Wan Smol Blog

Follow @antonzuiker on Micro.blog.

While my daughter hosted a party for 20 classmates to celebrate final day of freshman year, I worked in the kitchen to pit yesterday’s sour cherry harvest (daughters pitted 5 pounds earlier in the day) then prepare and can pie filling. Many pies to enjoy during the winter.

→ 11:41 PM, Jun 13

I was bummed last year to miss cherry picking at Levering Orchard - the one-day window for sour cherries was the day before our departure for the South Pacific. But today worked great. My daughter Anna went with me on the 2-hour drive to SW Virginia and we picked 4 buckets.

→ 1:15 PM, Jun 12

Fun time at Durham’s Beer Study for the Champions League final. Disappointing game but great energy among these Liverpool fans.

→ 5:03 PM, Jun 1

Late afternoon thunderstorms are drenching Chapel Hill, and the box turtles are on the move. Found two on the gravel driveway.

→ 7:01 PM, May 31

After a great week at work, I took a drive into the country with my daughter. First stop was Maple View Ice Cream, a heavenly spot I wish I could bring all the Micro.blog community to. Next stop a friend’s horse farm for a load of compost, the smell of hay, sounds of goats. #joy

→ 5:59 PM, May 24

Not your usual job title

When I was younger, I wanted to be a magazine editor (National Geographic, New Yorker). I didn't set out to be a communications director, but that's what I am now at Duke University, and I'm loving my job. Many days, though, I think of myself as a park ranger, but that title isn't among the thousands of job positions listed by Duke.

Anyway, I found this proposition by M.G. Siegler, in Reading the Room, to be intriguing:

Several years ago, I wrote a post outlining a need I saw for big companies: a VP of Devil’s Advocacy. That is, someone who could serve as a gut-check ahead of product launches, to make sure they should really go forward.

A friend of mine asked for career advice. I suggested he craft his own job title, and write his ideal job description, and then make it happen. I hope he does so. Maybe he’ll be a park ranger, or a vice president of reading the room.

→ 8:44 AM, May 22

Delighted that my friend Russ @RCC3NC is now using Micro.blog. His first ‘memory etching’ is up.

→ 6:54 PM, May 17

We received our new Kammok Mantis all-in-one hammock tent. Oliver and I will probably camp out back tomorrow night, and we’ll use the BioLite CampStove to make some dinner.

→ 6:51 PM, May 17

I changed name of my micro.blog to Wan Smol Blog, homage to Wan Smolbag Theatre Company in Vanuatu. I have great memories of watching them beneath the big Liro mango tree as they performed skits about importance of voting. In Bislama, ‘wan smol blog’ means one micro blog. ;)

→ 9:42 AM, May 10

Enjoyed a great show by Son Volt at Haw River Ballroom in Saxapahaw, NC, last night.

→ 9:22 AM, May 10

And these! Picking tomorrow morning. To become cocktail cherries for the old fashioneds to be enjoyed on summer evenings. (Will pick more cherries at Levering Orchard in Va next month.)

→ 8:18 PM, May 8

I wish I could share the delicious frangrance of the North Carolina honesuckle with y’all.

→ 7:07 PM, May 8

This little raccoon was in this spot under the big oak tree four days ago, alone. I moved it into a box 50 yards away to the abandoned shed and lost sight of it. Today it’s back under the oak. Not sure if the cats found it or momma raccoon is nearby.

→ 6:56 PM, May 8

Beauty in the backyard.

→ 6:48 PM, May 4

Oliver interviewed me for his third-grade music report. We covered Doudou N’Diaye Rose, barbershop quartets, the oboe and shakuhachi flute, Josh Ritter and Steve Earle and Taylor Swift, and cruising songs (my favorite: Pain by The War on Drugs).

→ 7:37 PM, May 2

As we make our property bird, bee, and butterfly friendly, the carpenter bees are methodically making Swiss cheese of our house and even the new swing hanging from the oak tree.

→ 11:19 AM, May 1

Walking up the path from the bus stop, I overturned a rock and saw this earth snake.

→ 7:05 AM, Apr 30

Oliver is 9 today and requested ‘burn your lips chicken,’ the family name for the Chicken with Asian-Style Sweet and Sour Sauce (recipe in The Best Recipe cookbook). I’m cooking, in the sailcloth apron I bought on the Roseway Schooner in St. Croix.

→ 6:35 PM, Apr 29

Why can’t we have chilli tuna in the U.S.A.? Such a luxury after a long day in the yard and garden. I now have just one can left from my trip to Australia.

→ 7:00 PM, Apr 28

Reviewing details about my town, Chapel Hill, NC. Found a map of the urban service area. Wondering if I can embed an iframe here and see it on my micro.blog.

→ 11:26 PM, Apr 24

The blackjack oak on the mill made for some beautiful slabs.

→ 10:02 PM, Apr 20

Yesterday’s big storm just missed us. Sawyer Randall is running late today for our milling project - we felled a few oak trees last month - to take calls from folks with downed trees from tornado that hit northwest of us.

→ 10:36 AM, Apr 20

Zuiker Family is camped out in the hallway as our area is under a tornado warning. House is still, outside is calm. Storm approaches.

→ 4:23 PM, Apr 19

We successfully pulled off a surprise birthday party for my wife, Erin. Friends and family had a good time showing her how much we appreciate all she does for us.

→ 8:59 AM, Apr 19

Pulled into a space on top level of parking deck at Duke and the shiny exhaust tubes on the medical sciences research building caught my eye. The tip of the crane is part of a big new hospital tower.

→ 9:10 AM, Apr 18