A Hollow Shell

                                     

Dear Sen./Rep.________,

As the billionaire wrecking crew and the ship of fools that is the Cabinet, headed by the Golfer in Chief, continue to hollow out our government, I am at a loss to understand how men and women of conscience can stand by and allow the Executive Branch to manufacture emergencies that allow them supreme power.

A Department of "Justice" that deports a legal resident through an administrative error then refuses to bring him back...

Massive cuts to the Social Security Administration that have resulted in poor to no service for frantic seniors, fearful of losing vital payments. . . .

Ridiculous punitive tariffs that will hurt all consumers and tragically lower the standing of the USA in world opinion . . .

Measles epidemics; abandonment of long time allies; an FDA that mustn't use words like 'water' or 'climate' ; a military that can't talk about minorities or women; a financial stranglehold on free speech at our universities . . .

I could go on but your intern has probably stopped reading.

But, as usual, I'd like to know what YOU plan to do about all this.

Your disgusted constituent

C

Mute Monday

 

Bloodroot and Re-Wilding

 I was startled and delighted to see a drift of wild bloodroot blooming in a neglected area on the north side of the house. It's a slope too steep for the lawn mower and so it only occasionally gets attacked by the weed eater.

That's okay. We can't maintain our property as we once did. At one time I did most of the weed eating and enjoyed it. Alas, no more. John still does a lot, but there are some areas that we are content to give over to re-wilding. 

And now and then there's a lovely surprise like this.

                                                 

The first picture was taken in the morning; the second and third in the late afternoon and the flowers are furled up.

Progress

Any time I go somewhere, I pass the river and what was, pre-Helene, a lovely meadow, tended by an absentee landlord who used what was the land across the road from the old home place to pasture his fat black steers.

Helene wiped out many of the trees at water's edge and deposited a thick layer of sand over most of the pasture. It was a sad sight.

But in the past month, wonderful progress has been made. Heavy equipment has been hard at work. The broken trees have been removed, the trunks salvaged for firewood and the rest shoved into a huge pile and burned, then buried.  Drainage ditches have been dug, lined with gravel, and drains installed. 

And much of the choking sand has been  pushed into a sort of berm along the river. Perhaps with enough vegetation on it, it will divert the next flood.

I look forward to see grass growing here again and fat black steers grazing.

 

Blue Benches, Yellow Flowera

 

A Moral Moment

                                   

Dear Sen./Rep. _______,

I'm guessing you didn't pay any attention to the marathon speech Cory Booker gave, so I'd like to give you a Cliff Notes version of it.

Quoting Heather Cox Richardson (whose Letters from an American it would do you good to read): 

" Booker called out the Trump administration’s violations of the Constitution and detailed the ways in which the administration is hurting Americans. Farmers have lost government contracts, putting them in a financial crisis. Cuts to environmental protections that protect clean air and water are affecting Americans’ health. Housing is unaffordable, and the administration is making things worse. Cuts to education and medical research and national security breaches have made Americans less safe. The regime accidentally deported a legal resident because of “administrative error” and now says it cannot get him back.

"“These are not normal times in America, and they should not be treated as such,” he said. “This is our moral moment. This is when the most precious ideas of our country are being tested…. Where does the Constitution live, on paper or in our hearts?”

So many things to address. Could YOU begin by being outraged that, through an administrative error, a legal resident has been sent to a foreign prison and the administration that sent him there isn't trying to get him back? 

Let this be YOUR moral moment. Or is the word "moral" on the ever-expanding list of words proscribed by this immoral regime?

Your sincerely outraged constituent

 

 

Dancing Woman by Elaine Neil Orr

                                      

A childhood in Nigeria left its indelible imprint on the author's sensibilities, and the sights, sounds, smells, flavors, and textures of that beloved land fill the pages of this rich and thoughtful novel.

