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.
Blake was one of a kind. He completed his formal education at age 10 and became an engraver. However, later he attended the Royal Academy of Art for a while. Contemporaries thought he was mad. He had a wonderful life.
In North America, Beech is the most dense and heavy wood second only to Ironwood (which is a slender tree). Up here, Beech, Oak, Hickory and Maple tend to be climax hardwood forest. Beech will wear out saw blades fast. Wildlife love the beechnuts. White Beech is native, but Copper Beech is not, and is vulnerable to the evil fungus.
With the help of my hearty and cheerful Colombian friends, and a 22-ton splitter, we produced around 3 cords of beech firewood in a nice cool rain. Not splittable by hand - that wood is like iron and the knots are like steel. The unsplit logs have been seasoned since March, so they are quite dry. That dense hardwood will burn forever. Priceless, and smells good too. Sorry that monster tree had to go, but it had the fatal fungus and the falling branches could kill somebody. Around 3 cords I think - that's a double row.
I plan to plant a Pin Oak next to where the Copper Beech was. Nice trees, lots of acorns. Reminds me of the old axiom "When's the best time to plant a tree?" Ans: "20 years ago." Realistically, best time to plant a tree is fall. It will get a good head start in spring before the weather warms.
Ready to go as soon as my chimney sweep shows up to clean out the flues. We luckily have 3 fireplaces in our cottage. Homey, cozy, New Englandy is what we like here. Wish we had a wood stove in the kitchen, but I'm planning for a stone firepit out back so outdoors and s'mores can be year-round.
If only for convenience, it's always a good idea to put some boards or a tarp to cover your winter's firewood.
Some claim it's important to put some tarp under the pile of firewood because unless you live where the soil is rock-frozen from Sept. to May, dampness rises up. That seems to make some sense, but the trouble is that the tarp underneath will hold water.
My best solution from experimenting with multiple cords each year is to elevate the piles with anything - logs, pallets, rocks, etc so there is airflow, and only to cover the top of the piles, not the sides. That blocks airflow.
In my view, a home without a fire is just a house in wintertime. Just clean the flue every cord or two.
Do you have enough clothes? Enough footwear? Enough for the rest of your life?
I understand that women need to keep up with fashion to some extent to avoid appearing non-serious (appearance counts!) so I am talking more about casual wear, outerwear, hiking gear, hunting gear, more than about professional wardrobes.
One of our end-of-summer rituals is to go through all of the closets and all of the clothes shelves. It's mostly getting rid of excess stuff.
It's difficult to anticipate one's life span, but it's easy for me to see what I will never run out of regardless of how active I remain:
I will never wear out my hunting gear. I will never wear out my casual sport jackets I will never wear out my 2 wool suits (weddings and funerals, not needed in court anymore) I will never wear out my Tux I will never wear out my misc. hiking and hunting boots I will never live to wear out my fall/spring outwear I will never wear out my more formal rain wear I will never wear out my sporting rain gear I will never wear out my casual shirts (not including polo shirts and tennis shirts) I will not wear out my collection of gloves I will not live long enough to wear out my fleeces and sweaters
I will wear out another blazer or two, God willing I will wear out more work/dress shirts (I like the Brooks non-iron ones) I will wear out some jeans and casual trousers I will wear out the socks in my sock drawer. Underwear too.
One of my tricks is to keep near my age 35-40 weight. It is do-able.
Do our readers have enough clothing stuff for the rest of their lives? If so, what? I wearing out clothes a good measure of an active and fulfilling life?
(Addendum: seems like much of this does not apply to women, except for the outdoor clothing. Women have to stay up to date to look right.)
Can anyone be taught to be a writer? I sort of doubt it, but anybody can learn to structure a coherent essay, and if that's interesting to read then that's a good start. Many lines of work require that. For writing, talent helps, so does IQ, curiosity, observational power, and wit.
I have always (like so many, because music is harder) aspired to be a fine writer, but I lack the talent. I can do simple declarative, mostly grammatical sentences, but that's all.
Your credit score is sort of like a grade in practical life-management. The way life is, one never knows when a little or a lot of credit might come in handy.
A few other tips: Not a great idea to entirely pay off a mortgage. Regular mortgage payments are important, even if you maintain a small balance. Also, never entirely pay off a credit card. Keep a balance, however small, or some wierd algo might decide to cancel your card for no good reason (it happens even to prosperous people when an algo gets tired of you and a zero balance is its chance), and that's a ding. Regular, on-time payments are the best thing for your credit. It's because lenders are in the business of lending, and like borrowers. Never, ever, cancel a credit card. So, for your credit score, use all of your credit cards and never pay them off entirely. But, yes, you can get rid of student loans.
Another detail: Too many checks of your credit harms your credit score. However, you can check your own once in a while, for free online.
Your results may vary. We probably have readers with experience with all of this.
While I thought the Urban Hike of 2019 was one of our best, despite the rain, the Brooklyn trip of 2018 remains my favorite so far. To that end, this article about Battle of Brooklyn sites is worth a look-see. We stopped at a number of these sites, such as the Old Stone House, the Gowanus Canal, Brooklyn Heights, and the monument to the prison ship martyrs.
The article did miss one site, on the side of a bank, which commemorated the battle (perhaps the author is unaware of this plaque, but we stumbled upon it and I wish I had a picture or a location to share).
Looking forward to planning 2020's Urban Hike. Need some thought starters. Right now, Wave Hill to City Island is what I'm considering, but that's more walking and less sightseeing.
I never cease to be amazed by the programs that Carnegie Hall offers each season (which runs fall-spring).
If you love adult music, I advise visitors to NYC to check out the program. Or, if you request, they will mail it. The best part is that the tickets are not expensive. It's not like going to the opera.
If I lived closer to NYC, we'd get a 10-night subscription.
As I scrolled through movie listings recently, Mrs. Bulldog suddenly said "Oh, I read that book, it was good."
A Man Called Ove was the listing. It's Swedish, with subtitles. Outside of Bergman's work or The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, I'm not aware of many Swedish films. But it was a slow day and I gave it a shot. I was pleasantly surprised.
It's a poignant drama with just enough comedy to keep up interest. An everyday man's life, one which is heavily driven by routine and basic beliefs and expectations. A curmudgeon who finds himself put into uncomfortable situations, and how he responds to these circumstances. Naturally, since this is for public consumption, we determine he's not as basic or curmudgeonly as we'd expect. He's just seen a lot, done a lot, and determined that he's comfortable doing what he's doing. Whatever you want to do, fine. Don't make it his problem, but he doesn't care, really.
He takes his shots at the government (as you can imagine, there's enough Socialism in Sweden that it's a common theme), calling its functionaries "whiteshirts". His life, and as he finds out the lives of others, are not enhanced by the appearance of these "whiteshirts". He also does his part, and more, to keep life comfortable for others. Mainly by making it comfortable for himself, which has knock-on effects.
It's on Amazon Prime, if you have it. If not, I'd recommend it as a rental. It's not Bergman, but I think the Swedes have a unique view of life and it was the kind of movie that allowed me to relax, and think about life just enough to be both entertained and informed.
