Open Thread - Thurs 21 April 2022 - What a Week!

It's been an intense 10 days or so for me, really crazy stuff which took up much of the days and nights. So my head is not on right and I'm not thinking straight. Err, I never think straight... Maybe it's just that I'm not thinking at all, either straight or crooked. :)

Amongst other surprises, three of our goat does turned out to be unexpectedly pregnant. A buck got out for a couple hours 5 months ago when we were preoccupied with family concerns, and did the business. We never knew, as the does continued to act as though they weren't pregnant (going into 'heat' and everything) and none of them had huge babies, so they didn't get much bigger than normal. I wasn't out there checking udders every day because I thought I didn't need to. Then they started to give birth (over a week or so) and it was all hands on deck, because we weren't ready! There was also roof, gutter, siding, and window cleaning scheduled for that time. We were able to let that happen; the cleaners loved the little goats and their mommas. There was a doctor's appointment for my dementia-addled father. And there was a long drawn out medical emergency with my beloved dog, Jaska (my icon pic). She's ok now and we have three little new buck kids, a clean roof, clean gutters, siding and windows, and my Dad's doing what dementia-addled Dads do - weeding with a screwdriver and pliers.

There is, of course, a lot of stuff going on out in the world, in politics, the climate crisis, gardening and growing and more! I'll be catching up in the next few days. Give me some help and let us know happening with you and what you've noticed in the world around us today!

Here's a couple things that have piqued my interest recently.

Daylight Savings Time. I hate it. 'Fall back' is ok, but 'Spring forward' sucks. I'm about adjusted to the change now, but it always takes time. I think it's from living pretty far in the north. I'd rather have the light in the morning, than have the sun go down at 10-11 pm. Here's an article about the origins of Daylight Savings Time: Daylight Saving Time as Americans know it was instituted by corporate lobbies, not farmers. Not farmers!

I liked this little video, admittedly it's a year or so old, about 5,000 year old trees in Wales, and how they need to be respected - Trees: 'Our 5,000-year-old yew should be revered - not ignored'.

Finally, I'm reading a book about waves of strange medical illnesses. The book is by Suzanne O'Sullivan, and is called 'The Sleeping Beauties: And Other Stories of Mystery Illness'. The book is opened with a discussion about Sweden's Resignation Syndrome and moves on to other episodes of 'inexplicable' illnesses. The book is really interesting, and eye-opening.

So, thanks for reading this little tidbit and here's the open thread - remember, everything is interesting if you dive deep enough!

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Sima's picture

I hope the day is going great for everyone! Me, I'm gonna be planting, weeding, and playing with my dog and the baby goats, unless it's raining. If it's raining I will be cleaning, and playing with the dog and the baby goats. Pics of the goats to come soon as it's a decent day weatherwise!

I just read an article on RT about Gonzalo Lira going missing, perhaps it's been posted here already? I am just catching up on all the posts I've missed. His going missing breaks my heart, and really scares me. I really appreciated his reporting, whether I agreed with him or not. To hear that he might have been abducted by the Nazis and beheaded? I have no words.

So that's sad, but let's hope this spring day is good for all of us!!

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14 users have voted.

If you're poor now, my friend, then you'll stay poor.
These days, only the rich get given more. -- Martial book 5:81, c. AD 100 or so
Nothing ever changes -- Sima, c. AD 2020 or so

Lookout's picture

@Sima

https://t.me/s/ScottRitter/
Screenshot 2022-04-21 at 06-26-26 Scott Ritter.png

According to Alex this morning, it looks like the EU is fast tracking Ukraine's membership. He's been my go to source for understanding the situation in Ukraine. What fools the EU have become. I think they are committing suicide.

I've got to weed a bit in the food forest today. There's always something that needs doing. Glad you've got things under control. Enjoy your kids and dog! Thanks for the OT.

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12 users have voted.

“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”

Sima's picture

@Lookout
I hope he's ok, but... bleh. I expect that he is dead too. Ok, so we go out in nature and work in the great outdoors and enjoy every bird, every animal, every plant we can! Have fun Smile

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11 users have voted.

If you're poor now, my friend, then you'll stay poor.
These days, only the rich get given more. -- Martial book 5:81, c. AD 100 or so
Nothing ever changes -- Sima, c. AD 2020 or so

Lookout's picture

@Sima

WIKILEAKS founder Julian Assange will be extradited to the US after magistrates formally issued an order paving the way for him to face espionage charges.

