A Sledges and Wedges Day

Knocked out the dry pine rounds, which will be used to edge a forest path tomorrow. This was easy splitting. The big green pine rounds are going to have to get rolled to age in place. I tried splitting one, and it gushed sap.  It’s simply not a hand splitting job when it’s that green.

A Small Stumble in Hamnet

Hamnet was playing on the bedroom TV last night.  It’s a fictionalized semi-autobiographical representation of Shakespeare and his immediate family life.

The first scene opens with Agnes (Shakespeare’s love interest) asleep below an enormous tree next to a mysterious cave. She wakes up, slips on a hawker’s gauntlet, and summons a hawk to hand. The hawk is out of time and place, as it’s a Harris Hawk, native to the American Southwest, Mexico, and South America, and unused in falconry until the early 1970s.

Another common movie irritant:  the hawk’s vocalization is also out of time and place, as it’s the cry of a Red-tail Hawk — another American bird unused in Elizabethan falconry.

Agnes is said to be the daughter of a forest witch who knows herbal lore, a plot device which helps weave together a story board rooted in nature, mysticism, illness and grief.

Hamnet is a very good film; forgive it its small (and all too common) avian trespasses.

Rotten From the Head Down

Can it get worse for Crufts?

I thought they’d hit bottom with the photoshopping of the 2026 Best In Show winner, but no, it’s now worse, as the head of the FCI, who was the Best In Show judge, has said there is no exaggeration in the same eye-wrecked, ponderously fat dog that the Royal Kennel Club was caught photoshopping to lessen the extent of its eye entropion and ectropion. And to cap it off the judge of the Gundog group agrees. Is there any wonder now why some think there is nothing worth saving in the world of show dogs?

Twenty years ago, I said the core problem in the Kennel Clubs was both a failed intellectual construct and a failed inbred culture, and every day they prove that analysis correct.

Mens Rea: When It’s the Thought That Counts

THE ROYAL KENNEL CLUB has been caught photoshopping away severe morphological defects in their 2024 photo of the dog that later won “Best In Show” in 2026.

The story here is from Jemima Harrison at CRUFFA >> 

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1Arqzh3zjj/?mibextid=wwXIfr

READ the whole thing.

Vidkun Quisling Hopes You Forget

Omar Akkad has observed, “One day, everyone will have always been against this.”

Yes indeed.

Is this that day?  

Who can say?  

But yes, the calculus is slowly shifting.

And yet…..

And yet, there are always those who are anxious to be part of the system.  They will tell you it’s better to be “inside the system,” working to temper the worst excesses, rather than outside criticizing the obvious cruelty.

It’s a convenient rationalization, isn’t it?  You get to position yourself as a whistleblower, even as you preen under the spotlight and do nothing to threaten your income stream.

How convenient.  

Yes, I’m looking straight at you Miles Taylor.

In the movie “Inglorious Basterds,” Aldo Raines knew the type. 

After the war, all the Nazis would take off their uniforms and pass for citizens.  Once the Allies won, every Vichy frenchman and woman would tell you they had always been part of The Resistance.

Aldo’s solution was to pull out a bowie knife and carve a swastika into the forehead of every Nazi he and his men let live.

Will they let us do that today?

Probably not.

That said, remember where people stood, and not just at the end of the war, but at the beginning and middle of the war too.

Is this about politics or dogs?

Yes.  Yes it is.

Stowaway Fox

FROM THE GUARDIAN

A sly fox slipped on to a cargo ship and travelled from Southampton to New York, according to officials at Bronx Zoo.

The zoo, which is looking after the animal, said it appears healthy after early examinations.

It is unclear how the male red fox boarded the ship, which had been transporting cars, to make the 3,400 mile journey to the east coast of the US.

It left Southampton, Hampshire, on 4 February, and the vessel docked at the Port of New York and New Jersey on 18 February.

Diane J Sabatino, executive assistant commissioner at the US Customs and Border Protection Department, wrote on X that port officers had found the ‘sly stowaway’, and agriculture specialists had coordinated with the US Fish and Wildlife Service, the Animal & Plant Health Inspection Service and New Jersey Fish and Wildlife to find the fox a new home at Bronx Zoo

Officials brought the fox to the zoo the next day. He is estimated to be two years old and weighs 5kg (11lbs).

Keith Lovett, the zoo’s director of animal programmes, said: ‘He seems to be settling in well. It’s gone through a lot.’

A long-term home for the mammal will be found after he undergoes additional health checks.

The omnivore has a diet of produce, proteins and some biscuit-like items at the zoo’s veterinary centre.

The species, formally named Vulpes vulpes, is widespread in Europe, Asia, North America and parts of Africa.

