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.
Feb. 15th is the normal and usually-reliable date for the blackbirds (flocks of Red-wings, Grackles, Cowbirds) to begin to arrive in my neck of the woods, but not this year. I think there's more snow cover than they want to deal with, even in the swamps. I'll give them an extra week this year and blame it on global cooling.
Not a bird, but I found a cute White-Footed Mouse in my birdseed bag late this afternoon. I like those little buggers, happy to feed them too. Picked him up by the tail, gave him a little pat on the head, and put him back.
What happens when a coconut falls in the jungle, and no-one hears it?
It grows new coconut trees.
The geographical origins of the Coconut Palm are debated, but this useful and ornamental tree has spread around the tropics by man and probably via ocean currents too. This pic of Coconut Palms sprouting from fallen coconuts was in the jungles of St. Lucia last week.
I've...become a blogger, and enjoy the ease and freedom of the form: it's a bit like making a paper airplane and then watching it take wing below your window.
A free ad for WQXR online. This thing improves life, and I enjoy the articulation of the music announcers and music commenters. Too bad everybody can't speak in those graceful tones.
Since the NYT sold the station and they became listener-sponsored and lowered their power, I can't receive them anymore on my tuners. Very sad for us because I like good music played big.
Now how do I route it through good speakers via my amps?
Around 4 million acres of California farms are dependent on irrigation. Without imported or diverted water, those acres cannot grow crops reliably, and never did grow much before irrigation.
It's been a dry year in California and Oregon, but these things happen. California has never had enough water, especially in southern California. As usual in dry places, people fight over water: California Drought Is Not About ‘Climate Change’ – It’s About Policy
We respect and value - with a deep sensitivity to cereal differences - hot breakfast cereals from strange, exotic, far-away cultures like Montana, etc. Here's what we like (besides English muffins):
Being Yankees, we are also partial to Apple Pie for breakfast (that's what it used to be made for), but you must not buy that at the store - there are some things in life you would never buy. Also great for breakfast - leftover cold pizza.
Readers know that we also love Chipped Beef on toast, but a quarter of an Apple Pie (a multicultural tarte tatin will work, too), two coffees and a couple of smokes will get anyone ready for a cold, rugged day of work in the drafty old office.
5:21 "You have heard that it was said to those of ancient times, 'You shall not murder'; and 'whoever murders shall be liable to judgment.'
5:22 But I say to you that if you are angry with a brother or sister, you will be liable to judgment; and if you insult a brother or sister, you will be liable to the council; and if you say, 'You fool,' you will be liable to the hell of fire.
5:23 So when you are offering your gift at the altar, if you remember that your brother or sister has something against you,
5:24 leave your gift there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother or sister, and then come and offer your gift.
5:25 Come to terms quickly with your accuser while you are on the way to court with him, or your accuser may hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the guard, and you will be thrown into prison.
5:26 Truly I tell you, you will never get out until you have paid the last penny.
5:27 "You have heard that it was said, 'You shall not commit adultery.'
5:28 But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart.
5:29 If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away; it is better for you to lose one of your members than for your whole body to be thrown into hell.
5:30 And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away; it is better for you to lose one of your members than for your whole body to go into hell.
5:31 "It was also said, 'Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce.'
5:32 But I say to you that anyone who divorces his wife, except on the ground of unchastity, causes her to commit adultery; and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.
5:33 "Again, you have heard that it was said to those of ancient times, 'You shall not swear falsely, but carry out the vows you have made to the Lord.'
5:34 But I say to you, Do not swear at all, either by heaven, for it is the throne of God,
5:35 or by the earth, for it is his footstool, or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King.
5:36 And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make one hair white or black.
5:37 Let your word be 'Yes, Yes' or 'No, No'; anything more than this comes from the evil one.
The busy dive shop at our place. Mrs. BD wanted to dive, but didn't really have time to get re-certified. Best to do that at home before a dive trip. However, the snorkeling was excellent, and Mrs. can do a 20' surface dive easily. I can't. I can do 10', no problem, but I prefer to just float around and observe.
The weather is here. Wish you were nice.
More pics, etc, below the fold - including a pic our our suite's cool bathroom!
What's your name? "Puddin Tain." What's your other? "Bread and Butter." Where do you live? "Down the lane." What's your number? "Cucumber." What do you eat? "Pork pie." Greedy pig you ought to die!
Pics from her runway show at Fashion Weekat the Javits Center, NYC, last week. Fashion Week is a big deal. That's Nora Gardner in the middle. She has a good story - four years on Wall St. doing billion-dollar muni deals, identified a need, now a far-happier entrepreneur in the rag trade. That's the American Way.
(Just like select organizations like Bob Dylan Inc., Dunkin Donuts, Sippican Cottage Furniture, Sierra Trading Post, Bird's Custard Powder, Billy Bob's Auto Body, and other major brands, Gardner pays us really big bucks to promote her conservative, practical clothing line.)
Photo: This German lass was with us on a hike to the hot springs waterfall. She's a zoo manager from outside Hamburg, was visiting with her grandparents.
Many of our readers travel far more than we do, for business, recreation, adventure, or relaxation.
The BD family tries to strike a good balance of around 3 weeks of vacation per year plus some number of long weekends and as much work time at the Farm as we can do. Brit acquaintances think that is insane workaholism, but I just laugh. Work is good for the soul, I tell them. Man's Fall, and all that. We Maggie's Farmers tend to be self-employed, so there is no such thing as "paid vacation time." (No "sick days" either, which remarkably means that one is never too sick to work.)