Home Secretary Priti Patel will now decide whether to approve the extradition, although defence lawyers may yet appeal to the High Court.

https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/18315599/wikileaks-founder-julian-assange-...

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13 users have voted.

“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”

Sima's picture

@Lookout
Because the USA hegemonic power is so corrupt, and we learned it from Britain. But it's still sad, and very maddening. I bet he's dead in a year, 'Opps, I guess our prisons are deadly!'.

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4 users have voted.

If you're poor now, my friend, then you'll stay poor.
These days, only the rich get given more. -- Martial book 5:81, c. AD 100 or so
Nothing ever changes -- Sima, c. AD 2020 or so

enjoy your day!

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Sima's picture

@QMS
but I still was out giving the goats 'treats' (they love corn tortillas) and playing with them! It's so danged soothing and calming and uplifting. I gotta admit.

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6 users have voted.

If you're poor now, my friend, then you'll stay poor.
These days, only the rich get given more. -- Martial book 5:81, c. AD 100 or so
Nothing ever changes -- Sima, c. AD 2020 or so

mhagle's picture

I'm not so regular these days so this is the first blog I have read. Lovely. I too hang out in nature with goats dogs cats chickens etc. Look forward to reading more!

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Marilyn

"Make dirt, not war." eyo

Sima's picture

@mhagle @mhagle
Sounds like you are hanging out with the right kinds of folks, that's for sure :). Thanks for reading and commenting on this post, I'm looking forward to hearing more about your animals!

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5 users have voted.

If you're poor now, my friend, then you'll stay poor.
These days, only the rich get given more. -- Martial book 5:81, c. AD 100 or so
Nothing ever changes -- Sima, c. AD 2020 or so

of my home and yard is our bird bath, bird feeder, and two hummingbird feeders. Who wouldn't enjoy a regular visit by a dozen hummingbirds? Or, seeing 10 male cardinals perched in the tree 20 yards away?
Well, not for a couple of months. Damn Avian flu.
https://earthsky.org/earth/help-birds-take-feeders-baths-down-virus/

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9 users have voted.

"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981

enhydra lutris's picture

@on the cusp

gallon of veterinary chlorhexadine solution for cleaning feeders and bird baths. Dilute as per label instructions and use to regularly and frequently clean your feeders and bird baths. A little goes a long way, so we make a diluted solution in an empty gallon bottle and work from that until time to make another batch.

be well and have a good one

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8 users have voted.

That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --

dystopian's picture

@enhydra lutris the old standard was a 10% bleach solution. This is what for decades has been the recommended method of keeping hummingbird feeders, and any other, sanitary. We have used it a few times on the ground below feeders if we see a sick bird. In hot places hummer feeders can get a black mold due to the sugar. If you see it, do the 10% bleach scrub inside every crevice, threads, etc. If a birdbath not on a drip whence water flushed daily, flush it manually, rinse, and refill daily.

I just had 5 male Painted Bunting on our millet seed tube yesterday, EIGHT at once in the yard, and I will be damned if I am going to remove it. A male Lazuli and two male Indigo here now too. Of course there is no indication of any issues here, we have not seen, and I have not heard a local report of sick birds. If in an area where a known outbreak is occurring, that is different.

There are some to be expected annually of course due to natural causes. Generally sick birds don't last long in the wild (see accipiters).

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11 users have voted.

We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.
Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better.
both - Albert Einstein

@dystopian I know what you mean about missing the opportunity to watch the fascinating creatures.
I appreciate your response.

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9 users have voted.

"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981

enhydra lutris's picture

@dystopian
standby, but when I worked at the rehab facility there were a lot of state and/or CCWR protocols and such. One was frequent scrubbing all freaking surfaces, counters, door knobs, feeders and baths with a trade-name product what was simply veterinary chlorhexadine solution diluted x times.

My wife and I were among those tasked with also taking some of the ultra young needing daytime and overnight care home and taking care of them until they were ready for daytime only care. The result was that I got a gallon of chlorhexadine for our use here at home and scored another from the facility when I left. That became our regular drill and we don't have to worry about getting bleach spots on our clothing, it doesn't stink like bleach, and is a good hand scrub, especially if you have cuts and dings that you wouldn't want to put bleach on.

Great about your recent arrivals, btw, must be a wonderful sight.

be well and have a good one

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11 users have voted.

That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --

@enhydra lutris n/t

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9 users have voted.

"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981

Sima's picture

@on the cusp
TO pick up next time I'm at tractor supply. Thanks for this info!

up
5 users have voted.