The Contraction of Small Towns

The complaint and observation is global.

Small towns everywhere are dying as capital spools up to create ever-larger factories designed to make and ship more and more goods farther and farther away, as small farms fall to increased mechanization and distribution efficiency, and as television and automobiles show people more opportunities and more paths to escape.

Small town shops are falling to big box retailers, Amazon, and other on-line retailers and distributors, while increased wealth has driven an increase in holiday home Airbnbs.

Meanwhile, international competition, television, improved education, and the Internet have driven the spread of English as a global language, and the rapid decline in local or regional languages.

The phenomenon can be seen in Tuscany and rural Algeria, in Chiapas and Wales, in Kansas and Korea.

And the result?  A lot of nostalgia bemoaning change, increased suspicion of “foreigners,” and a general anger that cultural totems are slipping away as the world is becoming more and more homogenized.

Which reminds me of the time Tom Bradbury wrote: 

“The most perfect thing I have ever seen just happened on the replacement train bus service between Newport and Cwmbran: White man sat in front of a mother and her son. Mother was wearing a niqab. After about 5 minutes of the mother talking to her son in another language the man, for whatever reason, feels the need to tell the woman ‘When you're in the UK you should really be speaking English.’ At which point, an old woman in front of him turns around and says, ‘She's in Wales, and she’s speaking Welsh.’”

Bald Eagle Egg(s) Has Hatched

How can I tell?  It’s warm, and she’s up on the edge of the nest, she’s vocalizing, and occasionally looking down into the nest.  The male and female swapped places, just as I arrived.

The Continuing Crisis

While some folks will tell you Greyhounds will disappear if there is no commercial betting on tracks owned by gambling syndicates, in the real world the complaint is that there are too many dog-running events, and the barking dogs at those events are (allegedly) disturbing the peace.

Yes, that’s the continuing crisis trumpeted in The Winchester (Virginia) Star.

Go figure.

“Solutions” Without Problems

A ban on “competitive” Greyhound activities has been added to the House agriculture bill.

▪️WHAT’S THE PROBLEM?

It’s not clear what “problem” this is supposed to fix, as there are only two greyhound tracks left in the US — both in West Virginia.  This feels like the Grey2kUSA organization looking for a reason to exist, a bit like March of Dimes  after polio was eliminated.

▪️ONE HOUSE CANNOT DO IT

There does not appear to be a Senate analog.  The Senate would have to add and pass identical language for this to become law. I can find no parallel senate bill or language.  Something to look for.

▪️POORLY DRAFTED LEGISLATION

The intent seems to be to ban greyhound gambling events nationwide, but gambling laws are state-based, not federal, as far as I know.  The work-around here is to cite interstate activity (i.e. the commerce clause of the US Constitution, Article I, Section 8, Clause 3), but again this is problematic as there are very few restrictions on human movement or legal commerce, and the general rules of federalism proscribe them.  The only exception that springs to mind is the Mann Act, aka the “White Slavery Act,” which leans heavily on the 13th Amendment of the US Constitution, which covers neither dogs nor wildlife. 

▪️HUNTING LAWS ARE STATE LAWS

Another issue is that almost all US hunting laws are state-based, not federal.  I am against competitive hunting for trophies, but this is legal in many states for coyote, prairie dogs. etc.  The feds can (and do) protect endangered species, and certain migratory birds, but all other instances that I know of are governed by state law.

▪️NON-GERMANE AMENDMENTS ARE BAD

As a general rule, adding non-germane amendments to appropriations bills is discouraged, as it’s “Betty Bar the Door” if you allow it.  In general the “Christmas Tree” phenomenon is a signal that the amendment has very weak support and could not survive scrutiny on its own.  A tight or “closed” rule on reconciliation tends to strip off these kinds of extraneous barnacles, and is the general rule used when large budget- and appropriations-related laws are before Congress.

▪️▪️▪️To read the legislative language >> 

https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/5017/text?

The Best Dog In the UK?

An enormously fat four-year old Clumber Spaniel, with eye ectropion and entropion, has been crowned best in show at Crufts 2026.

Setting aside the travesty of putting this dog up as “Best in Show,” there is the larger issue that this is a failed breed that is so rare its only possible salvation is by delisting and outcrossing.

The Royal Kennel Club itself notes that “below an effective population size of 100, the loss of genetic variation in a breed/population increases considerably. An effective population of below 50 indicates that the future of the breed may be at risk.” And what is the effective population size for the Clumber? Try 24.5.

Stephen Stills :: 4+20

Spring Peepers Are Out

The wee frogs are out in force. This was along the canal.