Mrs. BD and I will admit that we are a sort of travel snobs. We like boutique places, tenudos, etc., with local flavor and no commercial feeling - eg no Sandals or chain hotels like Four Seasons - and have only stayed in a high-rise hotel once (the Southampton Princess, on our honeymoon).
Here's today's travel tip: Always pack a few plastic trash bags. They're good for stashing dirty clothes and wet clothes, and I always stick one in my pocket when hiking to protect the camera if it rains.
St. Lucia gets direct flights - not necessarily daily - from NYC, Miami, Atlanta, Toronto, London, Manchester, and Hamburg. Our little resort, (Anse Chastenet), far from the mass market area around Castries is in southern St. Lucia, has only 35 suites/cabins, and there were Americans, Canucks, Germans, and lots of Brits. One Swedish family. There were a few obvious honeymooners (Anse Chastenet is on many lists of most romantic destinations), and a few families with kids. A few more pics and random info below the fold -
Our back porch this morning, as today's snow is just beginning and the wind moaning. Lovely, ain't it? A good day to stay home by the fire, take the dog for a walk down the road, and a hot toddy later. Wonderful stuff, but not too easy to mine the firewood out of the snowdrifts.
I half-hope Jose and his minions get here soon with the plow. (Why is it always Central American immigrants from the tropics doing the plowing and shoveling instead of native white or black guys? Is this a racist industry? Or am I an evil racist to even wonder?)
Mrs. BD and a pupette tell me that this Twelfth Night on Broadway was the best theater performance they have ever seen - of anything. See it before it closes.
Like Social Security, which provides a safety net so people can retire, the health law may have the effect of leading some Americans to stop working…they called the impact positive, arguing that people have for too long been stuck in jobs that are a poor fit or that they dislike, simply for the benefits. While some people may make the calculation to just work less to keep more generous benefits, many will use their time to do something more productive, such as start their own business or take care of family members.
OMG. Some people don't love their jobs? That's a terrible tragedy.
America is drifting into totalitarianism because of the left's exploitation of social failures. The critical mass of social breakdowns, from gang violence to terrorism to poverty, justify the nanny state, the police state and all the other totalitarian states of authority. When there is nothing and no one else to trust, a failed society turns to a tyrant who can cut through all the red tape and govern with pen and phone.
A photo for a snowy day. Daytime temps 79-82 F all year, nighttimes cooler, a gentle trade wind most of the time. Water temp last week was a pleasant but not bathtub-hot 79 degrees F: comfortable but refreshing, and perfect for swimming laps of the beach which is what I tend to do. If you plan to snorkel or dive for a few hours, a shortie wetsuit is not a bad idea but I do not like wetsuits.
You can leave your stuff on this beach for hours all day while swimming, snorkeling, kayaking, etc - camera, watch, wallet, pocketbook. Nobody will touch your stuff. We left our stuff there every day.
Quite pleasant, but I do love our snowy winters. Today's snow is a beaut. Wish I were at a ski place instead of letting this good powder go to waste. If I find time, will take the pup on a snowstorm walk. Few cars out today in the blizzardy conditions - just Mexicans with their plow trucks.
We took a two- or three-hour hike each day of our trip. That doesn't sound like much, but it's mountains so it's uphill all the way. Sore legs.
We took one jungle birding hike with Mano, who knows all of the plants, trees, and birds. His granny was a herbalist, so he picks all sorts of leaves and makes you eat them for health. Why not?
He gives his walking stick a bath in the sea each evening to keep it happy. "Happy, happy, tank God for dis day" is the Caribbean mantra, isn't it?
Had we more time, I would have done some serious birding, but we saw many of the common critters. Some, of course, are our northern summer breeders in their wintertime vacation home.
We also saw a bat cave filled with thousands of fruit bats. At dusk, the fruit bats zipped through our little porch and filled a night-blooming tree outside the dining room, sucking nectar and pollinating the blossoms. Remarkable creatures for sure, and a wondrous sight.
How Iowa Flattened Literature - With CIA help, writers were enlisted to battle both Communism and eggheaded abstraction. The damage to writing lingers.
Morning fishermen on our beach in St. Lucia. The locals speak Creole at home and with each other, but good English otherwise. On St. Lucia, the educational, legal, and governmental systems are on the British model.
These guys visually search for a school of small fish, then throw the net in, and then dive into the water and splash to drive the fish into the net.
Feb. 15th is the normal and usually-reliable date for the blackbirds (flocks of Red-wings, Grackles, Cowbirds) to begin to arrive in my neck of the woods, but not this year. I think there's more snow cover than they want to deal with, even in the swamps. I'll give them an extra week this year and blame it on global cooling.
Transgender kids: 
On blogging at age 93, from The New Yorker's 
This is a repost:
There Are 
Photo: This German lass was with us on a hike to the hot springs waterfall. She's a zoo manager from outside Hamburg, was visiting with her grandparents.
Image via Sultan's post, linked at the bottom 
We took a two- or three-hour hike each day of our trip. That doesn't sound like much, but it's mountains so it's uphill all the way. Sore legs.
Thanks to a reader for that pic of Massachusetts this weekend.