Thoughts on Starting the AT in Winter

I've set my start date for the Appalachian Trail for the first or second week in February. Exact date TBD.

Advantages:
1) I'll get a good head start on the crowds. And,  being ahead of them, won't have to deal with the trashed conditions that they reputedly leave in their wake.
2) I'll have extra time to take an easier pace for the sake of my injuries, and still get to Maine in time (Mt.  Katahdin, the northern end of the trail, closes on October 15th).
3) I'll avoid some of the worst heat by doing the southern portions before summer.

Disadvantages:
1) It will be cold.
2) I'll have to carry a heavier pack during the earlier stages. Because it will be cold.
3) It will put me in the highest elevations, in the Smokies, in early spring, where apparently, according to all the trail wisdom I've been able to find, it will be cold.

However, since one of my principal goals is to complete the final stages of my weight loss,  the cold will actually work to my advantage. Colder temperatures mean more calories burned, as does extra weight carried.

Also, I like a challenge. In case you didn't already figure that out about me. I'm actually looking forward to climbing some of those frozen, windswept mountains above the treeline. I see it as a complement to my trek through the Florida swamps. Next I need to plan a hike through the desert, so I will have conquered all the types of challenging terrain the country has to offer. Hm...maybe a PCT through-hike next? And then maybe a snowshoeing journey through someplace wide and flat and really cold.

No need to worry about me though: I've bought plenty of winter gear. A 5 degree sleeping bag, silk underwear, two layers of wool, an outer layer of down, and a waterproof, windproof gore tex shell layer. Even got myself a pair of crampons (strongly recommended by previous winter AT hikers) so I don't slide off a mountain, and ski goggles so I don't get blinded by bad weather and get lost. I'll end up carrying most of it most of the time, but those few times I do use it, it will be essential. Better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it. Especially when you're talking about gear for staying alive in the cold.

Most of the time, while I'm walking, I'll only be wearing the light merino wool layer under my regular clothes, plus the gore tex if it's wet or windy; overheating is a greater concern while I'm moving than hypothermia. The rest of it is for after I stop. Climbing hills and carrying a pack, you sweat even when it's cold, and that plus fatigue equals getting chilled very quickly. So you have to carry a dry set of warm things to change into, plus you need much more insulation when you're sedentary in camp (and the temperature drops at night), including a dry change of hat, gloves, and footwear. So for camp, I have the silk liner layer, expedition-weight wool, and a down jacket and primaloft pants, over which I can wear the gore tex again if I need to, along with down booties and super-thick mountaineering socks. I also bought the extra cold weather shell for my hammock, and a merino wool sleeping bag liner. And if it gets ridiculously cold, I'm carrying two space blankets; there's this thing you can do where you put them over and under the hammock to reflect your heat back in.

Yeah, it sounds like I'm preparing for an expedition to the arctic. But not really: the stuff I've got is much lighter than what you'd wear someplace really cold, like Antarctica or Mt. Everest, or even far north like Canada. Here's the thing, though: winter is still winter, even in the South, and it gets cold enough to be seriously dangerous up in the mountains, even the relatively low Appalachians. We're talking about single-digit temperatures fairly regularly at night, and possibly sub-zero on occasion. And being stuck out in that kind of cold without adequate warm gear, in addition to being dangerous and potentially deadly, is just plain miserable. I speak from experience. Most of us have never been more than a few minutes' walk from somewhere heated and sheltered when it's cold: even if we're out away from buildings, we have our cars to retreat to, and to get us back to safety. But when you're outside all day and all night, every day, hours from shelter or even the nearest road, you have to plan for the worst and be prepared for any kind of weather you can realistically expect for wherever you are. So I'm going prepared for anything down to temperatures of ten or twenty below when I'm camped, and heavy snow and strong winds while I'm moving. If it gets worse than that, I'll have to get off the trail: bringing along arctic parka and snowshoes just isn't practical (although people who hike the northern sections of the AT in winter do routinely take those things).

