Maggie's Farm

A view of the farm this weekend -

Had too much work to do to spend much time birding this weekend, but I tend to have outdoor situational awareness:

Yellow Warbler, Yellow Throat Warbler, Chestnut-sided Warbler, Blue-grey Gnatcatcher, Mallard, Wood Duck, Canada Goose, GB Heron, B Oriole, Turkey Vulture, Wild Turkey, Wood Duck, Red-Tailed Hawk, RT Hummingbird, Blue Jay, Chickadee, Mourning Dove, Catbird, Cedar Waxwing, Rose-Breasted Grosbeak, Tree Swallow, Barn Swallow, Bluebird, Robin, Kingbird, Phoebe, Wood Pewee, Wood Thrush, Veery, Hermit Thrush, Song Sparrow, Ovenbird, Crow, Raven, Downy WP, Brown Thrasher, Pileated Woodpecker, House Finch, House Wren, RE Vireo,  Black and White Warbler, and numerous unidentified warblers.

Did not see any Meadowlark, Killdeer, or Bobolink. Probably passed through already, but I wish they would make summer homes here. I do not know why they don't.

Drudge's headline right now:
OBAMA REDISTRIBUTION VICTORY: PRIVATE PAY PLUMMETS, GOVT HANDOUTS SOAR

AVI reflects on Me 'n Limbaugh. 

My only meaningful disagreement might be that I do not see Rush's bragging as genuine, but as radio shtick. Nobody who says "I speak with half my brain tied behind my back, just to keep it fair" is a serious braggart.

I think what drives Lefties nuts about Rush (besides his opinions) are his cheerfulness, infectious optimism, fair-handedness and kindness with callers, and his regular-American (as opposed to elite American) points of view.

The lack of angst and anger is simply not fashionable and is, indeed, repugnant to the elite Liberal mind.

At Pajamas,

Tracy is believed to have smuggled 270 Somalis into the U.S. through Mexico. Let me say it again: An associate of al-Shabaab has snuck in nearly 300 Somalis from where they operate into the country. They remain here and we don’t know what they are up to.

As Dr X recently observed,

Rules, limits and boundaries are critically important aspects of psychological life, necessary to a sense of safety and security.  Even if we don't always appreciate this fact consciously, boundary violations are perceived unconsciously as wrongful, serious threats to our safety.  Without an appreciation for the profound psychological significance of boundaries, we cannot begin to appreciate why it is inevitable that immigrants unlawfully streaming across the border into Arizona are perceived as a menace to safety by many Arizonans.

But not just "perceived," Dr. X. People are getting fed up with flagrant violation of the law. It is not the best way to begin a new life in a new place as an outlaw, and this sort of thing does not help the illegal cause.

Photo in the MA Berkshire woods yesterday morning. An easy one:

Had almost the entire crew working on the farm this weekend clearing out the overgrown meadow. The crew included my 5 year-old nephew who my Greenie sister was teaching to cut saplings in the meadow with clippers.

Says I, encouragingly, to the young lad "Remember, every time you kill a baby tree, God smiles."

Do you think that was the right thing to say?

Name this machine. This one did a lot of rough work for us this weekend, but not without a few annoying mechanical glitches:

Photo is Le Thoronet, one of the three Romanesque Cistercian abbeys in Provence.

When I need a dash of perspective and feel open to a new thought, I check out One Cosmos to see what Gagdad has been thinking about. He reads books that I would not get around to reading.

(I wish he would leave the politics alone - not that I disagree with his - but I find the combination grating and disconcerting.)

A sample of Gagdad's recent musings:

 ...it is hopeless to defer to biology as to the nature of Life as such. As I mentioned in the book, a biologist knows no more about the nature of life than a watchmaker does about the nature of time. As I have noted before, although it is obvious to me that the cosmos manifests intelligent design, I do not rely on this to inductively leap the conclusion that God therefore exists. This is like proving the existence of time by studying watches.