If you're poor now, my friend, then you'll stay poor.
These days, only the rich get given more. -- Martial book 5:81, c. AD 100 or so
Nothing ever changes -- Sima, c. AD 2020 or so

dystopian's picture

@enhydra lutris thanks for this EL! That sounds way better than bleach. Which was likely born of 'working with what ya got'. And works. But is a mess. Is there a problem with all these white spots on my clothes? Wink

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2 users have voted.

We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.
Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better.
both - Albert Einstein

@dystopian . We had to look it up to identify it. It was a thrill to see.

I rinse out a cement type birdbath (a manual fill type, no continuous drip) on a daily basis, and scrub it out about once a week. I don't use any bleach or chemicals though, perhaps I should on occasion?

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dystopian's picture

@randtntx @randtntx @randtntx I rinse mine daily since it has no drip. All new water in bath, and a refilled gallon milk jug over it to provide the magic drip sound that attracts birds from a mile away. If you see bird feces in the water, sanitize it. Sick birds for some reason often go IN the bath! Watch for that if/when not a bath being flushed by a drip. Especially when hot out.

GREAT you saw a Painted Bunting! Whaddabird! The all lime-green females will arrive soon.

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2 users have voted.

We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.
Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better.
both - Albert Einstein

Sima's picture

@dystopian
I am going to use it, or use bleach. I haven't taken down the feeders, despite the warnings, just like you. We have mobs of birds here, and they have come to depend upon the feeders. Taking them down would make them more likely to starve, especially in the colder months. Not gonna do it.

up
8 users have voted.

If you're poor now, my friend, then you'll stay poor.
These days, only the rich get given more. -- Martial book 5:81, c. AD 100 or so
Nothing ever changes -- Sima, c. AD 2020 or so

dystopian's picture

@Sima here we are in stage 2 drought and certainly without my feeding and watering there would be far less nest productivity in summer, and far less survival in winter. I am in a remote site away from others though. In an area where everyone is doing it and sharing birds, and an outbreak, that is different. Keep everything clean and that goes a long way, cleanliness is holiness in this.

Thanks for the OT!

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3 users have voted.

We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.
Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better.
both - Albert Einstein

@enhydra lutris n/t

up
6 users have voted.

"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981

Sima's picture

@on the cusp
And baths and whatever. We can't take all of it down, or the birds bath in the goat water troughs. We've got a few hummingbird feeders going too. It's so enjoyable.

up
4 users have voted.

If you're poor now, my friend, then you'll stay poor.
These days, only the rich get given more. -- Martial book 5:81, c. AD 100 or so
Nothing ever changes -- Sima, c. AD 2020 or so

Thanks for the OT. Loved the thought of baby goats! Had family members that have baby goats on a regular basis and love looking at the pictures. Were at a local farmers market where one of the vendors sold goat products and had two baby goats for us to let them sniff our fingers and we could scratch through the bars.

I have been spending time outdoors watering my pecan trees that are beginning to leaf out. While doing this, take time to watch the bird activity swirling around in the trees and always take a moment or two to look down at the river.

Hope all have a wonderful day!

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10 users have voted.

Life is what you make it, so make it something worthwhile.

This ain't no dress rehearsal!

Sima's picture

@jakkalbessie
really does the trick for me. Even when it's cold and dreary, it's ALIVE. Even when I'm cleaning up a dead chicken (thanks coyotes), it's alive out there. Baby goats are super at lifting spirits too. The boinging and the twisting and the play head butting and the running around like maniacs... So cute!

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5 users have voted.

If you're poor now, my friend, then you'll stay poor.
These days, only the rich get given more. -- Martial book 5:81, c. AD 100 or so
Nothing ever changes -- Sima, c. AD 2020 or so

I thought this open thread might be an appropriate place to let the Caucus99 community know that on March 29 Wendy Davis left this world after suffering two back to back strokes. I might have put up a diary to elaborate, but lack her skills in knowing how to do so.
I'm glad she is not here to learn of the impending extradition of Julian as it would have torn her already injured heart. She cared so very deeply about the evil that grips this country.
Here is her obituary that I wrote for our local newspaper.

Wendy Davis was born Wendy Ellen Weaver in Cleveland, Ohio on December 14, 1950. Having lived an incredibly active, varied, and full life, she caught a blackbird's wing and flew away to heaven on March 29, 2022.

