My friend Jim died last Tuesday, while working alone on a logging job. He'd been a logger forever, and was very happy to be back in the woods this year, after a frustrating moratorium on forestry operations on State lands kept him from working locally. But this particular job required a significant commute to the site. Long days of driving in the dark, then working hard from daylight to dusk, then driving home in the dark, were taking a toll. When I saw Jim two weeks ago, he talked about how tired he was - something I'd never once heard him say in all the years I've known him. Complain about bureaucracy? Anytime. Complain about lazy people? Oh my, yes. But complain about being tired? From working? Never. It was worrying, but at least I knew this job was almost finished; he intended to be "out of there before Christmas."
Sweetfern, Comptonia peregrina, is neither sweet nor a fern. It looks like something the dinosaurs would have walked through, releasing the warmest, spiciest aromas of imagination.
Tuesday, November 26, 2024
he died in the woods
My friend Jim died last Tuesday, while working alone on a logging job. He'd been a logger forever, and was very happy to be back in the woods this year, after a frustrating moratorium on forestry operations on State lands kept him from working locally. But this particular job required a significant commute to the site. Long days of driving in the dark, then working hard from daylight to dusk, then driving home in the dark, were taking a toll. When I saw Jim two weeks ago, he talked about how tired he was - something I'd never once heard him say in all the years I've known him. Complain about bureaucracy? Anytime. Complain about lazy people? Oh my, yes. But complain about being tired? From working? Never. It was worrying, but at least I knew this job was almost finished; he intended to be "out of there before Christmas."
Tuesday, November 19, 2024
barn update
The goat barn has a new and improved roof:
Tuesday, November 12, 2024
Sunday, November 10, 2024
Tuesday, November 5, 2024
buckle up
"Roman Republican denarius showing citizens voting. One toga-clad citizen drops his voting tablet in the ballot box, while behind him another voter receives his tablet from an attendant below. Voters crossed elevated walkways or 'pontes' above their fellow citizens in order to reach the ballot box, so all could see that they had voted without any last-minute intimidation or interference by others.
To safeguard the integrity of elections, in 119 BC, the tribune Gaius Marius further narrowed the pons causeway leading to the ballot box, in order to prevent any non-voters from standing on the gangway and engaging in bribery or intimidation; literally, to ensure that there was 'no room' for interference."
from Gareth Harney, @OptimoPrincipi on twitter. His new book, Moneta: A History of Ancient Rome in Twelve Coins, is on my short list.
illustration: Denarius struck under the moneyer Publius Licinius Nerva in 112 BC, British Museum Collection
~~~~~
Wednesday, October 30, 2024
Wednesday, October 23, 2024
Sunday, October 20, 2024
left and right
I saw an orthopedic PA-C on Thursday, and was told I should start Physical Therapy in another week or so, after the inflammation has settled down. Eight weeks of PT may be enough to get me back to my pre-dislocation condition. If not, there may be a need for more testing to identify deeper damage.
It was not a very satisfactory appointment. Sometimes I think medical professionals are so bored by "typical" injuries that all they want to do is race through a series of standard sentences as quickly as possible and send a patient on to the next stop. I was determined to get answers to a few questions, and I did, but only because I ignored the PA's apparent haste to get out of the room. I also ignored his referring to me three times as "sweetheart," because I was laser-focused on getting information. If I see him again for the recommended 4-week follow-up, I can guarantee he will say it only once.
~~~~~
Tuesday, October 15, 2024
view from a chaise
Friday, October 11, 2024
didn't see this coming
Had a long-awaited/dreaded dental appointment on Tuesday morning which turned out to be only a detailed consultation. A friend gave me a ride home, dropping me at the mailbox, and I walked up the driveway, mail in hand, coat folded over arm, thinking about all the afternoon tasks I could now tackle without the expected complication of a sore mouth. Got to my door and fumbled for the keys in my trouser pocket, but they weren't there. Had that awful "oh no, there isn't even an unlocked window to climb through" feeling before realizing with relief that the keys must be in my coat pocket. Whew. Awkwardly crossed my arms and twisted around to the left to reach the pocket in my coat without dropping the mail. You can picture this, right? All perfectly normal. Then the edge of my right foot slipped off the doorstep, and I fell, hard, on my right side, slamming into the edge of a concrete platform and dislocating my right shoulder.
After several highly memorable hours in the ER, the shoulder was back in place, and now I'm wearing a sling when I'm up and about, and trying not to use that arm At All until an appointment with an orthopedic person next Thursday. Apparently once a shoulder has been dislocated, it has more of a tendency to dislocate again - something I fervently wish to avoid - so I'm doing my very best to follow instructions.
I have had lots to think about since Tuesday and ordinary life is slightly more challenging right now but I just wanted to take a moment and thank you for your responses to my previous post. Some losses hit harder than others, and Betula is a very hard loss. Your kind thoughts are much appreciated.
~~~~~
Sunday, October 6, 2024
Sunday, August 25, 2024
between the rains
Saturday, August 24, 2024
update
Future rafters and roof sheathing on Aug 12th:
I was hoping my next post - that is, this one - would include pictures of a barn with a roof. Unfortunately, we've had many, many rainy days and AM has injured his back - not while working here, I'm relieved to say - so there's been zero progress on the barn repair.
AM is not the kind of person who needs to be called and nudged. He's the kind of person who likes to get stuck right into a job at the earliest opportunity. So if I don't see him on a wonderful day of Not Raining, I know he's either still having a tough time with his back - which I very much hope is not the case - or else he's feeling better but trying to catch up on the backlog of work that piled because of his injury.
Either way, there's nothing I can do but wait. Fingers crossed.
Meanwhile, we all know better than to waste the precious days when the sun is shining.
(l-r) Sambucus, Campion, and Violet, in front of one of three 2nd-hand calf hutches purchased as emergency shelters on 6 April) |
The forecast here is for a rainless weekend, so I expect to spend most of it outside. I hope your weekend is just as sunny or rainy as you need it to be.
~~~~~
Wednesday, August 14, 2024
here we go
'Deduccion loable,' from Les douze dames de rhétorique, 1463. Cambridge University Library MS. Nn.3.2, fo.36 verso. |
Monday, August 12, 2024
drawing august
blueberries in fluted glass |
from Petrie's photograph of an alabaster vessel fragment, tomb of Amenhotep III |
massive red oak |
Saturday, August 3, 2024
adventures in oatmeal
Had to pretty much go swimming to reach these blueberries. It was worth it! |
Each packet held 2 pounds of rolled oats. |
Initially I added the sugar before cooking, so it would be distributed throughout all the oats as the water was absorbed. Rational, right? Or did everybody but me know that porridge actually tastes sweeter when the sugar is on the oats, not in the oats? Which makes sense. Now.
Do you have a favorite morning ritual, food or otherwise?
~~~~~