We are a commune of inquiring, skeptical, politically centrist, capitalist, anglophile, traditionalist New England Yankee humans, humanoids, and animals with many interests beyond and above politics. Each of us has had a high-school education (or GED), but all had ADD so didn't pay attention very well, especially the dogs. Each one of us does "try my best to be just like I am," and none of us enjoys working for others, including for Maggie, from whom we receive neither a nickel nor a dime. Freedom from nags, cranks, government, do-gooders, control-freaks and idiots is all that we ask for.
So, the media learned, during the Trump era, to define what is reportable in terms of whether or not it advantages Trump. Obviously, we no longer have a liberal media and we are not dealing with a free and open press. We are dealing with organs of state propaganda...
Over the years, we have tried to inform our readers about regional Italian food.
I guess we usually refer to "northern Italian" as north of Rome, but that covers plenty of cultural diversity. This episode is from the most northern part, where there has been plenty of milk, butter, potatoes, cabbage, and beef during the good times. Also, maize.
I've never had anything made with chestnut flour, but chestnuts are found all over Italy. The amazing roasted chestnuts on the streets of New York are all from Italy, and they are darn good.
3:1 Now there was a Pharisee named Nicodemus, a leader of the Jews.
3:2 He came to Jesus by night and said to him, "Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God; for no one can do these signs that you do apart from the presence of God."
3:3 Jesus answered him, "Very truly, I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God without being born from above."
3:4 Nicodemus said to him, "How can anyone be born after having grown old? Can one enter a second time into the mother's womb and be born?"
3:5 Jesus answered, "Very truly, I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God without being born of water and Spirit.
3:6 What is born of the flesh is flesh, and what is born of the Spirit is spirit.
3:7 Do not be astonished that I said to you, 'You must be born from above.'
3:8 The wind blows where it chooses, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit."
3:9 Nicodemus said to him, "How can these things be?"
3:10 Jesus answered him, "Are you a teacher of Israel, and yet you do not understand these things?
3:11 "Very truly, I tell you, we speak of what we know and testify to what we have seen; yet you do not receive our testimony.
3:12 If I have told you about earthly things and you do not believe, how can you believe if I tell you about heavenly things?
3:13 No one has ascended into heaven except the one who descended from heaven, the Son of Man.
3:14 And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up,
3:15 that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.
3:16 "For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.
3:17 "Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.
He is the man with slide guitar. Rumor is that he was invited to join the Rolling Stones, but declined. A sentimental song, because farming is an industry now.
Wolves were exterminated in the Northeast US centuries ago. In the 1800s, the sheep farmers hated them, put bounties on them, and killed every last one.
That's an olde New England Catboat, fully-refurbished with a small diesel engine, a hand-pump head, and three reefs in her sail. Not that I would sail when I needed 3 levels of reef. Watermen did in the old days, for sure, and anybody can be caught in a squall.
Like most boats, Catboats were designed as work boats. Recreational boating and yachting are recent developments.
I kinda love this craft despite the fact that, right now in life, I'd rather drive the tractor.
It is clear that it is worth doing both, but not on the same day. For what it's worth, I do back squats once weekly, deads once weekly, and leg press once weekly for lower body resistance exercises.
It is difficult and slow to build lower body power with my particular physical architecture (runner's build), but I work at it. Just increasing the wts by 5 lbs/month is great.
President Biden has promised that by 2022, the residual American military forces will leave Afghanistan. When that happens, it will complete the trifecta of American failure in its three major wars in the last half century: Afghanistan, Iraq, and Vietnam. Having spent years in Vietnam, when I look back, several causes for our failure there stand out.
The piece of New England where we were trout fishing yesterday was packed full of mostly-migrating warblers. A migrant trap. In a week, most will have gone north to breeding grounds.
This stream valley is a first-growth woodlands, plenty of underbrush (Shadbush, wild azalea, Mountain Laurel, etc.) and some small swamps full of swamp critters. A few pasture giant trees still standing. Probably was pasture 70 years ago, with woodlots on the slopes. Instead of cattle tramping through the stream, it's back to nature with otters, beaver, and a new forest.
Warbler migration time in May is big fun for birders. One reason is because they are in breeding plumage. Another is because they pass through in great waves, unlike fall migration back to South and Central America. A third reason, I guess, is because all of our other passerine migrants arrive at the same time as the warblers.
My goal would be to ID warblers by their song instead of trying to catch them by binoculars. They flit through the new leaves so frenetically, and some are so high, that it's just annoying. They have moved by the time you get the binocs up.
If I could memorize most of their tunes (and all other passerines), I'd consider that a huge life accomplishment. I could walk through a place like a blind person, still "seeing" everything.
As I have said, the most warbler species I have ever seen in one day (24) was in NYC's Central Park in a May some years ago. Here's a sample of what birders do in May, on the US Central Flyway in Ohio -
NAOMI OSAKA AND P
Photo stolen from 
Climate Cult Study Blames 
Photo: Fractal Broccoli - ever grown any? 
Wolves were exterminated in the Northeast US centuries ago. In the 1800s, the sheep farmers hated them, put bounties on them, and killed every last one.
Happy Birthday, Bob, with many happy returns.