The Fragrant Air

We really need rain but this dry weather has been perfect for making hay.  Those long windrows were there Monday afternoon and by Tuesday afternoon the fields were bare--the great round bales already carted off to storage.

The smell of new-mown hay is absolutely intoxicating. And at this time of year, it's joined by a medley of other enticing scents.

Privet and honeysuckle are invasive plants, but, oh, how sweet they smell!

Alas, these are fleeting pleasures. But now I'll be looking forward to the comforting sound and delicious aroma of rain. 

 

Dear Sirs

                                                       

                                                        

 Payment for grifters, rioters, and anarchists? Your president, abetted by his puppet Justice Department is setting up a 1.8 billion dollar fund to pay his allies who feel they were unfairly targeted by the previous administration. This could include the misguided fools who attempted to overthrow the rule of law on January 6, 2021. That he has already pardoned them, including those who threatened members of Congress, attacked police, and chanted "Hang Mike Pence," is despicable enough but now, your president want to reward these criminals with taxpayer money.

We cannot afford this man. Between his ballroom, arch, statuary garden, ill-advised painting of the Reflecting Pool, and, oh, yes, his unadvised war on Iran, he is bleeding the country dry while lining his own pockets and those of his allies.

When will you wake from your slavish worship of this golden monster and think about your constituents? And about the country you claim to love?

Earth Laughs in Flowers

 

Into Every Life . . .

I had just finished making my version of ranch dressing and was preparing to decant it into a jar when I decided to turn off the power on the blender first. 

Only I hit the wrong button. And the top wasn't on. And I got a face full of dressing. 

Of course I pulled the plug immediately.

But not before there were glops of dressing everywhere, on the counter and the cabinet doors . . .

. . . on the rug, on the floor . . .

"Into every life," said John, as he went to fetch the mop to clean the ceiling, "a little ranch dressing must fall."

                                                               

                  

And Now She Is Nine . . .

```

                     

                                                      

A Perfect Spring Meal

 

So simple! Chicken thighs, potatoes, asparagus, and scallions all on a sheet pan and dinner is ready in less than an hour.

You start with a mix of salt, paprika, and garlic granules in a small bowl. Heat the oven to 425,  slice up a lemon to put under the chicken, slice your red potatoes, trim the asparagus and scallions, pour a goodly amount of olive oil on a sheet pan.

Now put the chicken (which you've coated with the the olive oil) on the sheet pan atop the lemon slices and sprinkle with the salt mixture. Add the potato slices, flipping to coat with the oil and then sprinkling with the mixture. Into the oven and roast 25 minutes.

Remove sheet pan and push potatoes to one side and put the chicken on top of them. Put the asparagus and scallions in the cleared space, turning to coat with the oil. Sprinkle with the salt mixture. Roast 15 minute. for medium sized asparagus.

The potatoes are crispy outside and melting inside' the chicken skin is also crispy, and the asparagus and scallions taste of spring.

A more detailed recipe that was my guide is HERE.

Glory in the Morning

      

                         

I am so very fortunate to awake (with Jenny's help,) to this glorious view.

As I sit on the chest at the foot of the bed and put on my socks and shoes, I watch the early sun gilding the trees.

Those same trees are hiding the full sweep of the horizon, but somehow it only emphasizes the beauty of the far off mountains that are still visible.

As an old English major I'm tempted to see some sort of lesson here, to draw some sort of parallel . . .

But I'll save that for another day.

Octopus Ex Machina

                                             

As with many very popular books, I resisted reading Remarkably Bright Creatures, expecting that it would be a tad too sweet and predictable for my taste. But I kept hearing about it and when the Kindle edition showed up on BookBub for a couple of bucks, I decided to see what all the fuss was about.

Well, it is pretty sweet and somewhat predictable but, in my current frame of mind, with the political situation ongoing. it was just the escape I needed. I gulped it down like a comforting cup of coffee (with cream and sugar.)

I liked all the characters but who I really liked was Marcellus, the octopus. Marcellus who narrates short bits of the story; Marcellus who (unaccountably but who cares) knows a lot more about humans than they know about him; Marcellus who, like the deus ex machina of Greek classical theater, is the one to resolve some difficult kinks in the plot. 

Marcellus is charming and he lifts the story out of the humdrum into something strange and wonderful.

               

Dear Sirs

                                                                

Your president has demanded an "election integrity army" -- partisan forces deployed to polling places in every state. Armed? Masked? As brutal as ICE? Do you support this threat?

He has also threatened to "pack the court" and has attacked by name justices for following the law.

Do you support your president in these threats? 

And then there's that ballroom that he and his 'friends' were going to pay for. Now its cost has ballooned and may be passed on to the taxpayers.

I can assure you that most taxpayers want lower gas and grocery prices rather than a ballroom they will never be invited to. 

And if said ballroom is so important for security, why does the president expose himself to danger on a weekly basis at various golf courses?

I'm old enough to remember when the GOP had at least the appearance of integrity. Now it's little more than a den of grifters and yes-men--and yes-women too, alas.  

Random

 

The Mother of Us All

Mother Earth's bounty, so beautiful, so generous . . .

May her children honor her every day . . .

And may they always remember that, without her, there is nothing.

 

Putting Away Childish Things

              

In the ongoing attempt to rid the house of excess baggage, I attacked Josie's art cupboard and a closet and a chest with lots of her toys stored therein. 

In the art cupboard I recycled old, used coloring books, trashed an assortment of broken bits and bobs and generally tidied. Some of her jigsaw puzzles are going to a thrift store, as are some unused workbooks and flash cards she no longer needs. I don't think she'll miss any of my removals. 

Her toy chest though is full of stuffies and a few baby dolls (Margo and Dolly and all their clothes,) I felt I needed her permission, even though she hasn't played with any of them in a long time. So, on the way home from school, I asked about the dolls and the stuffies.

She was excited to get home as a friend with a daughter almost Josie's age was coming for the weekend and Josie had a mandate from her dad to clean up her room.

So she thought a a few seconds and then said the dolls and stuffies could go. Of course I mentioned how much some little girls would love them and she agreed. "How about the doctor kit?' I asked. 

'Keep that,' she said. And then, 'No, it can go too.'

'How about the big building blocks in the living room closet?' I asked.

'They can go.'

I was amazed. And a little sad. (Not Margo and Dolly!) But pleased. I'd expected her to want to hang on to most of this stuff, even though she no longer plays with it, as books and podcasts, videos and art projects have filled the gap. And we still have the puppets and the dress-up box, as well as the amazing crocheted Octalia Octopus and the dolly llama from her Aunt Aileen.

Our little girl is a big girl now--almost nine, going on twenty-seven.

Ay, law!

                             

 

Too Much Text Begging!

                                          

I have, in the past, donated to various candidates and progressive/liberal political groups. As they say, no good deed goes unpunished and now I am the recipient of multiple daily scare/begging text messages. Beep, beep, beep, goes my phone way too many times a day from these guys.

Yes, I know that we're in a dire situation. But the frantic tone of these messages is really annoying--We're begging! My jaw hit the floor when I saw . . ., This is a hard thing to say. . ., Have you switched parties? We need your input for this to be complete . . . Important survey! Your voice is missing!

And the thing is, maybe they want my voice but what they really want is my money. Answer the survey and hit SUBMIT but nothing happens till you fill out the amount of your donation.

So I'm taking a hard line: texting STOP and blocking the number. 

No doubt I'll still do some donating. But not to these pests.