Dinner date at our favorite pizzeria in Carrboro. Came back and kittens are doing great in the secure chicken run. Though, there was a curious owl perched in the tree above. It silently flew off when Erin approached.
Fascinating article in the NYTimes: A Once Outlawed Māori Art Form Is Alive and in the Flesh (gift article). Of interest to me because of that great novel I read recently, The Wayfinder by Adam Johnson, in which tā moko is a key part of the story.
I won’t win awards for carpentry skills but I’m proud of this project. All juniper posts were gathered from our property. It’s solid enough to last a few years, I hope. Inspired by the DIY instructions in Hentopia: Create a Hassle-Free Habitat for Happy Chickens.
Chicken run now has a fresh layer of wood chips. Until we build a new coop to replace the decaying kit coop, no chickens until we add pullets next spring. Erin will use the enclosure to train the kittens to stay close to the house and away from the coyotes (new fence around yard will help).
Now I’m sitting on the sofa, sipping Yunnan golden tips supreme and listening to latest album from Iron and Wine (pretty sure I saw Sam in the hair salon yesterday when I was getting my haircut and hearing about my stylist’s trip to Machu Picchu and Galápagos).
Erin and I finished constructing the chicken run. She told me I’ve been at this project for two years. I gathered the juniper trunks for the posts, a buddy helped me secure the side wire fencing. Oliver helped along the way. Today I added the last top rails and we secured chickenwire on top.
In a more immediate sense, invoking demons can be a means of dehumanizing and delegitimizing political enemies, which has often been a precursor to actual warfare and political violence. “It’s a very useful way to get around the Christian imperative to love your enemy,” Matthew Taylor, a visiting scholar at the Center on Faith and Justice at Georgetown University, told me.
The True History of New England’s Stone Walls
People love walls, especially the weather-grizzled, lichen-blotched stone walls that crisscross the woods, hills, fields, and gardens of New England. I am one of them.
I was just in Rhode Island and saw thes stone walls. A few year’s ago here in North Carolina, I gathered up and placed granite stones on the property line between our old place and new, and I was thinking of gathering more for a wall. I did leave spaces for the turtles to cross.
Finally felt good enough to finish a blog post about our trip to Acadia National Park. Highlights include meeting Drupal creator Dries Buytaert on the trail (I also reference my appreciation of @manton and other CMS developers). If I’d felt better I’d have eaten better in Portland, too. [fixed link]
Tonight in the forest outside there are two young owls begging for food with their screeches. Every year I hear a single juvenile, so two out there is pretty cool.
Even though I wasn’t feeling well, I was glad to have been able to see The Heavy Heavy at Ocean Mist in Matunuck, Rhode Island. They put on another good show. Fun music.
Departed in the pre-dawn ocean air of Rhode Island, arrived back in North Carolina, and immediately hit with a head cold. Allergies to this humid home state, or new symptoms of last week’s (self-diagnosed) cyclosporiasis while in Maine? Either way, added misery.
Came to Rhode Island this time to see a favorite band, The Heavy Heavy, at Ocean Mist. Rode this old bike from the cottage, walking across the rocky beach at sunset. Excited for the show.
A perfect day at the sea. I walked to watch the surfers, then along the already crowded beach. Now drinking coffee and watching boats float by. Ospreys soaring above.
Gentle waves, sunset at East Matunuck State Beach, Rhode Island.
My uncle is chasing his new favorite band the Legiana Collective around the Netherlands. I will need to listen to their music.
A pleasant first morning at the cottage in Jerusalem, Rhode Island. The Block Island ferry just left with a big crowd, Lady Frances is going by now for fishing excursion, flags are flapping in the breeze. This will be nice spot to chill after hiking in Acadia and eating in Portland. Erin back in NC.
Morning sailing off Portland, Maine on the Timberwind schooner.
In Portland, Maine. Took Casco Bay ferry to Peaks Island and Erin drove us around on a golf cart. Back on mainland and found Rí Rá Irish pub to watch second half of France-Morocco game (with a proper Guinness).
Tap & Barrel tavern in Bar Harbor was perfect place to recover from hiking Acadia’s Cadillac Mountain, watch the second half of the exciting Argentina-Egypt match, and enjoy good food (roasted beet salad and Amber grilled cheese were delish) and a beer (Orono summer ale).