After completing high school in Ohio in 1968, she moved west to Colorado and it was there that she met and married Steve Davis, the "light and love" of her life. Wendy attended the Boulder School of Massage Therapy and after graduation she and Steve hand built their own home in the beautiful Mancos Valley. Using her love for the natural world, she planted trees, laid rocks and created gardens that surround the house today. It was there that they raised their children, Jordan and Aurora. For many years she skillfully practiced her body work arts in both Cortez and Mancos. Her hard work and deep caring for people helped so many with the physical and emotional pains of life.

Later, as her hands tired from the massage work, she built her own internet blog site, Cafe- Babylon, where she wrote and reported on the many topics that caught her interest. This led her to commenting and interacting on line with fellow humans all over the globe. Though her body was tired, this work kept her keen mind active, sharing her intelligence, sharp wit and love of truth with others.

Wendy was a mother, wife , friend, healer, political activist, musician, writer, gardener, wildlife photographer, phenomenal cook and a loving warrior for truth, beauty and goodness. She met and fully experienced the joys and sorrows, triumphs and defeats, inner peace and heartaches that life brought her way.

She is greatly missed by those of us who loved her well and are left behind and we will hold her in our hearts until we meet again on another and better world.

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24 users have voted.
Lookout's picture

@stephenadavis1

I suspected she wasn't doing well since we haven't seen her for so long. Please accept our sympathy and warm wishes to you and her family. She is missed.

I often sing this one when I play funerals
[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=emO5zNc9enU]

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18 users have voted.

“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”

@stephenadavis1 Thank you for letting us know. I knew her from here on C99 and she was a very caring and compassionate soul. I did love reading about your land and what you two had done creating your space. She always was an interesting read and will miss her writing.

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18 users have voted.

Life is what you make it, so make it something worthwhile.

This ain't no dress rehearsal!

@stephenadavis1 . Thank you very much for the time and effort it took for you to tell us. Wendy contributed many essays to this space, many of us knew her through her writing. Her concern and care for this world shone through her writing. We will miss her.

Here is a Mary Oliver poem for Wendy. I know Wendy posted Mary Oliver poems for others.

Invitation
by Mary Oliver

Oh do you have time
to linger
for just a little while
out of your busy

and very important day
for the goldfinches
that have gathered
in a field of thistles

for a musical battle,
to see who can sing
the highest note,
or the lowest,

or the most expressive of mirth,
or the most tender?
Their strong, blunt beaks
drink the air

as they strive
melodiously
not for your sake
and not for mine

and not for the sake of winning
but for sheer delight and gratitude –
believe us, they say,
it is a serious thing

just to be alive
on this fresh morning
in the broken world.
I beg of you,

do not walk by
without pausing
to attend to this
rather ridiculous performance.

It could mean something.
It could mean everything.
It could be what Rilke meant, when he wrote:
You must change your life.

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16 users have voted.
enhydra lutris's picture

@stephenadavis1

Thank you so much for telling us and for posting that copy of her obituary. She will be greatly missed.

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15 users have voted.

That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --

dystopian's picture

@stephenadavis1 Thank you very much for posting. We will miss her voice and insights. I always enjoyed reading her writing. It is a great loss, and very sad. My, and our, condolences. Thank you for sharing! Fly with the birds Wendy!

up
16 users have voted.

We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.
Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better.
both - Albert Einstein

@stephenadavis1 I wish for the very best for you and your family, and hope your grief will soon vanish and be replaced by wonderful memories of your life together.

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14 users have voted.

"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981

lotlizard's picture

@stephenadavis1  
and condolences on your loss.

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Sima's picture

@stephenadavis1
I loved reading Wendy's posts here. I am very sorry she passed away on that blackbird's wing. Thank you for letting us know.

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11 users have voted.

If you're poor now, my friend, then you'll stay poor.
These days, only the rich get given more. -- Martial book 5:81, c. AD 100 or so
Nothing ever changes -- Sima, c. AD 2020 or so

studentofearth's picture

@stephenadavis1 My condolences for your loss. I wish you well Stephen moving forward with your life. Wendy mentioned several times the efforts you made so she could share her thoughts with us here.

Thank you for the Gulf Coast Highway (its playing in the background)

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7 users have voted.

Still yourself, deep water can absorb many disturbances with minimal reaction.
--When the opening appears release yourself.

janis b's picture

@stephenadavis1

Her warmth and generosity of spirit always shined clearly through every response and subject she addressed. I especially loved her stories of personal adventures with native americans and other people of deep humility.

