9pm Monday night.
Cool temps today but muggy, very humid. Temp in low 70’s.
Small animal activity around The Study is picking up.
Our resident squirrels are carrying ping pong sized things in their mouths and rolling on the ground and jumping from high branches and chasing each other from one end of our garden to the other.
A small silvery bird, sparrow sized, stopped by the still empty feeder. We will stock it and the corn feeder and the peanut feeder in a few weeks.
Son-in-law reported seeing three deer in his back yard yesterday eating delicacies from his garden.
Driving away from his house, Dear Wife saw a large bird ‘dining’ on roadside carrion – the scavenger was the size of a wild turkey and seemed to know exactly what it was doing.
Nuff said.
Neighbor’s five cats have worn a footpath across our front yard. You can see it if I let grass grow a bit.
Our grass can take it.
Honey bees, bless them, have been busy of late on our ‘everlasting’ plants, Gramma’s favs. We see very few nowadays.
Herds [I know, wrong word] of sparrows and grackles and the like have been descending on our grasses and apparently are getting some benefit.
All of our grass is of a volunteer variety.
Robins too are busy once again.
Which reminds me, I just purchased a book for Dear Wife and Daughter – and for myself – entitled Wesley the Owl, the story of a young woman and a barn owl – an account of a 17 or more year relationship of a young scientist and a lovely and loving creature.
The author states that a barn owl can detect a field mouse under three feet of snow by hearing the heartbeat of the mouse.
I thought of that today when I saw the robins ‘listening’ for the worms in the soil with that tilt of their heads.
Haven’t read the book yet, but will when the Ladies are through with it.
At any rate, the tempo of ‘natural life’ seems to be picking up, perhaps in anticipation of the coming change of seasons.
We need to order firewood. And soon the leaves will begin to fall.
God’s order of things.
Monday, September 21, 2009
Saturday, September 19, 2009
TIMES CHANGE
Saturday morning.
40+ degrees last night.
I would have used a degree symbol but I don’t know how to do that.
Weather is predicting 40 tonight.
And soon we go North to close up camp. Brrrr!
Dear Wife is planning to take Grandchildren to a rural orchard today to apple pick, wagon ride, hot dog eat, and cider and doughnut eat and relive the great days of doing same with our kids.
We used to do it once a year, a lifetime ago. A tradition.
Into a station wagon would go First Dog; Gramma Gaines; Dear Wife; our two kids; and myself and a camera and off we would go to this same orchard [order of passengers and cargo does not reflect relative importance].
We would do the cider and all of the above and then stop on the way home at a German eatery near the orchard.
Did this for years and years.
And then the kids grew and Gramma died. And First Dog passed away.
Times change.
And now the Grandkids are here.
And Dear Wife redoes the tradition.
You do what you can.
Seems a bit early, but why not?
We were visiting an upscale mall last week for some shopping and some very good dining, and in Macy’s, a store we dearly love, Christmas decorations already are being set out on one floor – trees and decorations and Santas.
Seems a bit early, but why not?
Times change.
We still think of Macy’s as Hudson’s, J.L. to be exact, in our minds, still the greatest department store ever to grace the world of retail marketing.
But that is another story.
Where Have All the Flowers Gone, Long Time Passing? as the song lyric so eloquently says?
It does not take much to set us to thinking of the 1960’s, so much a pivotal decade, so much so in so many ways.
The death of Mary Travers is a reminder of so many things.
We were not so much fans of her as of her group, as of her type of music, immortal folk music.
So many artists; so many coffee shops; so many dragons to slay; so many battles to be won.
The early 60’s – so very important a period.
Two roads diverged in a yellow wood….
Many roads diverged in a lot of woods that decade, and we all took the roads we took.
40+ degrees last night.
I would have used a degree symbol but I don’t know how to do that.
Weather is predicting 40 tonight.
And soon we go North to close up camp. Brrrr!
Dear Wife is planning to take Grandchildren to a rural orchard today to apple pick, wagon ride, hot dog eat, and cider and doughnut eat and relive the great days of doing same with our kids.
We used to do it once a year, a lifetime ago. A tradition.
Into a station wagon would go First Dog; Gramma Gaines; Dear Wife; our two kids; and myself and a camera and off we would go to this same orchard [order of passengers and cargo does not reflect relative importance].
We would do the cider and all of the above and then stop on the way home at a German eatery near the orchard.
Did this for years and years.
