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LEAD: LIKE so many Northerners, I longed to retire to an island in the sun, hoping, perhaps, that those promised older, golder years would actually come into being with the […]

LEAD: I GREW up in a house, but I lived in apartments after graduating from college, so until I bought a home a few years ago I had no cellar […]

Describes the way in which one of the author's pet dogs seems to sing.

Discusses the author's dog, Lucy, and other dogs the author has acquired as pets over the years. Lucy's personality and reaction to daily events and other dogs; The author's relationship with her; Lucy's friendly relationship with another dog, Tutu, which the author acquired as a pet.

Reflects on a homeowner's sense of loss when an old hemlock tree is destroyed in a storm.

Offers the author's anecdote relating to a happy empty nest. Details of her observations of a bird's nest outside her home-office window; Struggle of bird parents to raise the chicks; Invasion of a snake; Conquering the snake; The chicks' first flight.

Relates the author's experiences with goats. Why the goat is the livestock equivalent to the cat; The author's first goat, Susie Powermower Hunter; Goat behavior; Fun of exchanging goat stories with other goat owners; Difficulty of training kids (goats).

Discusses how the author inherited a love of writing from her mother who is also an author. Brief background of her mother's writing experiences; When she realized there was a connection between her mother's writing and hers; How she inherited a love of words and the way they work together.

Relates the experiences of the author who traveled on a bus using secondary roads through the country.

Focuses on the author's feeling about her house. Description of the house; Details on how the house was built; Examination of the different types of atmospheres which the house gives.

Relates the author's experience talking to a phone order salesman. What they discussed; What the author wishes she had asked.

Relates the author's experiences with opossums on her porch on night in North Carolina.