Author: Vic Socotra

Witting

Author’s Note: I was working on something else this morning, and realized the topic might get me scooped up in some of the activity I was attempting to describe, not endorse. So, I thought this might fit better as a mildly amusing account of ordinary stuff that becomes extra-ordinary in the context of the times […]

Summer Solstice

The Mid-Week Review meeting avoided much contention, thank goodness. If you were wondering, the Summer Solstice arrives this Sunday, coincident with the observation of “Father’s Day,” which like “Birthing Persons Day” just past will require some juggling of old and new words. The replacement for the former, like the latter, is still under discussion for […]

Marlow: One Final Rock and Roll

Editor’s Note: The beauty of this Piedmont morning is palpable yet serene. The air embraces a pleasant coolness, betraying summer’s arriving warmth that will sweep over us in the coming days. There are a few white puffs in the depths of brilliant and unambiguous blue above the Farm. The trees that ring the pasture shiver […]

Facebook Hacked

This is a quick one this morning, partly due to frustration and partly to that Zuckerberg guy. Well, mostly the Z-man. I was working on some great stuff to share with you. Well, maybe not great, per se, but information and context about Tulsa, the ten engagements- not the ones with rings- the two big […]

Arrias: We’re All Immigrants – So What?

Editor’s Note: There is a lot of information- and There is a lot of information- and misinformation- flying about these days. There was something this morning that made me sit down in amazement- actor Tom Hanks was assailed for not condemning the Tulsa disturbance a hundred years ago with sufficient vigor. Which is to say […]

Wicked Bottom

(A southern view from Algonquin Trail toward Raccoon Ford. On the right is Raccoon Ford Road- today’s Virginia Route 617. Local historian Clark B. Hall captured this view in 2017, with the bluffs and tree line of Orange County visible in the distance). Sorry to intrude this delightful morning with an account of average events […]

Marlow: Space invaders Always Speak Jive

Editor’s Note: Huge week at Refuge Farm. Work parties, trees falling, deck repairs. You know- the usual. Marlow has hovered patiently, perhaps because his trip back to Key West- or, “Key Weird,” has now assumed its place in memory. The Production Board claims to have stories on Wicked Bottom, the waggoner’s rest a mile or […]

Country Living

I was going to subject you to a continued tour of the ‘hood here around Refuge Farm. It is colorful, and reminded us of what it must have been like to live on these fields with only a thin tent for cover against the implacable elements. Raccoon Ford, a shallow stretch of the Rapidan River […]

A Salubrious Birthday

(This brick manor house, named “Salubria” is the oldest brick home in Culpeper County. Just a fair walk east from Refuge Farm, or Wicked Bottom, if you are walking west). It is the 70th anniversary of my presence on this earth. This morning, I can say that I survived the ’60s- twice. A brief note […]

Lafayette, We Are Here!

Work parties have been on the Socotra property most of the recent daylight hours. Chairman Socotra was a little lethargic the other morning, and the Comptroller and some HR functionaries managed to pump him up with enough coffee that he scrawled signatures on a couple rectangular pieces of paper and the workers cheered. The Production […]