In other news, the VA has very kindly scheduled me for a consult with a plastic surgeon, to repair the damage left by my weight loss. I am surprised but gratified; they are, after all, always on us about losing weight. So once I get back from my hike, having lost ALL the remaining fat, I'll be able to finally and totally put that part of my life to rest. The surgery will not only fix my skin, but will involve liposuctioning the adipose cells, which never otherwise go away (they only shrink; which is why it is so hard for formerly fat people to keep it off: the fat cells are just waiting there to start storing calories again.)

I have no intention nor desire to ever go back to eating the way I did which got me fat. But it will be an enormous relief to be able to just eat healthy and exercise, and not have to endlessly worry about every single calorie for the rest of my life because my body is constantly fighting against me and trying to get fat again. I would like to actually live, and not have that be the main focus of my existence.

Nisi Dominus - Cum Dederit

Except the Lord build the house, they labour in vain that build it:
except the Lord keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain.
It is vain for you to rise up early, to sit up late, to eat the bread of sorrows:
for he giveth to his beloved even in his sleep.
Lo, children are an heritage of the Lord:
and the fruit of the womb is his reward.
As arrows are in the hand of a mighty man;
so are children of the youth.
Happy is the man that hath his quiver full of them:
they shall not be ashamed,
but they shall speak with the enemies in the gate.
-- Psalm 127

T-rex DNA

I'm watching this documentary about the woman who found blood cells, soft tissue, and DNA in Tyrannosaur bones. Of course the "scientific community" says that's impossible. One "scientist" even said, "I don't care what the data says, it's simply not possible," which pretty much sums up what's wrong with the whole crew of them.

As she's discussing this, Dr. Schweitzer says that she thinks DNA is much hardier than anyone ever believed. But I have an alternative hypothesis: the fossils aren't as old as you're assuming. Every culture on earth has stories, art, and histories of giant, terrifying lizard-things. And when we dig in the ground, we find the bones of giant, terrifying lizard-things. 2+2=4.

So, for example, here's a passage from the Bible; Job 41, to be exact:

Canst thou draw out leviathan with an hook? or his tongue with a cord which thou lettest down?
Canst thou put an hook into his nose? or bore his jaw through with a thorn?
Will he make many supplications unto thee? will he speak soft words unto thee?
Will he make a covenant with thee? wilt thou take him for a servant for ever?
Wilt thou play with him as with a bird? or wilt thou bind him for thy maidens?
Shall the companions make a banquet of him? shall they part him among the merchants?
Canst thou fill his skin with barbed irons? or his head with fish spears?
Lay thine hand upon him, remember the battle, do no more.
Behold, the hope of him is in vain: shall not one be cast down even at the sight of him?
None is so fierce that dare stir him up: who then is able to stand before me?
Who hath prevented me, that I should repay him? whatsoever is under the whole heaven is mine.
I will not conceal his parts, nor his power, nor his comely proportion.
Who can discover the face of his garment? or who can come to him with his double bridle?
Who can open the doors of his face? his teeth are terrible round about.
His scales are his pride, shut up together as with a close seal.
One is so near to another, that no air can come between them.
They are joined one to another, they stick together, that they cannot be sundered.
By his neesings a light doth shine, and his eyes are like the eyelids of the morning.
Out of his mouth go burning lamps, and sparks of fire leap out.
Out of his nostrils goeth smoke, as out of a seething pot or caldron.
His breath kindleth coals, and a flame goeth out of his mouth.
In his neck remaineth strength, and sorrow is turned into joy before him.
The flakes of his flesh are joined together: they are firm in themselves; they cannot be moved.
His heart is as firm as a stone; yea, as hard as a piece of the nether millstone.
When he raiseth up himself, the mighty are afraid: by reason of breakings they purify themselves.
The sword of him that layeth at him cannot hold: the spear, the dart, nor the habergeon.
He esteemeth iron as straw, and brass as rotten wood.
The arrow cannot make him flee: slingstones are turned with him into stubble.
Darts are counted as stubble: he laugheth at the shaking of a spear.
Sharp stones are under him: he spreadeth sharp pointed things upon the mire.
He maketh the deep to boil like a pot: he maketh the sea like a pot of ointment.
He maketh a path to shine after him; one would think the deep to be hoary.
Upon earth there is not his like, who is made without fear.
He beholdeth all high things: he is a king over all the children of pride.

