A genuinely pretty day emerged from the bright sub-70 Piedmont dawn. The dew point is creeping up. It is a nice summer day, despite all the rest of the alleged news. We started this morning with continued reports on the Chinese real estate market. Some say it is a product of generational change and long-standing […]

Gentle Readers, On 09 July, 2022, Kimo Fanell and I had a chance to give a presentation to the Docents and volunteers who support one of America’s national treasures- the museum ship USS Midway (CV-41). It is an emotional memorial to those who served within her gracious steel embrace across the World Ocean, and stands […]

It is hard to get adjusted to this tempo. We have been covering the Russian “Special Military Operation” in Ukraine for months now, and have gotten the weekly summary down to “Russia Grinds ON,” and “Ukraine gets something long range.” This morning, we thought we would get you a quick update on one of the […]

We are in a bit of a crisis that has rolled gently over the Fire Ring. We have a book project that has rolled through the creative process, editing, production and distribution. It was satisfying, since the story was one we had promised to tell a very long time ago, and with the war that […]

Morning, Gang! The Piedmont this morning is a little dryer than it has been. Up north at the junction of Legislation and Lunacy, they got four inches of rain. Ours down in the Piedmont was gentle but steady, cool from the northern climes, and maybe the last pleasant stretch for the weeks of High Summer […]

Country Living has its moments, you know? The transition in seasons was remarkable, and included a stretch of three or four days of temperate breeze and clear blue sky, dotted periodically with white gentle puffy reminders of pleasant change. The Weather Lady laid it on thick last night, though. She used her computer models based […]

James V. Forrestal, First in Defense, namesake of USS Forrestal (CV/CVA-59) Sorry to drag you into this, but it is part of what is going on at Refuge Farm in the lovely fertile Piedmont of Virginia. We are attempting to generate a fun recount about a time as historic as the one we are living […]

The news this morning had some startling aspects we thought were worth talking about, had no relation to America or American policy-makers, and did not occur on this continent. It was about Dutch Farmers, of all things, but we were told that since the matter directly involved discussion of energy policy, gunfire and the distribution […]

Goodness, a busy morning in the country! There is plenty to be excited about, though these days an old word with meanings we all understood now contains new elements. “Horror” is one of them, but we are old and some of the new interpretations no longer have any particular meaning. “Fear” is another one of […]