It must be a great comfort to you to have shared and created a life together. I wish you all the strength and solace you need. I wish for Wendy to join the great spirits she always resonated with and defined herself by.

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7 users have voted.
JekyllnHyde's picture

@stephenadavis1

wendy was a fighter and her writings conveyed a sense of urgency about issues of importance. The passion she felt was clearly evident in her postings. And all of us were the beneficiaries of her efforts.

RIP Wendy Davis. Thank you for your many contributions.

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0 users have voted.

A riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma

Lookout's picture

I sent her a pm weeks ago, and never heard back. I believe she had just turned 80. Anyway wishing her the best wherever she is...

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18 users have voted.

“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”

lotlizard's picture

@Lookout  
For a while in past weeks the so-called “flair” (Reddit term for a kind of tag) on comments from this account — newly created Feb. 23 — was “nycvg” … = our NYCVG, who for whatever reason is starting over on Reddit with a new handle?

https://reddit.com/u/2nycvg

https://reddit.com/u/NYCVG

Activity on the one starts two months ago, activity on the other stops two months ago…

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9 users have voted.
Lookout's picture

@lotlizard

friends in the digital space seem to come and go. That's the way of it.

Thanks for the update.

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10 users have voted.

“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”

lotlizard's picture

@Lookout  
… could some gender alchemy be associated with the user handle change, I wonder?

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6 users have voted.
janis b's picture

@lotlizard

People appear and disappear at will, more commonly online than in real life. I think that’s an unfortunate quirk of digital participation and relationship.

NYCVG was abundantly present and then suddenly not. It makes one wonder why and hope it was nothing unfortunate. It sure would be nice to know though. Unfortunately, there is a certain measure of respect that is more easily ignored online. I may be way off base in suggesting this is the reality of NYCVG's disappearance.

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5 users have voted.
janis b's picture

@Lookout

messaged her and never had a response.

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4 users have voted.
ggersh's picture

We were all lucky to have her be a part of C99, she will be missed

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15 users have voted.

I never knew that the term "Never Again" only pertained to
those born Jewish

"Antisemite used to be someone who didn't like Jews
now it's someone who Jews don't like"

Heard from Margaret Kimberley

enhydra lutris's picture

life nor nature ever let up - there's always something going on and something further coming down the pike. We're here in the throes of trying to get many things organized and afoot whilst keeping a large number of balls already in the air compliant with our ideas or wishes. We have great hopes that we just might, with luck, be on somewhat of an even keel by midsummer. HAH! (or should that be heh?)

So, enjoy your kids and forget the great outer miasma; sure, it will impact you, but not immediately, not nearly as much as the kids and the dog and garden and all else immediate and hyper-local.

be well and have a good one.

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11 users have voted.

That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --

Sima's picture

@enhydra lutris
Yep, it sounds like life, as you noted. Always something happening. Sometimes it's lots of bad things, but often times it's lots of good things. I hope it's lots of good things for you, especially by midsummer! Me, I'm gonna be concentrating on the good stuff, and dealing with the bad stuff as I must.

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6 users have voted.

If you're poor now, my friend, then you'll stay poor.
These days, only the rich get given more. -- Martial book 5:81, c. AD 100 or so
Nothing ever changes -- Sima, c. AD 2020 or so

Sima. I look forward to seeing the pics when you have the chance.

Speaking of Welch trees, there is a new book out called The Treeline: The Last Forest and the Future of Life On Earth by Ben Rawlence It's about the Boreal Forest and the Arctic Treeline.
There is a chapter about the Sots pine, Pinus sylvestris. Not Wales but close, in Scotland.

Thanks for the OT, I'm off and running. Like others, too much to do and not enough time. Smile

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11 users have voted.
Sima's picture

@randtntx
I'm gonna look it up and get it from the library or buy it. Thanks for checking in! I'll get those pics going as soon as possible, because the little ones are adorable and we all should be seeing that.

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3 users have voted.

If you're poor now, my friend, then you'll stay poor.
These days, only the rich get given more. -- Martial book 5:81, c. AD 100 or so
Nothing ever changes -- Sima, c. AD 2020 or so

@stephenadavis1

Was just wondering where she'd gone off to the other day..
I'm sad but maybe relieved she got out in time.
Serious tears. Knew that soul well. Will be remembered in a
good light ~

[video:https://youtu.be/lIbVWNy7HBk]

thanks Stephen
sorry to see endings

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12 users have voted.

Here is the Mary Oliver poem about death that Wendy loved to use for those struggling with the death of a loved one.