And then the kids grew and Gramma died. And First Dog passed away.
Times change.
And now the Grandkids are here.
And Dear Wife redoes the tradition.
You do what you can.
Seems a bit early, but why not?
We were visiting an upscale mall last week for some shopping and some very good dining, and in Macy’s, a store we dearly love, Christmas decorations already are being set out on one floor – trees and decorations and Santas.
Seems a bit early, but why not?
Times change.
We still think of Macy’s as Hudson’s, J.L. to be exact, in our minds, still the greatest department store ever to grace the world of retail marketing.
But that is another story.
Where Have All the Flowers Gone, Long Time Passing? as the song lyric so eloquently says?
It does not take much to set us to thinking of the 1960’s, so much a pivotal decade, so much so in so many ways.
The death of Mary Travers is a reminder of so many things.
We were not so much fans of her as of her group, as of her type of music, immortal folk music.
So many artists; so many coffee shops; so many dragons to slay; so many battles to be won.
The early 60’s – so very important a period.
Two roads diverged in a yellow wood….
Many roads diverged in a lot of woods that decade, and we all took the roads we took.
Thursday, September 17, 2009
b.o. MARCHES ON
Now, b.o. has shown that he cannot deliver on many of his promises to dismantle the Bush/Cheney style of governance/leadership of the United States.
He has generally failed when it comes to the really difficult dismantlings, such as closing Gitmo; successfully fighting the Afghan War; withdrawing all US forces from Iraq by a ridiculous date; or ‘bringing the nation together.’
But when it comes to breaking a promise to foreign allies – allies which have ‘gone out on a limb’ to support a US national interest – b.o. seems to have more success.
We are speaking here, of course, of his just now announcement that he is scrapping the Bush plan to create SAM missile sites in Eastern Europe to interdict Iranian missile strikes against the US.
Russia opposed the idea.
Bush said the Russian opposition could be dealt with.
b.o. has decided that it is better to sacrifice the missile shield than to court continued discontent from the Kremlin.
Watch the reaction of the East European governments. And boy, will this strengthen b.o.’s hand with regard to the Iranians.
Now they will really have reasons to see him in a new, truer light.
Yeah, right!!
And we should expect renewed interest from Putin&Co. with regard to US-Russian relations.
b.o. marches on.
He has generally failed when it comes to the really difficult dismantlings, such as closing Gitmo; successfully fighting the Afghan War; withdrawing all US forces from Iraq by a ridiculous date; or ‘bringing the nation together.’
But when it comes to breaking a promise to foreign allies – allies which have ‘gone out on a limb’ to support a US national interest – b.o. seems to have more success.
We are speaking here, of course, of his just now announcement that he is scrapping the Bush plan to create SAM missile sites in Eastern Europe to interdict Iranian missile strikes against the US.
Russia opposed the idea.
Bush said the Russian opposition could be dealt with.
b.o. has decided that it is better to sacrifice the missile shield than to court continued discontent from the Kremlin.
Watch the reaction of the East European governments. And boy, will this strengthen b.o.’s hand with regard to the Iranians.
Now they will really have reasons to see him in a new, truer light.
Yeah, right!!
And we should expect renewed interest from Putin&Co. with regard to US-Russian relations.
b.o. marches on.
TWO MORE R.I.P.s
Joel at the Mole Hole has noted the passing of Mary Travers and Henry Gibson, both entertainers of our youth.
We at The Study are quite a bit older than Joel, but we our interests happily overlap regarding such things.
And as we noted on Joel's site, Ernie Harwell, the Detroit Tiger baseball announcer of many, many years, has just made a farewell appearance at the home field of the Tigers.
When jane fonda's Dad, Henry died, she said that we are all moving up to the turnstyle (sp?).
She was/is right.
We at The Study are quite a bit older than Joel, but we our interests happily overlap regarding such things.
And as we noted on Joel's site, Ernie Harwell, the Detroit Tiger baseball announcer of many, many years, has just made a farewell appearance at the home field of the Tigers.
When jane fonda's Dad, Henry died, she said that we are all moving up to the turnstyle (sp?).
She was/is right.
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
A FEW OBSERVATIONS
We note that the four resident squirrels on our property are currently very active.
They are hereing and thereing - I am not sure what they are about, but it seems to us that they are engaged in pre-fall whatever, getting ready for the inevitable seasonal changes.
Three koi have had a good summer, all of them growing considerably.
