Looking on the weather wunderground, I see that Fred is still feeding the woodstove and wearing the multiple layers of clothes he was lamenting in his essay. While I am enjoying the open door and the porch rocker, Fred is still dreaming his summer weather dreams.
My reading on the web keeps coming across a common thread...It's that over and over in blog posts and comments people are talking about buying seeds and starting to raise vegetables again. It looks like I'm not the only one making the connection. Here is what Verlyn Klinkenborg had to…
I have been spending a lot of my online time updating my websites, trying to figure out a use to make of twitter, and trying (and failing) to catch up on my photoblog. Tied for first place this month has been playing Grandpa. Chief cook and bottle washer for the…
Sherry and I were in the car this morning heading to the grocery store for the weekly shopping and listening the Christmas music on the radio. I started thinking about what our children and grandchildren must think about the words to the traditional Christmas songs. I am sure my children…
Image by winzu via Flickr To get past the better half. WINEDALE — OK, I believe it. They’ve got me convinced. Here at the old country house in Washington County, winter has come to the front porch so I’ve moved inside by the fire. I’ve sat here and read three…
Though coffee drinkers may be cutting back on the expensive drinks, they still are consuming as much as they did last year — an average 3.3 cups a day per person, according to a June study by the National Coffee Association of U.S.A. The study of the $39.5 billion industry…
We are heading to my mom's to be with all of the family...So I leave just this... If the only prayer you said in your whole life was, "thank you," that would suffice. ~Meister Eckhart
Turning The Page Sherry and I had scheduled this past weekend as a four day celebration a long time ago. Making sure we both had arrangements to take Friday and Monday off appproved and on the calendars at work. Gifts were bought, resrvations were made, plans were set...we were celebrating…
For me the most moving moment came when the family in front of me, comprising probably 4 generations of voters (including an 18 year old girl voting for her first time and a 90-something hunched-over grandmother), got their turn to vote. When the old woman left the voting booth she…
After the storm, once you realize you've lived through another, your awareness of your surroundings is contracted. You begin by wandering around just your own little space surrounding your home...Checking for damage, fixing the immediate needs if possible. Then you begin to expand your awareness to your neighbors. First you…
Happy Papaw with newest addition to the family tree... Cameron Jay September 5, 2008 And with beaming Grandma And shortly it'll be back to the hospital.
I sit here this morning for the first time in months having my morning coffee with the door open and the sounds of birds and dogs and squirrels serenading me. The temperature has dipped into the upper 60's. Can winter be far off? I am alone in the house this…
It's been quite busy the last week. Most of my online time is being spent working on updating my Genealogy Site...So here's a couple of pictures from the weekend... And later in the day... Later folks...
Image by Getty Images via Daylife Hurricane Gustav continues plowing inland, and is now just a Category 1 hurricane. The storm surge has peaked and is falling in New Orleans and along the Mississippi coast. A storm surge of 12 feet was recorded at Northeast Bay Gardene, and surges of…
I took a day off from work today...It seemed like a good investment in mental health. My wife had already scheduled the day off planning for the scheduled arrival of our latest grandson. In case you are wondering, he's decided the schedule wasn't approved by his royal personage so he's…
Image via Wikipedia The weather here has been very dry...at least until the past week or so. We have been having a spring-like amount of rain. After complaining for so long about the lack, it seems almost sacrilegious to say anything about the water we needed so bad. After months…
Up early to check on the status of Edouard...Looks like a miss for my house...Heading inland already on the Louisiana border. Should miss the majority of the Houston area, rain and moderate winds only. Sherry has headed for work already...Television on, radar on the monitor... Happy Birthday Wendell Berry It's…
The Pleasurable Choice Is the Ethical Choice I like to say that I'm not an an optimist, but I am a person of hope. That is to say, I cultivate the virtue of hope in myself. Hope takes account of the enormity and darkness of challenges and problems, and yet…
As I slide down toward another weekend, my feedreader brings me this from Mark Peacock at Appalachian Treks... Appalachian Treks: Serene Majesty There is a serene and settled majesty to woodland scenery that enters into the soul and delights and elevates it, and fills it with noble inclinations. --Washington Irving…
At last someone who has noticed the same thing I've been saying for months to my family... Op-Ed Columnist - Frank Rich - One Historic Night, Two Americas - Op-Ed - NYTimes.com Given the dividing line separating the two Americas of 2008, a ticket uniting Mr. McCain and Hillary Clinton…
The descendants of my dad's family gets together each year for a family reunion...Today was the day for this years get together. It was a bit of a drive on a beautiful summer day. I enjoyed the trip and the reunion. Here are some photo's from the day... For photo's…
A few years back this note would not have even made it through the clutter of my brain... Robert Mondavi, 94; Noted Vintner Who Raised Quality of American Wine - washingtonpost.com Robert Mondavi, 94, who built what is arguably America's most influential winery by improving the once-dismal quality of California…
Summer's back...Both the temperature and the humidity are back. No wanting to spend the morning in the backyard today. Though I must admit the birds seem to like the weather just fine. Loud greetings to the day were heard even through the closed doors and windows. Over the weekend we…
Eugene Robinson - The Surge Turns Into the Stall - washingtonpost.com Of course, Bush long ago lost any credibility with Congress and the American people on Iraq. It's understandable that he hides behind Petraeus's breastplate of medals and Crocker's thatch of gray hair, sending these loyal and able public servants…
Paul Krugman's latest column focuses on food. Wander on over and check out his thoughts... Grains Gone Wild - New York Times These days you hear a lot about the world financial crisis. But there’s another world crisis under way — and it’s hurting a lot more people. I’m talking…
Another Reason To Be A Localvore... Did Your Shopping List Kill a Songbird? - New York Times Migratory songbirds like bobolinks, barn swallows and Eastern kingbirds are suffering mysterious population declines, and pesticides may well be to blame. A single application of a highly toxic pesticide to a field can…
I generally try very hard to keep from going off about politics. I have even sidelined my political musings at my other blog because there just didn't seem to be much use. Bush was going to be Bush and Congress wasn't going to hold him accountable for anything at all.…
More from my birthday roadtrip... This photo was taken at about the location of the cross hair on the map below, facing west across the Brazos River. The white smudge on the horizon is smoke from one of the many grass fires that were burning that day along the coast.…
Talk about touching a chord in my psyche. Verlyn's essay on driving and learning to drive is poetic in the way it pulls memories out of the dregs of my subconscious and plants them in the forebrain, full of scents, and sounds, and muscle memory. Being from Texas, I was…
It's raining today so I'm sitting at the kitchen table listening to the raindrops with Mary Gauthier playing in the background. Of the things I had on my wishlist for Christmas, two were her latest recordings. Ever since I discovered her last year, I have been in love with the…