I bicycled 18 miles, which my son ran. He’s training for a marathon, and runs about 70 miles a week.

Dropping the Dead

Dropped two widow-makers today. I’ll section them up next week.  These were standing dead pines, so much lighter than the oaks or the still-green pines.

Time-Lapse Wood Chip Pile

This is the third 15-cubic yard delivery of wood chips this year. Two wood chip piles made from this pile are stationed for further distribution; one for a new forest path, and another to be split between the berry patch and the black-eyed-susans 

(Rudbeckia) which first need to be lifted and split.  A video of the big truck dump is here >> https://youtu.be/uJFNyefJ9Kc?

War-a-Lago

I wonder if Iran knows where Trump’s country club pillow fort is located? Where Trump’s family lives? Where his cabinet lives? 

Back in 1940, Arthur "Bomber" Harris observed that:

“The Nazis entered this war under the rather childish delusion that they were going to bomb everybody else, and nobody was going to bomb them. At Rotterdam, London, Warsaw, and half a hundred other places, they put that rather naive theory into operation. They sowed the wind, and now, they are going to reap the whirlwind.”

Trump, Rubio, Hegseth, and Miller just killed the father, mother, and sister of the new Supreme Leader of Iran.

I’m not psychic, but I understand how balls and bombs bounce. 

Mark Knopfler :: Bothers In Arms

Alpha Blondy :: Wish You Were Here

Leo Is a Handsome Devil

Milo and Leo are very good-looking and smart kids.

The Way Out

Henry Miller on the Wonder of Observation

 

"I have a theory that the moment one gives close attention to anything, even a blade of grass, it becomes a mysterious, awesome, indescribably magnificent world in itself. I have tried this experiment a thousand times and I have never been disappointed. The more I look at a thing, the more I see in it, and the more I see in it, the more I want to see. It is like peeling an onion. There is always another layer, and another, and another. And each layer is more beautiful than the last.

“This is the way I look at the world. I don't see it as a collection of objects, but as a vast and mysterious organism. I see the beauty in the smallest things, and I find wonder in the most ordinary events. I am always looking for the hidden meaning, the secret message. I am always trying to understand the mystery of life.

“I know that I will never understand everything, but that doesn't stop me from trying. I am content to live in the mystery, to be surrounded by the unknown. I am content to be a seeker, a pilgrim, a traveler on the road to nowhere. -- Henry Miller, Black Spring

When That Man Is Dead and Gone

Irving Berlin wrote this song of hope about the celebration to come when a world-wrecking racist and fascist died.

The version, below, is the Glenn Miller Orchestra with Tex Benake and the Modernaires on vocals.

Not a Factory-Made Product

Humans are an artisanal product. Imperfections are signs that this is handmade item crafted by people with real jobs, competing interests, and limited time. It is natural for variations and imperfections to occur, and these should be considered part of the essential character of the individual.

This Land Is Your Land

Woody Guthrie wrote the lyrics to 'This Land Is Your Land' on this day in 1940, in his room at the Hanover House Hotel in New York City.  The melody is based on a Carter Family tune called "When the World's on Fire".

This land is your land, this land is my land

From California to the New York island,

From the redwood forest to the Gulf Stream waters; This land was made for you and me.

As I was walking that ribbon of highway 

I saw above me that endless skyway; 

I saw below me that golden valley; 

This land was made for you and me.

I've roamed and rambled and I followed my footsteps 

To the sparkling sands of her diamond deserts; 

And all around me a voice was sounding;

This land was made for you and me.

When the sun came shining, and I was strolling, And the wheat fields waving and the dust clouds rolling, As the fog was lifting a voice was chanting: This land was made for you and me.

As I went walking I saw a sign there,

And on the sign it said "No Trespassing." 

But on the other side it didn't say nothing.

That side was made for you and me.

In the shadow of the steeple I saw my people, 

By the relief office I seen my people; 

As they stood there hungry, I stood there asking 

Is this land made for you and me?

Nobody living can ever stop me, 

As I go walking that freedom highway; 

Nobody living can ever make me turn back

This land was made for you and me.

Pictures From My Wee Woods

Seth Staton Watkins :: If the People Unite

Happy Birthday John Steinbeck

“There was a feller that knew us Oakies, and he knew what it was like in Oklahoma, and he knew about the dust and the debts that covered us up, and he knew why we blowed out to California, because early in the deal, he throwed a pack on his back and traipsed around amongst us, and lived with us, and talked to us, and et with us, and slept with us, and he felt in his heart and knew in his head that us Oakies was a lookin' for ‘A Living WITH Labor’ —that man was John Steinbeck.” – Woody Guthrie

A Promising Future

I picked up a December 1928 copy of Popular Mechanics the other day.  This publication came out one year before the Great Depression, when electricity, cars, and airplanes were new.  The magazine has an *astounding* number of ads for get-rick-quick correspondence schools, and a pretty big article, with illustrations, of the Great Things to Come from the Graf Zeppelin, which would be flying between Friedrichshafen, Germany and Lakehurst, New Jersey. 