Now, whether you believe in the Bible or not, this is literary evidence. If you're a Christian, then it's kinda important because it's God himself speaking. If you're not, it's still a record of some creature that the writer had direct knowledge of--it occurs in a list of real-world animals and their descriptions, not mythological or fanciful ones. So, with that description in mind, look at these two pictures:

The top one is a saltwater crocodile skeleton. The bottom is, obviously, a Tyrannosaurus Rex. Imagine the Tyrannosaur living amphibiously in deep water, like the crocodile, hunting as an ambush predator, like the crocodile. That would explain its huge back legs and tiny front ones: the back legs were used to swim and to propel the T-rex out of the water to catch its prey, whereas the front ones were just for paddling. Like this:

This is just some very basic deduction: I'm not a scientist. What I'm saying is that the Scientists' pre-formed assumptions and prejudices are blinding them to the actual data. They're unable to form any conclusions or hypotheses that may be contrary to their dogmatically-held positions and intellectual idols.

Guys, your whole time-line is off. The theory that dinosaurs died out 65 million years ago, along with the entire system of extreme ages, was created because the scientists needed the time to be that long, in order for their Darwinist theories to be correct. It's all based on equations, and as anyone who's taken basic algebra should understand, an equation is only as accurate as the variables you plug into it. So, if you need your time periods to be millions of years, you start plugging in one of the variables until you get something that seems to work with the others. But it's basically guess-work. The same equation could work with much smaller numbers.

Does that mean the Earth is only 6,000 years old? Not necessarily. I believe that, in order to take the Bible as literally true, we have to assume that Man is only about 6,000 years old, because of the genealogies. But the Earth itself, and animal life, could be much older. But a truly scientific, unbiased view of the evidence reveals that there are many and major holes in the millions and millions of years theory. Remember the coelacanth?

I couldn't find a clip of the bit I wanted, but here's a taste of the documentary. The whole thing is available on Netflix, under the title "Dinosaurs: the Hunt for Life".

addendum: Here's another contender for the identity of Job's leviathan--Deinosuchus. This one is recognized as a water-dweller; he's basically a giant crocodile. I'd say a crocodile-like creature big enough to prey on T-rex would be scary enough to warrant the description given in Job. But, of course, they also are supposed to have been extinct millions of years before Man existed, as were all the other giant crocodilians in the fossil record, if "their" theories are correct.

"You're why cavemen chiseled on walls."

This should have gone with my post about paleolithic art, but it didn't occur to me until later. This is exactly what I was trying to say.

Back on the Trail

I was idly browsing on REI the other day, and happened across the perfect backpack. I'd been thinking of getting one for a while, ever since my cross-continental hike ended prematurely, but it's really hard to find the right one for my size. Most non-military packs aren't made to accommodate my shoulder width or chest girth. Also, I dislike the bright colors civilian outdoor gear typically comes in. And it was marked way down, to less than a third of its original price.

So I figured, well, since I bought a new pack, I may as well get the rest of the lightweight gear I need, including the replacement for the tent that was destroyed in the storm my last night on the trail (I went with one of these nifty hammocks), and a new sleeping bag that weighs 1/4 what the army one I carried does. And, while I was at it, I figured I'd go ahead and get the thing I'd been looking on REI for in the first place, a super-cool featherweight titanium cook/mess kit and pretty much the smallest/lightest stove in the world which, not coincidentally, fits right inside the mess kit, along with its fuel canister.

And then I figured, well, since I've got all this new stuff, I may as well hike the AT. 

I'm hoping to leave in late February or early March; I want to get a jump on the "bubble", when the bulk of other people start from Georgia in April. That'll mean I'll have some cold nights during the early part of my hike, but I'm getting extra insulating layers for my new hammock, which I can send home to save weight when the weather warms enough, along with a few clothing items.

Between my weight loss and the significantly lightened load, I'll be carrying well over a hundred pounds less than before. I think that, combined with my nifty new high-tech knee brace, will allow me to finish this time. Just to give you an idea of the old/new weight ratio, here are some of the major gear items:

Old
Empty Pack - 12 lbs.
Sleeping Bag - 10 lbs.
Tent, Poles, Stakes, and Sleeping Pad - 9 lbs.
Stove with fuel, Full Fuel Bottle, Mess Kit, Canteen Cup - 5.5 lbs.

