Catching Up I have had a slightly more busy week this week since we have had house guests for a few days and the finishing of the deck project has caused me more work than normal in terms of getting things arranged as we like them. This is work that cannot be delegated as it has to do with how we like to live our lives in our space. As such, I have been busier…
The Good Earth Yes, I am borrowing Pearl Buck’s title and no, this story is not about a family living in a small Chinese village. This story is about sowing and reaping the resources that the Earth gives us. In microcosm, I am living the reality of reaping what I sow right here on this little hilltop. Some of my days are spent teaching and there is little that happens in this world that is…
Wallowing in the Sunset Today was a big day for me in my deck journey. After nineteen weeks of work (that is 126 days or over four months), we moved all the furniture out onto the deck. The glass railing doesn’t go up until Monday, but the railing people have said the deck furniture should not interfere with their work. We have guests coming on Tuesday, literally right after the railing is finished being put…
The Bucket Brigade It began as a description of a firefighting technique where manual passing of buckets was used to maximize water deployment to put out fires. It became a metaphor used to describe processes that are either highly manual or involve many individuals to mobilize materials from one place to another. For some reason, many of my efforts here on this hilltop seem to involve the actual or metaphorical use of a bucket brigade.…
The Peaceful End of Day It has very suddenly become summer here on this hilltop this week. I’m not sure I’ve ever felt a season come on me so quickly and assuredly. One day it was cold, too cold for shorts, too cold to dine on the patio, too cold to see buds on plants. In the last two days that has all changed. I am wearing shorts every day, probably not to do otherwise…
Cutting Loose I’m ready. There is no two ways to say that. I’m ready to cut loose and to be cut loose. Everyone wants to feel needed, but some of us have been needed to the point where we need to be less needed. In most things I have done from family (nuclear and extended) to primary work (my career as it has morphed) to my not-for-profit activities, I have always felt driven to proactive…
Wildflowers What is the attraction of wildflowers? I have recently gotten it in my head that I want to plant some wildflower meadows on my property. I can’t really say what the genesis of the idea was other than I have always had an infatuation with wildflowers. I must not be the only one since when I went online I found many places to buy wildflower seeds. The site I chose had varieties that were…
Tickling the Beast While I have a hard time saying it and as much as I consider myself an expert in the subject, I am retired. I have spent a year now preparing myself for being retired and think I have done some admirable work in positioning myself appropriately for my next stage of life, which I consider to be the retired state of being. We all understand that in a world with increased longevity…
Losing Friends I may have mentioned along the way that I have moved primary residence twenty-three times in my life. That averages to a tad more than two years in a residence. While that average appropriately characterizes my high level of movement over my life, the three longest stays in one place were nine years in the South Street Seaport (where I met Kim), seven years on Canterbury Road in Rockville Centre (where my two…
The Mulch of Life I’ve gotten through my life very nicely without mulch up until now. You may recall that last year I made the logical, but ill-conceived decision to hire a horticulturalist for an advisory session. The cost of the advice was about the same as two days worth of hard garden work by Joventino or his father Benito. It turned out to be worth considerably less, 30% because of the extremely hard-working nature…