It is cold at Refuge Farm, or at least cold for the depth of what passes for winter in the Old Dominion. There is an inch or so of fine dry snow out on the deck, and across the fields. I do not expect it is going to last long, and I have an errand […]

I don’t know how your Friday was, but mine was weird. The US Embassy in Ankara was bombed, and I happened to be in an email exchange with a correspondent on the scene, an associate I met in my BBC days. There was no internet access there at the scene of the bombing, and I […]

Who said you can’t teach the old dog new tricks? The day started with piping-hot Dazbog Russian-roast coffee sipped through a straw. It was tipping toward the end of organized activity as I sipped Willow happy Hour White through a similar ingestion device at the Amen Corner. The place was jammed: two private parties were […]

(Vic enjoys a piping hot cup of java with a very stiff neck. I look my best in the morning. Life is getting better. Photo http://filmmakeriq.com) That pretty much sums up the morning. The neck is slightly better- I applaud my decision last summer to save some of the more potent painkillers in the event […]

(Ouch. This sucks. Photo courtesy Johns Hopkins Medical Center.) It was a quiet day on most fronts. There was an unseasonal burst of warm air and fair skies, and driving in to the office I saw my first shorts and first bare arms of 2013 interspersed with spasms of pain. I don’t know what I […]

(The lights are officially out at Big Pink. Mine may have been the last in whole building, but the guy in the house behind the white pickup truck, lower right, is still proudly illuminated at night. Photo Socotra). Get us to February. Please. I slept until almost seven this morning. I can’t believe it. I […]

(Clark Bros Gun Shop, EZ-on, EZ-off from Virginia Rt 29 in rustic Opal, VA. Photo Clark Bros.) Surprise! It is Monday, snuck right up on me, and I am far behind already. I hate the first day of the working week as it is, since the industry as a whole is very agitated for all […]

(This flag represented a group of about one hundred minutemen from Culpeper, Virginia. The group formed part of Colonel Patrick Henry’s First Virginia Regiment of 1775. Their unusual dress alarmed the people as they marched through the country. The word “LIBERTY OR DEATH” were in large white letters on the breast of their hunting shirts. […]

(Book One of the Fifty Shades trilogy. This is weird. Or maybe it is the new normal. The tie is used…oh, hell, I can’t do it. Photo E.L. James) ‘Alice felt there was no denying that. ‘Of course it would be all the better,’ she said: ‘but it wouldn’t be all the better his being […]

(The Madison. Photo MRIS 2001). The Madison Retirement Condos in the heart of Ballston * Perfect for seniors 55+, seeking elegant lifestyle that includes delicious meals, housekeeping, transportation, diverse program of events and activities, terrific community * Monthly service fee (not optional) of $2640 covers these amenities and much more. Call for appointment to see […]