New
Empty Pack - 5 lbs.
Sleeping Bag - 2.5 lbs.
Hammock with extra insulating layers for cold weather - 3.5 lbs.
Stove, Cook/Mess Kit. + 2 Fuel Canisters - 1.5 lbs.

So that's 24 pounds saved right there. That alone would make a major difference, and I'm going to try and save even more, and keep my total weight carried between 35 and 45 lbs., including food and water. I hike twice a week on the AT right now with 25, and don't even really feel the pack, so if I could come in at around 35 that would be ideal.

The main thing I need to find is a pet-sitter. Either someone to check in a couple of times a week and refill his food and make sure the house hasn't burned down, or a full-fledged housesitter.

My daughter, and one of my granddaughters, at her friend's wedding. For some reason the photgrapher only got one of the twins. Aren't they pretty?

"Life is mostly froth and bubble,

   Two things stand like stone,

KINDNESS in another’s trouble,

   COURAGE in your own."

-- Adam Lindsay Gordon

I Didn't Love You

I didn't love you for your pretty face;

Although I loved your modest, quiet beauty

from the very first moment I saw you.

But it wasn't for your face that I loved you.

I didn't love you for your sparkling eyes;

Although I loved your bright, bewitching glance

that conquered me like no army ever could.

But it wasn't for your eyes that I loved you.

I didn't love you for your gentle voice;

Although I loved your enchanting song and speech:

every note, every word like honey.

But it wasn't for your voice that I loved you.

I didn't love you for your luminous charm;

Although I loved your captivating ways—

your electric, intoxicating femininity.

But it wasn't for your charm that I loved you.

I didn't love you for your brilliant mind;

Although I loved your deep, perceptive heart,

your keen, intriguing thoughts and clever wit.

But it wasn't for your mind that I loved you.

I didn't love you for your delicate form;

Although I loved it, elegant and exquisite.

Every curve, every line, perfection.

But it wasn't for your shape that I loved you.

I loved you because your soul touched mine;
and when it did,

for the first time,

I felt like I was Home.

-- M.S. du Pré

Paleolithic Flute in Pentatonic Scale

This is fascinating. It lends credence to the view that music is universal and not cultural.

The same documentary from which this clip comes shows the oldest known human art as well--cave paintings in France and sculptures in southern Germany. Beautiful, very moving, almost 3-dimensional representations of animals now extinct, in many cases giving us evidence for what they looked like outside where before we only had bones.

And returning to universality, the very oldest cave painting and the very oldest sculpture ever found share a subject: guess what?

(the bear and the bison were superimposed later)

Not that I'm suggesting some kind of crude, puerile interpretation of this; rather, I think it reflects something of the sublime nature of art, beauty, love, and their relation to life on earth that these earliest attempts from thousands of years ago share with the masterworks from the pinnacle of Western civilization, just a century or four ago. Makes you wonder if the purpose of building the first musical instruments was romancing cave girls. It's too bad they didn't have a system of writing: I'd love to know about their poetry.

Beauty and the Beast

I'm quite looking forward to this; I hope it's as good as Cinderella. Beauty and the Beast is my favorite fairy tale. Guess why.

A Drinking Song

Wine comes in at the mouth 

And love comes in at the eye; 

That’s all we shall know for truth 

Before we grow old and die. 

I lift the glass to my mouth, 

I look at you, and I sigh.

-- William Butler Yeats

"Whatever she does, she does charmingly, and all of her actions are gracious. Her gentleness is so attractive, her kindness so engaging, her modesty so adorable . . . Oh! Elise, I wish you had seen her!"
-- Moliere, The Miser

Praise the Lord, ye servants. O praise the Name of the Lord.

Blessed be the Name of the Lord, from this time forth, for evermore.

The Lord's Name is to be praised,
from the rising of the sun unto the going down of the same.

The Lord is high above all nations, and His Glory above the heavens.