I wonder how that worked out?

Of particular interest is the last picture which shows the first radio transmission of a picture — a Zeppelin on its maiden test inflation.  I think this was, essentially, the first fax.

Willie Nelson :: Always on My Mind

Ed Sheeran :: Layla

Chainsaw Work

I started reducing a big tree that pulled out and over a few weeks ago.

No, the dogs are not with me when I fire up the chainsaw. Chainsaws are dangerous enough without having to cloud your focus thinking about where the dogs are. 

In the fourth picture, the bright orange chainsaw is on the very end of the main trunk. It’s a pretty big tree. 80 feet, I think.

I use a magnetic measuring bar to quickly score logs every 18” (in this case) for firewood.  The magnet is strong, and afixes to the bar, with the chainsaw blade spinning around it.  You start the  chainsaw first, then carefully place the magnet on the bar, 2/3 of the way back, and you use the front half of the bar to score the logs.  The big disk on the rod can slide, so it will measure 14” for a wood stove as well. The big disk is placed within an inch or so of the last cut, and then the saw cuts the next score, and you move down the log.  

I score first, as it’s fast and easy. Then, with the magnetic stick off the saw, it’s quick work to section a tree and stack well-measured rounds to dry. 

This tree is pine and green, so it needs a year or two to dry, and even then it’s not great fire wood compared go the oak we have in abundance.

An unexpected happiness; the stump was not rolling over back into the hole, and though it slightly shifted under my weight and muscle, it did not go over. I packed up for the day, had lunch, and when I came back down the hill, it had flipped back into the hole. I assume a little melting of the frozen ground was a factor. I will cut the stump lower when I section the tree.

E.B. White’s Writing Place

E.B. White's writing shack, at his home in Maine.

The Grandkids

More Snow on the Knoll

Winter Kayaks on the Shenendoah

Forty million people on the East Coast are bracing for a blizzard, but kayakers were out on the Shenandoah River just above Harpers Ferry on the West Virginia-Maryland border.

Brandi Carlile :: Keep Your Heart Young

The Insane World of Mercola

If you write about healthcare, human or canine, you will eventually stumble into Mercola, and its creator and financier, Joe Mercola.

What you need to know is that the man is insane, and the entire site a dangerous scam and a grift intent on selling unproven dietary supplements and medical devices.  

Mercola and colleagues push bunk and woo, including homeopathy, and they oppose vaccination.

It’s not ALL bullshit. There’s enough boring, proven, and common sense stuff tossed in there to get you wondering, and it’s all nicely mixed in with a combination of fear-mongering, double-speak, and slick promotional packaging to make you think *maybe* the source and web site is legitimate.  

But it’s not.

Here’s a question for you:  If I gave you a bowl of icecream with just one teaspoon or dog shit mixed in, would you eat it? How about if it was in a *really* pretty bowl?  What if I told you the server had a degree from the Culinary Institute of America?  What if I told you it was Medical-Grade Dog Shit ™?

No?

How about if I told you the dog shit and icecream server had made over $300 million selling dog shit and icecream?

You’re *thinking* about it now, aren’t you?  I mean… how bad could this dog shit and icecream be if it sold that much? 🤔

Plus, it’s Medical-Grade Dog Shit ™ so maybe that’s OK? 🤷‍♂️  I mean, if it’s a scam, surely the FDA or someone would have shut it down, right? 🤔

Right.  What’s next?  You’re going to tell me Jeffrey Epstein killed himself, trickle-down economics works, and the key to financial succes is day-trading and Crypto, aren’t you?

Look, see for yourself. This rather long, but disturbing video was produced by Jonathan Jarry at the McGill University Office for Science and Society.  

If, after watching this, you still think Mercola’s supplements and vaccine advice makes sense, go right ahead. Darwin laces up his boots every morning, and I’ve never been one to try to catch the jumpers.

Why We All Hate the Police

Pedophilia, rape, blackmail, murder by secret police, mass murder by denial of aid, mass murder by denial of health care, money laundering, and poisoning for profit all get the BIG WINK from law enforcement.  The wealthy and the corporate get widespread redactions of records, and little or no publicity for the crime or the criminal.

But a young lady, with a hard life and some struggles, who is simply feeding another living thing?  CRIME!  Call the police.  Put her picture and name in the paper.