1963, and Isabel, a newly married American who has come with her aid worker husband to a small town in Nigeria, struggles to find some meaning in her life. Her husband is busy with fulfilling work, often leaving her alone. She attends a party with friends and is at once drawn to a charismatic musician.  That single night will have consequences both devastating and rewarding.

Soon, while digging in her garden, Isabel discovers an enigmatic terra cotta female figure that somehow seems full of meaning. As she attempts to decipher the message, she returns to painting the watercolors that once gave meaning to her life, until a casual criticism stopped her pleasure in creation. 

,

The novel is full of incident and reflection. And always, Nigeria, the place and its people, speak to Isabel-- and to the reader.

Of course, I particularly enjoyed the vivid descriptions as Isabel created her watercolors. And by the end of the book, I was so invested in the characters that I found myself hoping for a sequel.

Rabbit, Rabbit

 

Where wild violets come from . . .

Thankful for Rain

 

After smelling smoke all day Saturday from several wildfires in western North Carolina, it was a relief to have a bit of rain Sunday morning. We had a wildfire threatening the farm years ago and I remember how scary it was and how local residents and members of the Forest Service worked to contain and at last put out the fire.

Remember when the orange guy blamed California for their wildfires because they didn't do the proper maintenance, like raking leaves? Well, that same orange guy and his Department of Governmental Efficiency (what a joke that name is) have fired thousands of Forest Service personnel and enacted a hiring freeze. (Good article HERE.) And in this hottest and driest of times,wildfires are burning nationwide more than ever with fewer resources to fight them.

Dear Sen./Rep. __________,

As wildfires fill the air with smoke, I wonder if you are on board with the administration's hiring freeze and firing of over three thousand Forest Service employees--those same folks who work to control wildfires. 

The willful blindness of many politicians and the so-called DOGE to the problems of those of us who aren't millionaires or billionaires is on display everywhere--cutting staff at the Social Security offices and saying that only a fraudster would complain if her SS check were late is one egregious example.

So, where do you stand?

 

Silent Sunday

 

Tuscan Chicken

This is a really easy and tasty way to cook chicken thighs (or 'second-joints,' as they were called when I was growing up, along with 'white meat' , rather than the scandalous breast.)

We had leftovers with this amount. A bonus!

8 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs

Olive oil, salt and pepper

Mirepoix ( 2 c chopped celery, 2 c. chopped carrots, 4 c. chopped onions)

2-3 tsp. fresh rosemary

1/2 cup mixed olives plus 1/4 cup olive brine (the original recipe specified Castelvetrano olives but not having those, I used some fancy mixed olives we'd been given for Christmas.)

1 pint cherry tomatoes

#####

Preheat oven to 425 F. Pat thighs dry and season all over with salt and pepper. Heat olive oil in large casserole with lid. Add thighs (in batches, if necessary) and saute till browned, about 5 minutes. Turn and cook other side 2 minutes then remove to plate. (Chicken will finish cooking in the oven.)

Now add the mirepoix mix to the casserole and cook over high heat 3-5 minutes, stirring till browned. Add rosemary, stir, and then add the olive brine, stirring to scrape up browned bits. Cook about 1 min., till liquid has evaporated. Stir in cherry tomatoes and olives, and salt and pepper as desired.

Off heat, arrange the chicken, browned side up, in the casserole, along with any juices.  Cover and put in oven for about 15 min..

From THE SECRET HOURS by Mick Herron

"There'll always be sock puppets, thinking they're messiahs, and there'll always be money men behind them."

 

I Scream, You Scream . . .

On most Mondays, Meema takes me to Cynthia's Pharmacy and Gifts to get an ice cream cone. I always have a waffle cone with two scoops and sprinkles.

While Cynthia is fixing my cone, I play with some of the gifts.

This was an extra-good cone with the two flavors in four layers. And sprinkles in between.  Cynthia is really nice.

There are lots of toys to look at while I eat my cone. 

I would like to come here every day, but Meema says once a week is IT!