span limits my capacity for prolonged awe.”

“I had never pruned an apple tree before. But I did watch two 15-minute YouTube videos before taking a shot at it, so I’m basically an expert now.”

“A skunk had sprayed somewhere nearby—under our bed, if the odor level was any indication.”