Who is like unto the Lord our God, that hath His dwelling so high, 

and yet humbleth Himself to behold the things that are in heaven and earth!

He taketh up the simple out of the dust, and lifteth the poor out of the mire;

that he may set him with the princes, even with the princes of his people.

He maketh the barren woman to keep house,

and to be a joyful mother of children.

-- Psalm 113

-- Theodore Roosevelt

It's Been A Long, Long Time . . . .

Bing Crosby and Les Paul

Violin Song #1

Hope Deferred

Summer is come again. The sun is bright,

And the soft wind is breathing. Airy joy

Is sparkling in thine eyes, and in their light

My soul is shining. Come; our day's employ

Shall be to revel in unlikely things,

In gayest hopes, fondest imaginings,

And make-believes of bliss. Come, we will talk

Of waning moons, low winds, and a dim sea,

Till this fair summer, deepening as we walk,

Has grown a paradise for you and me.

But ah, those leaves!--it was not summer's mouth

Breathed such a gold upon them. And look there--

That beech how red! See, through its boughs half-bare,

How low the sun lies in the mid-day south!--

'Tis but a wandering memory that hath shone

Back from the summer mourning to be gone.

See, see the dead leaves falling! Hear thy heart,

Which, changing ever as seasons come and go,

Takes in the changing world its mournful part,

Return a sigh, an echo sad and low

To the faint, half inaudible sound

With which the leaf goes whispering to the ground!

O love, the winter lieth at the door--

Behind the winter, age and something more.

-- George MacDonald, Violin Songs and Other Poems

Love Vigilantes

Happy Veteran's Day, brothers.

"Love demands a firm, courageous heart."

-- Moliere

"Presently the fairies began to bestow their gifts on the princess. The youngest ordained that she should be the most beautiful person in the world; the next, that she should have the temper of an angel; the third, that she should do everything with a wonderful grace; the fourth, that she should dance to perfection; the fifth, that she should sing like a nightingale; and the sixth, that she should play every kind of music with the utmost skill." -- Charles Perrault, The Sleeping Beauty

"There is no wall so high it shuts out slander."

-- Moliere

Skip James - Devil Got My Woman

Don't come by my house tonight. I'm going to be spending some quality time with a bottle of whiskey.

Joshua Bell - Dance of the Blessed Spirits

There's always something else beautiful to discover.

"'Tch,' say they, 'how should God perceive it? Is there knowledge in the Most High?' Lo, these are the ungodly, these prosper in the world, and these have riches in posession. And then I said, 'Then have I cleansed my heart in vain, and washed my hands in naivety.'
All the day long have I been punished, and chastened every morning. Yea, and I had almost said even as they; but lo, then I should have condemned the generation of Thy children.

Then thought I to understand this, but it was too hard for me."

-- Psalm 73:12-16

"See that ye love one another with a pure heart fervently."

-- 1 Peter 1:22

"You have bewitched me body and soul, and I love, I love, I love you. And wish from this day forth never to be parted from you."

-- Jane Austen

I'm watching Pride & Prejudice again, and I've only now noticed for the first time that the younger sisters are Carey Mulligan and Jena Malone. Adorable. I love it so when girls are just unapologetically girls.

I'm not so naive as to believe that that time, or any time in this world's history, was a golden age or a paradisical utopia (other than Paradise itself, of course). But there are so many beautiful, good, and lovely things which we've now lost.

I wonder, too, that the feminists who've spent the last half or three quarters of a century diligently destroying every vestige of gentility and chivalry under the names of patriarchy and patronization have not yet figured out that all the centuries and millennia of accumulated rules, manners, etiquette, and customs were men's way of understanding (or at least attempting to, anyway), accommodating, and protecting women. Imperfect, to be sure. But compare the behavior of antique gentlemen to the misogynistic, violent, abusive, porn-addicted rape culture of this generation of males (I will not name them men), and judge for yourself which is better. I know which I prefer; and for that I offer no apologies.