“White Owl Flies Into and Out of the Field”

“Coming down out of the freezing sky
with its depths of light,
like an angel, or a Buddha with wings,
it was beautiful, and accurate,
striking the snow and whatever was there
with a force that left the imprint
of the tips of its wings – five feet apart -
and the grabbing thrust of its feet,
and the indentation of what had been running
through the white valleys of the snow -
and then it rose, gracefully,
and flew back to the frozen marshes
to lurk there, like a little lighthouse,
in the blue shadows -
so I thought:
maybe death isn’t darkness, after all,
but so much light wrapping itself around us -
as soft as feathers -
that we are instantly weary of looking, and looking,
and shut our eyes, not without amazement,
and let ourselves be carried,
as through the translucence of mica,
to the river that is without the least dapple or shadow,
that is nothing but light – scalding, aortal light -
in which we are washed and washed
out of our bones.”

- Mary Oliver

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12 users have voted.

@stephenadavis1 . I remember now. Thank you.

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9 users have voted.

@stephenadavis1

because too many pages and no real order except for dates
wanted to bring up one of her posts or comments but got lost
in the process.

A very nice poem to commemorate her spirit

Thx

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7 users have voted.
mimi's picture

very well. I always imagined she was a native American woman (O well what else is wrong with my imaginations). She had so many kind and gentle words for me.

Lovely human being, so sad, so many people dying. I could cry tears, if I were not so 'done with the world'.

My sincere condolences.

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13 users have voted.
snoopydawg's picture

This blog has lost a great voice. I have been thinking about her a lot lately and was hoping that she had recovered from her 1st stroke and would be back soon. Wendy showed me who she was in real life through her amazing photography. Such talent.

I agree with you that it would have broken her heart to see that Julian Assange had lost his battle and would soon be sent here. Small blessings that she doesn’t have to see that.

My thoughts are also with you, Stephen. She had some funny stories about your adventures. Take care and thanks for letting us know.

Snoop

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11 users have voted.

Which AIPAC/MIC/pharma/bank bought politician are you going to vote for? Don’t be surprised when nothing changes.

Thanks so much to all of you for your kind words about Wendy and her work here at C99. Also for the poem, music and words of sympathy for those of us left behind. She always hoped her essays and reporting here would in some small way contribute to peace and human understanding on our sorry little planet.
Here is a song that she loved and was special to the two of us.

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10 users have voted.

@stephenadavis1 I always read Wendy's essays here. They informed and enlightened, were *always* well researched, and sometimes pissed me off. For the latter, mostly because she tended, at least in my mind, to write about subjects that demanded justice or a radically different outcome. It was always clear she had a big heart, and she kept it in the right place.

And, oh my, Nanci Griffith and Highway 90 too? I grew up in the land of bluebonnets and Indian paintbrush in "Central" Texas. A big ol' chunk of my heart will always be there. I'd think these days are near about peak bluebonnet season as well.

I'll think of her tomorrow when I feed my "blackbird" friends (city crows in my case) a treat or two on my daily walk. I suspect they know of her by now.

This is all to say, I am so sorry. Do take care.

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janis b's picture

@stephenadavis1

The blackbird, so universally common that it could be considered ordinary and undistinguished, but is truly beautiful in voice and presence.

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8 users have voted.
Lookout's picture

@stephenadavis1

Thanks so much and wish you and yours all the best as you build a new tomorrow.

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4 users have voted.

“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”

@stephenadavis1

Thank you for letting us know. Her passing is a great loss for people like myself who have treasured her writing and her ability to find vital information in the interest of peace. I am so sad for you and for us. But I feel so fortunate to have been in the right place at the right time to have read her findings and her personal expressions. Be well, stay well in Love and Peace.

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4 users have voted.
lotlizard's picture

[video:https://youtu.be/7auORa69vAw]

No star is o'er the lake,
Its pale watch keeping,
The moon is half awake,
Through gray mists creeping,
The last red leaves fall round
The porch of roses,
The clock hath ceased to sound,
The long day closes.

Sit by the silent hearth
In calm endeavour,
To count the sounds of mirth,
Now dumb for ever.
Heed not how hope believes
And fate disposes:
Shadow is round the eaves,
The long day closes.

The lighted windows dim
Are fading slowly.
The fire that was so trim
Now quivers lowly.
Go to the dreamless bed
Where grief reposes;
Thy book of toil is read,
The long day closes.

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10 users have voted.