Or something like this, from a more recent post:

Truth must be sufferered... Why is that? Because to know a truth -- i.e., genuine objectivity -- is death to the ego. But once the ego is out of the way, it doesn't hurt at all. In fact, it kind of tickles.

Image: A Hubble photo of a star nursery

This reasonably common migratory bird of the Eastern US is usually located by his loud, piercing calls. I have spent plenty of time tracking down the call, only to say to myself "Oh yeah, of course - I forgot" when I find the guy up in some treetop.

This bird should definitely be in The Handbook of Loud Birds of Central Ohio - or of anywhere.

Info below the fold -

Rough farm work this weekend, but I'd rather be digging quahogs for supper here in the mud flats. It beats an Easter egg hunt easily.

Stift Melk, along the edge of the Danube, is one of the world's most famous abbeys. Founded in 1069, it remains a Benedictine center. The current early 1700 baroque buildings do not charm me, but it's an impressive structure - and it's on my August trip.

Something valuable for your garden: a dwarf Buddleia called "Blue Chip." This new Buddleia (Butterfly Bush) is only 2' high, max, and thus can function like a perennial flower in a border while drawing butterflies from miles around. Plus they claim it blooms all summer, unlike my full-sized Buddleias. I have a spot for a few of these guys.

Wayside is the only place I know that has them. Loony Greenies should avoid them: they are genetically-engineered. Like Labrador Retrievers, corn on the cob - and cotton.

Hummingbirds like them too.

Sony has been pulling all of the Bob YouTubes they can find, but I found an interesting (outtake?) of Tell Ol' Bill (with different lyrics) which I can link but cannot embed.

Great song and great tune.

Did Jane Jacobs and her disciples take a moment in time and try to freeze it?

It's a worthy debate: Gentrification and Its Discontents - Manhattan never was what we think it was.

What's y'all's opinion on Draw The Prophet Day (which is today)?

And what do you think about my construction of the plural possessive "y'all's"? Correct, or a problem for the Grammar Nazi? Should it be y'alls'? In the South, I have even heard it said as "y'allses," as in "Where did you park y'allses car?"

(Grammar Nazi link h/t Tiger)

Saletan at Slate: Why should anyone give Richard Blumenthal a break? A quote:

Blumenthal has never given anyone a break. He has made a career out of holding others to the strictest standards of truth—and mercilessly prosecuting them when they fall short.

Also, a good one: USA Today: Political waves: Great pretenders drown in their lies

Also, Blumenthal Defense: I Didn't Lie All The Time

"There's no such thing as a single lie."

Via Wizbang's A Tangled Web. It's not just that one lie leads to another; it's that liars tend to lie. It's part of who they are. See People of the Lie, a book about which Amazon quotes:

Scott Peck is a psychiatrist turned author and lecturer. His name is a household word with the self-help crowd. In People of the Lie, Peck takes on the topic of evil. The"volume" cited is not an abridgment but a group of case studies from the first chapters of the book, along with commentary. The presentations are consistently well done. Peck reads with a soft, yet strong voice that is both self-assured and reassuring.

The Critz vs. Burns "failure"  is a disappointment, even in a 2:1 Dem district.

What the Dems have begun to master over recent cycles is to run as Conservative-sounding centrists. When they get to DC, however, they end up, willingly or unwillingly, under the thumb of the Pelosi leadership. That's how our system tends to work.

So whether they run with more conservative local themes or not, in the end it doesn't matter. In the House, it is Party that matters, 99% of the time. That's why voting Party instead of Person makes sense most of the time, and why, for federal elections, being an Independent, even though it sounds nice, just means you don't care.

Thanks for reminding me about FFA and 4-H. We had a 4-H when I grew up, but I did not belong.

Where did those good things go?

Standing guard duty in Texas. Thanks, Buddy.

We aren't birthers here, but this video would feed their wacky theories.