Even the unfertilized grass has been growing rather lushly.
Dear Wife is attending a professional baseball game with visiting Dear Cousin and Friend. Dear Son is providing transport and refreshments. He also arranged for the tickets.
Good lad.
Dear Friend flew fifty some combat missions over Italy in WW2 in B-25s.
We enjoyed a long talk about those years last night.
With appropriate adult beverage.
Did you know that if you were American air crew and were shot down over enemy-held territory – and you made it back to American or Allied lines, you had an automatic ticket home?
We did not know that.
Neat!
Sophie and I are, as Gramma used to say, ‘Holding down the fort’ while the family is at the game.
Baseball, the national sport.
We restored our tree face for the umpteenth time.
Tree face = two eyes, a nose, and a mouth set against the side of a tree. Held on by screws.
Something, creatures or wind or whatever has cast them all down several times this summer.
We have brought the grill downstate in preparation for closing up The North and it has been in operation.
And we continue to watch the news, national and international.
Gramma also used to say ‘Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof’.
And, if you cannot say something nice, don't say anything.
I know, lots of people used to say that.
I still do. So do they.
Lots of people do.
Anyway, no evil spoken this post.
Except, the various policies of b.o. all appear to be headed for failure: his foreign policies; his appointments to office; his policies regarding health reform on the grande scale; his promises to his lunatic supporters (sorry); and so on.
Anyway, we watch. Lots of crazy policies are playing out to maturity and will either end his credibility or be altered so as to have a chance of seeming to be well thought out.
Wonder which it will be – failures or alterations.
We are starting to think that he might well be the first single-term President in quite a few years.
See, we almost stayed entirely positive.
They are hereing and thereing - I am not sure what they are about, but it seems to us that they are engaged in pre-fall whatever, getting ready for the inevitable seasonal changes.
Three koi have had a good summer, all of them growing considerably.
Even the unfertilized grass has been growing rather lushly.
Dear Wife is attending a professional baseball game with visiting Dear Cousin and Friend. Dear Son is providing transport and refreshments. He also arranged for the tickets.
Good lad.
Dear Friend flew fifty some combat missions over Italy in WW2 in B-25s.
We enjoyed a long talk about those years last night.
With appropriate adult beverage.
Did you know that if you were American air crew and were shot down over enemy-held territory – and you made it back to American or Allied lines, you had an automatic ticket home?
We did not know that.
Neat!
Sophie and I are, as Gramma used to say, ‘Holding down the fort’ while the family is at the game.
Baseball, the national sport.
We restored our tree face for the umpteenth time.
Tree face = two eyes, a nose, and a mouth set against the side of a tree. Held on by screws.
Something, creatures or wind or whatever has cast them all down several times this summer.
We have brought the grill downstate in preparation for closing up The North and it has been in operation.
And we continue to watch the news, national and international.
Gramma also used to say ‘Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof’.
And, if you cannot say something nice, don't say anything.
I know, lots of people used to say that.
I still do. So do they.
Lots of people do.
Anyway, no evil spoken this post.
Except, the various policies of b.o. all appear to be headed for failure: his foreign policies; his appointments to office; his policies regarding health reform on the grande scale; his promises to his lunatic supporters (sorry); and so on.
Anyway, we watch. Lots of crazy policies are playing out to maturity and will either end his credibility or be altered so as to have a chance of seeming to be well thought out.
Wonder which it will be – failures or alterations.
We are starting to think that he might well be the first single-term President in quite a few years.
See, we almost stayed entirely positive.
Saturday, September 12, 2009
MAYBE IS AN IMPORTANT WORD
ITEM: THE senior political analyst of npr insists that it is somehow worse for a Republican Congressman to call b.o. a liar than it was for the dem Speaker of the House to have called President Bush a liar.
The saddest thing about the Republican’s outburst is the fact that he almost immediately apologized for stating the truth about the current Chief Executive.
It is definitely time for THE senior p.a. of npr to retire – way past.
ITEM: Did b.o. apologize for calling the police sgt. he shared a beer with at the White House stupid??
ITEM: And folks are rightly in an uproar over sending an elite team of British Commando into harm’s way to rescue a NYT's reporter who was warned to stay away from the place he went to and where he was subsequently captured by barbarians.
And now the Commando Unit is being criticized for ‘allowing’ or ‘causing’ the death of the Afghani interpreter – as though they deliberately planned to allow the death of the ‘non-white’.