No Compromise

This is my favorite Christian song. (Contemporary, that is--not including all the great hymns, psalms, choral masterpieces, and sacred music of the past.) This song pretty much defines the essence of my spiritual life; and indeed, played a major part in shaping it. Even as a young boy, I deeply and instinctively admired those who stood uncompromising against great opposition and at great cost; Elijah, John the Baptist, Daniel and his friends.... The picture above (which is the cover of the album from which this song comes) illustrates it beautifully.

I watched the new Cinderella movie again recently, and as it did the first time, it moved me profoundly. "Have courage and be kind". Even so.

Something Beautiful

Here's something to dream over; a complete set of first edition Andrew Lang fairy books.

This, I think, was the art of bookmaking at its highest. The beauty of the exterior was as magical as that of the interior, and it was as appealing to the eye as it was to the imagination. One can imagine how having a set of books like this in the nursery could have nourished the intellect and stirred the imagination of a Victorian child. If it had been me, I think I could have been content to have dwelt alone with my books and my dreams. Even now, I would love to have these in my library. I could spend countless hours lost in Fairyland.

"I say Wolf, for all wolves are not of the same sort; there is one kind with an amenable disposition – neither noisy, nor hateful, nor angry, but tame, obliging and gentle, following the young maids in the streets, even into their homes. Alas! Who does not know that these gentle wolves are of all such creatures the most dangerous!"

-- Charles Perrault, original author of Little Red Riding Hood

The Final Phase

I ended my fast four weeks ago. I bottomed out at 189 pounds and 18.7% bodyfat.

The past month has been one of rest and recovery: it takes the body some time to adjust to eating again after six months of being deprived. The digestive system has got to come back online, and the body has to rebuild its stores of glycogen and whatnot. There is inevitably some significant weight gain--it's unavoidable--but most of it is just muscles being replenished and re-bulked. So after a month of resting and eating--clean, healthy food, but as much of it as I wanted (with the exception of one night I allowed myself for eating pizza, donuts, gummi bears, and chocolate. And beer!), I'm at 212 and 21% bodyfat. That means that out of 23 pounds re-gained I've only put on 3% bf, or about 6 pounds, which really is not bad at all; like I said, it's just unavoidable, because when you end a fast your body goes into hardcore, overtime fat-storage mode. It's a survival mechanism.

So, now for the final phase of my fitness quest: tightening and toning. I've decided not to go back to the gym for now, and leave weights alone completely--I really don't need to add any more bulk; if my arms get much bigger, I'm going to have to get my shirts tailor-made. Instead, I'm going to focus on functional strength and overall athleticism, doing bodyweight exercises and concentrating on good form. My current workout is:

3x/week:
3 sets of 10 good morning squats; an exercise of my own creation, which combines a prison squat with a good-morning to work the lower back.

3 sets of 10 perfect pushups; no fudging, body plank-stiff, chest all the way to the floor.

3 sets of 10 incline pullups. I'm not quite where I can do that many regular pullups yet.

3 sets of 10 burpees. Hoorah! Burpees are the the exercise that makes you feel like you're exercising.

3 sets of 20 situps. Again, no fudging: no rocking or bouncing, except maybe at the very end to get a little beyond muscle failure.

Full-body stretching. Few things feel as good as a really good, long, slow stretch after a hard workout. And with all my injuries, it's a necessity.

2x/week
A hike on the Appalachian Trail, with a light day-pack (and a high-tech knee brace). Up the mountain, rest, and back down, about 3 miles.

Diet: about 2,000 calories/day of good, clean, healthy food. Chicken, eggs, tuna, fresh vegetables & fruit, Ezekiel bread, olive oil. My biggest challenge these days is actually limiting my fruit intake: I LOVE fruit now. It's fun to have a pizza and candy night now and then, but I really don't even crave that stuff anymore. I'll save it for holidays and special occasions.

The final goal is to get back down to about 189, but with more muscle mass; at somewhere between 10 and 12% bodyfat. Which looks like this:

Espouse Obfuscation

Sometimes I love this stuff for the sheer density of its language. Like the satisfaction you get from chewing on something really dense and crunchy.

