1. Talking to Strangers I sometimes talk to strangers. An observation about what’s going on around us. A comment about what just happened that we both might laugh at. I don’t do it often, but I do it sometimes. Trudy will confirm this. It usually makes her cringe. She can see from the look on […]
Monthly Archives: May 2016
Theoretical Physics
Sat, 28 May 2016, 06:03 PM (-06:00)
1. Son of a Theoretical Physicist Books line the back wall of my study. Morse and Feshbach; Poincaré; Jackson; Goldstein; Misner, Thorne and Wheeler; Courant and Hilbert; Margenau and Murphy; Abraham and Marsden. And others. I am my father’s son. Many of those books were his. And more than a bit of my father’s theoretical […]
He’s A Farmer
Thu, 26 May 2016, 10:55 PM (-06:00)
“Underneath it all, I’m a farmer,” he said. We were drinking coffee. It was still early enough in the morning that our conversation was a bit wacky. And when he said the word farmer, he dragged out the ‘a’ — I’m a faaaaarmer. He’s got lots of cucumbers. We got five before the rain turned off […]
Drawings
Tue, 24 May 2016, 08:29 PM (-06:00)
1. What’s the purpose? “What’s the purpose?” I sometimes hear that guy in my head ask. “Why post those doggerel-worthy drawings of yours?” Aside from the fact that the question makes me feel ashamed, he does have a point. Just what is their purpose — especially since some of them are so lousy? Here’s how […]
Nourishing Darkness
Sun, 22 May 2016, 03:55 PM (-06:00)
From a commencement address from Ursula K. LeGuin to the women of Mills College a lifetime ago (1983): …I hope you will remember that darkness is your country, where you live, where no wars are fought and no wars are won, but where the future is. Our roots are in the dark; the earth is our […]
A Fine Thing
Sat, 21 May 2016, 10:36 PM (-06:00)
Was that a picture of graduation day you sent? I don’t think it’s a stretch to assume so. What a fine thing. Congratulations to the grad. And to the parents, too! What a fine thing.
Ney Day
Sat, 21 May 2016, 09:48 PM (-06:00)
The sun came out briefly, today. There was art in the park and music on the stage. There were toddlers twirling and clear water flowing in the creek. And there were wildflowers blooming and a flycatcher watching in the meadow. Ney Day at the Elizabeth Ney Museum, Austin Texas
Does He Tell You These Things?
Mon, 16 May 2016, 09:02 PM (-06:00)
Miss Izzy and I went out tonite to walk under the clear night sky. The sickle of the Big Dipper hung over us, and a waxing gibbous moon meeting up with Jupiter. And there was a Nighthawk sweeping thru the air high above the parking lot lights. She and I slowly made our way to […]
Screaming Wrens
Mon, 16 May 2016, 07:40 PM (-06:00)
You might have heard a Wren complain, chattering and scolding, shouting at you to get away. They do that sometimes when we get too close to their house in the backyard. There’s no mistaking their instructions. Go, go, go away! Go away, you! Get out! Get out! Get out! Yesterday afternoon, there was a disturbance […]
Worms
Sun, 15 May 2016, 07:32 PM (-06:00)
When watching me work in the yard a long time ago, one of the three sisties said to me, “It’s a good thing you don’t do this for a living.” She had noticed my slow, inefficient way of doing things and correctly observed that they wouldn’t scale well if I charged for the work. Of […]