ITEM: And b.o. appoints communists to office – folks who believe that President Bush conspired in bring down The Towers.
ITEM: charlie wrangle still holds his chairmanship.
ITEM: ACORN soldiers on – supported by lots and lots of Americans. What does that say about the overall health of The Republic??
ITEM: The Afghan war is the war b.o. said he wanted to fight. He said he wanted to draw down the US effort in Iraq.
He is now the President. He is drawing down US forces in Iraq. How is he doing in Afghanistan??
ITEM: It looks like Michigan is going to get the new Gitmo. Lucky Michigan. Good work, b.o.
Is a leader supposed to slavishly follow stupid campaign promises made to satisfy stupid voters, or is he or she supposed to inform the electorate of what has to be done and then do the right thing and take the consequences if his stupid constituency votes him out of office??
ITEM: It is being argued by some that the current political and cultural divisions in our Republic were not brought on by any single climatic event, that instead they are symptoms of a growing rot which is infesting the core values of our people.
The fact that so many Americans have so much patience with the policies of b.o. argues in favor of this thesis.
The American Republic is no longer a child nation. It is not as old as the oldest. But it is old enough to feel some of the aches and pains of maturity.
All other great civilizations have eventually declined.
It is a sobering thought to think that the exceptional positive qualities of the United States are already in a state of terminal decline.
A people eventually get the government they deserve.
Do we deserve b.o. and his brand of government??
Maybe we do.
And then again, maybe we do not.
The saddest thing about the Republican’s outburst is the fact that he almost immediately apologized for stating the truth about the current Chief Executive.
It is definitely time for THE senior p.a. of npr to retire – way past.
ITEM: Did b.o. apologize for calling the police sgt. he shared a beer with at the White House stupid??
ITEM: And folks are rightly in an uproar over sending an elite team of British Commando into harm’s way to rescue a NYT's reporter who was warned to stay away from the place he went to and where he was subsequently captured by barbarians.
And now the Commando Unit is being criticized for ‘allowing’ or ‘causing’ the death of the Afghani interpreter – as though they deliberately planned to allow the death of the ‘non-white’.
ITEM: And b.o. appoints communists to office – folks who believe that President Bush conspired in bring down The Towers.
ITEM: charlie wrangle still holds his chairmanship.
ITEM: ACORN soldiers on – supported by lots and lots of Americans. What does that say about the overall health of The Republic??
ITEM: The Afghan war is the war b.o. said he wanted to fight. He said he wanted to draw down the US effort in Iraq.
He is now the President. He is drawing down US forces in Iraq. How is he doing in Afghanistan??
ITEM: It looks like Michigan is going to get the new Gitmo. Lucky Michigan. Good work, b.o.
Is a leader supposed to slavishly follow stupid campaign promises made to satisfy stupid voters, or is he or she supposed to inform the electorate of what has to be done and then do the right thing and take the consequences if his stupid constituency votes him out of office??
ITEM: It is being argued by some that the current political and cultural divisions in our Republic were not brought on by any single climatic event, that instead they are symptoms of a growing rot which is infesting the core values of our people.
The fact that so many Americans have so much patience with the policies of b.o. argues in favor of this thesis.
The American Republic is no longer a child nation. It is not as old as the oldest. But it is old enough to feel some of the aches and pains of maturity.
All other great civilizations have eventually declined.
It is a sobering thought to think that the exceptional positive qualities of the United States are already in a state of terminal decline.
A people eventually get the government they deserve.
Do we deserve b.o. and his brand of government??
Maybe we do.
And then again, maybe we do not.
Friday, September 11, 2009
'FOR THE FALLEN'
What to say on this Day of Days?
We watched the morning coverage of tributes and the commemorations and shed a few tears as we watched and remembered.
But what to say?
We can do no better at this late hour than quote a stanza from a poem written in 1914 to honor the dead of the BEF in the Great War of that year and now applicable "...as a tribute to all casualties of war, regardless of nation."
They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old:
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning,
We will remember them.
As we so often have been saying of late, lest we forget.
We watched the morning coverage of tributes and the commemorations and shed a few tears as we watched and remembered.
But what to say?
We can do no better at this late hour than quote a stanza from a poem written in 1914 to honor the dead of the BEF in the Great War of that year and now applicable "...as a tribute to all casualties of war, regardless of nation."
They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old:
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning,
We will remember them.
As we so often have been saying of late, lest we forget.
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