I just finished reading Richard DeRosa’s “Hawthorn Hill Journal” and found myself smiling as he captured the fear that grips anyone who chooses to step “into the arena,” to borrow from Teddy Roosevelt.…
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Over the years I’ve written on a very wide variety of topics, from the mesmerizing experience of locking eyes with a butterfly, to sharing thoughts on the state and condition of political discourse. With respect to the latter, there seems to be less discourse and more digging into ideological foxholes, which never ever leads to any good for the commonwealth.…
Donald spends every day following his cows, led by Maisie, on their approximately one mile circular walk. This is what he does each and every day. Donald is both at home with himself and his life.…
Two weeks after I would normally plant next year’s garlic crop, I realized I had completely forgotten. I cannot recall ever forgetting such a staple of our routine up here on the hill. I mean, routine is everything. Fortunately, my source was more than happy to supply me with what I needed.…
If I see an empty spot, I fill it. So what if it is impossible to get to the lone zucchini in the corner (which, by the way, I had to sneak in after being told NOT to plant any) without bushwhacking my way through the bushy, overbearing haricots verts overshadowing a row of lettuce, itself shadowed and obscured by another row of beans.…
Masks are great, especially if one does not wish to contract a possibly fatal or debilitating disease. Normally, masks are worn at costume parties, garb associated with holiday rituals, and often by criminals wishing to conceal their identity. The latter seems reasonable if one wishes to escape capture, although not even that might save one, given the proclivity of most criminals to make a fatal mistake that enables “legitimate” law enforcement officials to eventually corral them.…
Aging out strikes me as extremely relevant when one considers many members of the two houses of Congress. Especially the Senate. A lot of old suits bustling about that chamber. The composition of the House appears to have its fair share of AARP-eligible members as well.…
Predictability is essential to spiritual stability. For most of our history we have been able, despite the execrable behaviors of some, to base our collective lives on certain assumptions. I write here of birds and spring chores because they are part and parcel of what have always been nature’s patterns. We depend on some certainties if we are to function with any degree of stability.…
I am not a marcher; it just is not in my nature. The question then is how can I be a part of the resistance to the tyranny that is upon us? Well, one way is by writing these essays. It enables me to share some thoughts and observations in an honest and, I hope, reasoned way.…
There is a connection between pea planting and the buffoonery we witness daily in the name of curtailing government spending. There should not be. When Thoreau planted his beans on the banks of Walden Pond, he could go about with a clear head.…
