The past few mornings, the air has been cool here on Lacon Mountain. I learned that was the name of this beautiful hillside where we live when Kenny came by to visit one day last week. He’d heard the buzz of chainsaws and the crash of tree limbs landing with ground-shaking thuds, and his curiosity got the best of him. “I figured you was doin’ something major over here,” he said. “Gettin’ rid of a few trees, huh?” John stepped over to the open driver’s side door of Kenny’s pickup where Kenny...

John immediately offered up the usual objections—the vet bills, the flea and tick meds, the food—all legitimate points, but he also knew they were ultimately futile.

I feel as tired as ever most of the time, but there is so much to do around our new house, I don’t really have time to think about it. As of today, I have visited the Clearview Cancer Center (CCI) three times. It is an easy drive into Huntsville from Falkville—only about five minutes longer than my old drive from Navarre to Pensacola. Huntsville is a beautiful city, and the most recognizable landmark we pass is the U.S. Space & Rocket Center, affiliated with the Smithsonian and serving as the...