Evolution/Revolution

Oversight of media is long gone. As is honesty and character. There is an evolution in process; it’s inevitable. I shouldn’t be surprised. Surprised is the wrong word. I’m appalled, frightened even.

The evolution that I see is retrograde. And here I was expecting slow and steady recognition of the importance of Earth’s health. Now I wonder if that wasn’t wishful thinking.

Ignoring History

The Salem witch trials were a series of hearings and prosecutions of people accused of witchcraft in colonial Massachusetts between February 1692 and May 1693. The trials resulted in the executions of twenty people, fourteen of them women, and all but one by hanging. Five others (including two infant children) died in prison.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salem_witch_trials

We think of the Salem witch trials of 1692-1693 as an anomaly but the European trials have been with us since the 15^th century.

And it’s all about accusations. Just accusations, truth is irrelevant.

We don’t call it by that name anymore. The recent word is McCarthyism. “...the practice of making accusations of subversion or treason without proper regard for evidence. It also means the practice of making unfair allegations or using unfair investigative techniques, especially in order to restrict dissent or political criticism."

How long before we call it Trumpism?

A Nightmare

What?

I must be having a nightmare. When I try to wake, there’s a despot and I’m in a third world country.
I look up and there’s Liberty, stabbed in the back, a look of shock on her face. What have we done?
Then I realize I’m not dreaming. Is this his revenge for losing in the 9th District court?

Winter Afternoons

I've been reading some really great prose.

This paragraph from, Two Years Eight Months and Twenty-Eight Nights.

At the beginning of all love there is a private treaty each of the lovers makes with himself or herself, an agreement to set aside what is wrong with the other for the sake of what is right. Love is spring after winter. It comes to heal life's wounds, inflicted by the unloving cold. When that warmth is born in the heart the imperfections of the beloved are as nothing, less than nothing, and the secret treaty with oneself is easy to sign. The voice of doubt is stilled. Later, when love fades, the secret treaty looks like folly, but if so, it's a necessary folly, born of lovers' belief in beauty, which is to say, in the possibility of the impossible thing, true love.

S.R.

Random House

Birds of Spring & Happy Birthday

"I was talking with Little Brother Larry a couple of nights ago. I accused him of having better spring weather in Minnesota than here."

"Our birds are very late. We still have at least a dozen Juncos in the backyard every day and twice that many White-throated Sparrows."

"Winter birds."

"The bird list so far."

03/28/15 - Killdeer (7)  [Sandy Hook]
03/30/15 - Yellow-rumped Warbler (2)
04/02/15 - Common Yellowthroat (1)
04/07/15 - Golden-crowned Kinglet (2)
04/08/15 - Rufous-sided Towhee (2) [still here 9th]
04/09/15 - Brown Thrasher (1)
04/10/15 - (0)

"I thought I might get a glimpse of 'Our Bird' for your Birthday. Maybe tomorrow."



"I do have a new photo of you. It's new because I don't think you've ever seen it."

Good Night ... and

don't stay up too long

Red Head

"I know I said goodbye to February and winter—a bit premature it would seem. So, I'll be cautious this time. I'll just post some crocus photos for you without gushing."

"Excuse my interruption for a minute there's a shirt on the clothesline that should come in. A few minutes tumbling in the dryer will make it wrinkleless."

"Blogger didn't like wrinkleless; tough."

"Listening to the Tedeschi Trucks Band recorded live at the Orpheum in Madison, Wisconsin. A great Bluesy "Bound for Glory". Far and away my favorite band right now."

"Did you remember our first anniversary?"

"Of course." 

"Today.Thirty-one years ago."

"I had to get the Subaru re-registered and so I thought I'd have to get new plates too. I reluctantly took the plates off; just felt so bad giving up those plates. They're almost antiques now. You had them first on the Explorer twenty years ago and no-one can ever get the Red-headed Woodpecker again."

"So I'm standing in line at Eatontown motor-vehicle and I figured, what the hell? The worst that can happen is they say no."

"After five techs, two supervisors, lots of discussion and $85 I walked away with the Red-headed plates!"

"Well I couldn't just put them back on the Subaru. They were rather dirty. I washed off miles of road grime but that front plate had taken more than its share of abuse from salt and gravel."

"There's a protective film on the plates but much of it is long gone from that front Red-head. So I put on three coats of polyurethane and have no idea how long it will last but we shall see."

"I know you would have blended the perfect shade of red enamel and touched up the bird. I didn't think I could do it justice so I opted for letting the bird wear its miles proudly."


"The pond fish love this weather too. The sun is warming the water at the top of the pond and that's where they are."

"Did I mentioning the sun?
Here's some crocuses from this morning's first warm rays."

