200th Post

This is my 200th post since starting the Collecting Sunsets Substack back on December 9th, 2022. What started as a means of processing grief from the loss of my life partner, cat, and home has grown into something quite different over that time, which is good. As the healing has progressed, my interests and writing topics have broadened. I still write the occasional grief essay when it needs to happen. But now I’m enjoying writing essays about love, life, nature, travel, and humor, and I’ve even dabbled in poetry and photography as forms of artistic expression.

So, much like I did with my 100th post, this one is a collection of some of my personal favorites from the 100 posts since then - in case you missed them the first time :-) I can’t thank you enough for being here and for all of the wonderful comments and feedback you’ve provided both publicly and privately since this whole thing started. Here’s to another 100! Cheers!

The Road That Leads Home - Perhaps my favorite essay ever, from a pure storytelling perspective.

Return to Whiskey Jane - Revelations about love and life that occurred during my first visit back to the site of the loss.

Wanna Play Catch? Part 1 - About missing my dad and wanting to play catch with strangers about it. The gentleman in this story is no longer a stranger, but a trusted friend.

Cultural Differences are Fun - I still plan on getting down to Brazil one of these days.

Where Spruces Sing - One of my favorite poems and a true story.

Driftwood - One of my first and favorite photo essays.

Mayors and Marionberries - A factual and funny accounting of confusion.

Inosculation - Just one of the many amazing things that trees do.

Grist for the Mill - A poem about love and the loss of it.

Found in Translation - An essay that sums up the evolution of my relationship with nature.

Solitary Confinement - My personal experience with, and impressions and opinions of it.

Adhesive Love - Another favorite photo essay.