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.
21:5 When some were speaking about the temple, how it was adorned with beautiful stones and gifts dedicated to God, he said,
21:6 "As for these things that you see, the days will come when not one stone will be left upon another; all will be thrown down."
21:7 They asked him, "Teacher, when will this be, and what will be the sign that this is about to take place?"
21:8 And he said, "Beware that you are not led astray; for many will come in my name and say, 'I am he!' and, 'The time is near!' Do not go after them.
21:9 "When you hear of wars and insurrections, do not be terrified; for these things must take place first, but the end will not follow immediately."
21:10 Then he said to them, "Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom;
21:11 there will be great earthquakes, and in various places famines and plagues; and there will be dreadful portents and great signs from heaven.
21:12 "But before all this occurs, they will arrest you and persecute you; they will hand you over to synagogues and prisons, and you will be brought before kings and governors because of my name.
21:13 This will give you an opportunity to testify.
21:14 So make up your minds not to prepare your defense in advance;
21:15 for I will give you words and a wisdom that none of your opponents will be able to withstand or contradict.
21:16 You will be betrayed even by parents and brothers, by relatives and friends; and they will put some of you to death.
21:17 You will be hated by all because of my name.
THE DECLINE OF ETIQUETTE AND THE RISE OF ‘BOUNDARIES’ - For centuries, strict social norms dictated what people could politely talk about. Now we have to figure it out for ourselves.
I took a few pics of our Luberon trails and routes, but not many of the challenging trails. Too busy clambering over stoney trails. Various routes wind down dirt roads, some through little paths, some past farmhouses, vineyards and olive groves. As I mentioned, the hardest part is following directions and trail marks.
The Brit hiking company (The Carter Company) that organized our trip gave us hiking guides (no maps). They also left off huge picnics each morning for us to carry, and transported our luggage from hotel to hotel. How long were the hikes? 5-6 hours.
As usual with hiking, it's mostly uphill but this bit was just easy and pleasant. Olive grove on the right, woodlands on the left::
Bird-hunting is basically walking, or hiking, with a dog and a gun. Maybe with a pal or two.
Our Sunday hunt was not productive of meat, but we must have seen 50 Bluebirds. Whether a migrating flock or a local population, who knows? They do not migrate much, depending on food supply. Berries in winter, bugs in summer. They are a kind of thrush, like robins and lots of other birds.
The Eastern Bluebird likes large fields, meadows, pastures, beaver marshes, and golf courses. Backyards, not much. Woodlands, no.
If you scatter 5 or 10 Bluebird houses around a large meadow, they will find them sooner or later. Tree Swallows will find them too, and they can fight about it.
Fennel grows like a weed - and literally as a roadside weed - all over Europe. A celery-like thing, with a cool licorice flavor. You can munch on it raw, sautee it, or pickle it either as refrigerator pickles or real pickles. Fenuil in French, finocchio in Sicily and Italy.
It's perfect with simple seafood. Here's my first course (lousy photo): Warm salad of sliced octopus on a bed of sauteed fennel.
Main course (which was not really needed) - a rare filet of French beef with a jus with olives, not mushrooms. And usual Euroland runny mashed taters.
Yeah, the mighty mighty deadlift. Nothing does it better. Even though I have done these for years, a technical tip always confuses my brain. Best to begin your set light to groove the movement in, then raise the weight until it's stressful as hell to do 2-4 reps.
This youtube is correct, but makes it sound complicated. It's not. Main tip is that you push the world away with your legs. And keep back straight. No way to hurt yourself with this.