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Monthly Archives: March 2021

Oh no. I hear the hum.

Saturday, March 27, 2021

I first noticed the hum many weeks ago. When I first became conscious of it, I gave it little thought. Though this area is very quiet, engine noises can carry a long way. When I heard it in the middle of the night, it became more puzzling, because I couldn’t think of any reason why […]

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Diet pesto

Friday, March 26, 2021

Pesto with roasted turnip My belt having given up a notch and warned me of imminent danger, this morning I finally forced myself to go stand on the scales. The time for denial came to an end. I was 10 pounds over my ideal weight. To me, that’s the red-alert stage, meaning that a diet […]

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Moravian baking

Thursday, March 25, 2021

I don’t know enough about German cooking or the history of the Moravian Church to accurately trace the pedigree of these thin lemon cookies, though I can provide some hints. But I need to digress for a few paragraphs before I get back to the lemon cookies. First of all, the Moravian Church is one […]

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Born into the wrong world

Tuesday, March 23, 2021

“Gentleman Jack,” season 1, episode 2. Copyright, HBO, BBC: Fair use, not monetized. The second episode of “Gentleman Jack” contains one of the most brilliant, beautiful and touching scenes I can remember. Other than the recitation of the priest, there is not even any dialogue. The scene’s entire meaning is conveyed by the sequence of […]

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Can we have some nice things now?

Monday, March 22, 2021

Pete Buttigieg at Washington Union Station. Source: Wikipedia. With “Amtrak Joe” in the White House, and the new U.S. secretary of transportation wanting to lead the world in high-speed rail (we’re now 19th) can we Americans now have some nice things? To people like me, who have ridden thousands of miles on trains (President Biden […]

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Almost April

Monday, March 22, 2021

The gate from the garden into the orchard It’s a bit of a tradition to post this poem each year. The Goose Girl Spring rides no horses down the hill, But comes on foot, a goose-girl still. And all the loveliest things there be Come simply, so, it seems to me. If ever I said, […]

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Gentleman Jack

Friday, March 19, 2021

Once again I need to express exasperation at how difficult it is to find good material for streaming. Finding it is like finding a needle in a haystack. Brute force seining through rivers of dreck is the only method I know. I found “Gentleman Jack” while seining through dreck on HBO Max. The series is […]

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An early start on the 2021 garden

Thursday, March 11, 2021

Amazon calls this a “mini greenhouse.” I’d call it a cold frame. It will be my first experiment in extending the growing season. It’s 95″ x 32″ x 32″ and cost $46. Some people plant by the stars. I plant with the weather. The 10-day forecast for my location shows highs through March 20 of […]

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The squeals of the formerly dominant

Sunday, March 7, 2021

David Hume (1711-1776) from a portrait by Allan Ramsay “Generally speaking, the errors in religions are dangerous; those in philosophy only ridiculous.” — David Hume As a liberal and firm believer in free speech, I am willing to take my lumps from what others say and think. But whether on principle it strengthens my case […]

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How about a bit of Lent?

Friday, March 5, 2021

From the 1919 Church Hymnal with Accompanying Tunes, used by the Church of Ireland. Source: Wikipedia, public domain. Yes, I’m a heathen who grieves for the loss of the pagan world. And yes, I think that St. Patrick was just about the worst thing that ever happened to the people of Ireland. They hardly knew […]

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