"Happy Anniversary."

"Love you Susie."

Good-by February - We've Had Enough of You!

"Yay, Susie. Almost finished with February."

          "The longest month."

"Yes. You've always said that. And it's longer than ever this year. Maybe that's what's bugging Mouse. Hasn't laid an egg in 5 days. The other day she was looking at Florida travel brochures."

"The highest temperature this week was 35 degrees. You don't even want to know what the lowest temperature was. Poor Smeagol, his balls are the size of BBs."

"I think I can smell the bread or maybe just wishful 'smelling'. I should'ave baked it in the oven. It would look pretty pathetic - standing over the bread machine trying to warm my hands!"

"It's so cold, I brought a beer in from the garage and had to put it in the microwave so I could drink it!"

"It's so cold, the woodpeckers are using a chisel to get at the suet!"

"It's so cold, the birds are standing on the ice to warm their feet!"

"OK, OK. I's probably Not That Cold in New Jersey. The Minnesotans are arriving in droves. The word filtered back about our zero degree heat wave."

"Peachy hasn't had any grass in more than a month. So I bought some Wheatgrass seeds from Amazon. I sprouted more than enough. Too many maybe. Peachy might have share with the cats. I even stole some for the bread that's baking in the machine."

"Sad. It's all over the news and Facebook. Leonard Nimoy passed away. Today I think. He was 83."

"Remember I mentioned my appointment with the Shore Heart Group? After I spent months nagging you about going to a doctor, I felt guilty about never going to a doctor myself until it was almost too late - so I didn't really have much choice."

"Well, it was so much fun I made three more appointments with Dr. Spano. The first one was this past Tuesday. It was an all day 'Thing' from 11:00 am 'till 4:00. I was a little disappointed that I didn't get a chance to be examined by cute Ms. Spano,"

"Anyway, it was a Myo heart stress test. Myoview is actually the name of the radioactive isotope that was added to my blood. My heart didn't really get much stress. Most of the time I was either sitting around or trying to stay awake while lying on my back during most of an hour of 'imaging' my radioactive heart. It's no wonder it was hard to stay awake - I wasn't allowed my morning coffee! The stress part of the test was mostly walking on a treadmill for about 10-15 minutes followed by a few minutes of jogging."

"So my heart's in great shape like the rest of me. Actually, a lot better than my hearing, my memory, my knees, and well, some other parts. So I've got great genes and a lot of years left."

"Really wish I could exchange some of those years."

"Good-night Susie."

$59 Dollars worth of Sprouts

"I've lost misplaced my glasses. How annoying is that. I'm trying to get by with these ten year old "Reading Glasses." Why should I bother cleaning them? They're short term, temporary, transient, impermanent ... and now I've misplaced the dictionary as well."

"That was days ago. I could use some help here Susie."

          "Where were you when you last had them?"

"I somehow knew you were going to say that."

"I'm sure I had them on when I looked up and noticed I was buying $59 worth of Brussels sprouts."

"I was in the 20 items or less fewer check out. Although I noticed the clerk examining the sprouts in the produce bag, I probably chalked it up to curiosity. After all, she didn't know what those little green things were called. She asked. I joked that I doubted they were from Brussels." 
(Did you notice that little trick with the strikethrough? As MS Word calls it.)

"Anyway, that's the last place I was at. I had no problem seeing the $59 price on the overhead screen. That's when I realized she wasn't curious. She was counting them."

"I knew there were 10 in the bag because the price tag in the produce department was an outrageous $3.99 a pound. So I counted them. It turned out that the price was an error. They were less outrageous at $1.99 a pound."

"I can also say for certain that I've tried putting a $59 loss in perspective. Next to something I've often taken for granted ... a simple touch. The void that's left when a simple touch is forever lost." 

For My Valentine

Clever of us to have our wedding anniversary on Valentine's Day

For Susie, my special Valentine

And for all the Lovers out there.

Stir Fried Memories

"Just finished washing dinner dishes. I made one of your all-time favorite meals this evening. A stir fry with lots of vegetables."

"Carrots, red potatoes, sweet potatoes, peas, onions, garlic, cilantro, Chinese noodles and a hot dog of course."

"What do you think about a combination of four sauces? To die for."

"Roasted Raspberry Chipotle, Mango Coconut, Sesame Garlic, and our home-made Chipotle sauce."

"We made a stir fry a lot on Eighth Avenue. There never was a real recipe though, just what veggies were in the frig.

"What gets found in the refrigerator has changed a bit in 35 years but our stir fry has one constant, besides the hot dog, It is seasoned with love. What memories."

"Good night, Susie. Don't stay up too long."