"Nay, even if Plato thinks there exists one [world] of which this of ours is the image, that likewise must necessarily have similarly to undergo mutation; inasmuch as, if it is a 'world,' it will consist of diverse substances and offices, answerable to the form of that which is here the 'world': for 'world' it will not be if it be not just as the 'world' is. Things which, in diversity, tend to unity, are diverse by demutation. In short, it is their vicissitudes which federate the discord of their diversity. Thus it will be by mutation that every 'world' will exist whose corporate structure is the result of diversities, and whose attemperation is the result of vicissitudes. At all events, this hostelry of ours is versiform, --a fact which is patent to eyes that are closed, or utterly Homeric." -- Tertullian, On the Pallium

All this (and this is only a small extract from the entire argument) to say that "change is natural". This is why I love reading the old translations rather than contemporary ones: the Victorian and other pre-modern translators didn't try to dumb it down. They assumed that their readers would be intelligent and educated. This is why I don't like modern Bible translations, either--as translations, that is--the texts on which they are based is a different question. For instance, the Orthodox Study Bible I've been reading bases its translation of the Septuagint on the New King James version, and it seriously irritates me by translating what was, in the Authorized Version, translated as "stranger" in the Law as "resident alien". As in, "Remember that you were resident aliens in Egypt". Why? Is "stranger" too difficult for moderns to understand, or is it somehow politically incorrect? Every time I read it, I get a picture of Mexicans and green cards.

J.S. Bach - Toccata and Fugue in D Minor: Amy Turk, Harp

I'm speechless. A completely different perspective on both the harp and this piece. Magnificent.

Miss Meadows

This may be my new favorite movie.

A very well-done, darkly twisted (yet surprisingly deep) story. Of course, the premise is kind of silly, and the whole thing is rather tongue-in-cheek, but it works. And most of all, Katie Holmes captures that indefinable quality of feminine Charm as no one has since Julie Andrews played Mary Poppins--the kind of allure that makes a man say that he'll marry her in federal prison if he has to. And mean it.

I've only met one woman in my entire life who has that kind of unique loveliness. I don't know if it's the times, or if they were always so rare, although I suspect the former. If so, something beautiful has gone out of the world, and the world is a poorer place for it.

Father

Thirty years ago today, I first became a father.

The first child is the one you make the most mistakes with. And especially when you're so young, like I was, it's easy to get sidetracked, and hardened, and forget who you are. You get on a path because you think you're being responsible and realistic, and doing the right thing, and you become someone else; someone you neither recognize nor like. And the ones who depend on you are the ones who pay the highest price.

Lord, forgive my many, many mistakes as a father, and be a Father to them in those places where I failed.

"When you've found out who God wants you to be, you'll never want to be anyone else."

-- Bill Johnson

We Know it Was You

Congratulations to my dear friend Maggie on the release of her second book! So proud of her. This one's a mystery novel for young people, and is superbly written, with crisp, sharp, and smart prose, interesting, nuanced, and unconventional characters, and themes that are complex, layered, and thought-provoking. Maggie has addressed some very deep and controversial subjects, while maintaining an intriguing story and an atmosphere of fun and humor, as only a truly masterful writer can, and produced something genuinely unique and memorable. Well done, sweetie! I love you.

Peter, Paul, and Mary - Wedding Song

I had completely forgotten that this song existed. It's one of those that gets overdone until it becomes so mushy, cliché, and sentimental that you get sick of it and start to hate it. All through the seventies and into the eighties, it was everywhere. Every time Hollywood needed to make a horrible "modern" wedding scene with self-written vows (gag) and artificial tears, this was the song they schlepped out.

But it popped up on my recommendations after I posted the other Peter, Paul, and Mary song yesterday, and after a break of thirty years or so from hearing it, I'm able to appreciate it again; it's quite lovely, both in its music and its sentiments. (I also never realized when I was younger how beautiful Mary was.)

Or maybe I've just become a sentimental fool.

I've composed another masterpiece, just now, while working in the garden. Sing it to your favorite tune.

Who's that grunting in my forest?
Are you a bear or are you a boar?
Are you a big, bad buck in rut?
Or are you just an itty bitty bunny?

Peter, Paul, and Mary - The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face

I'd never heard this rendition of this song before. Beautiful.

"It was like people just lined up to let her down, and then acted like it was her own fault for expecting anything else. If there was one thing she'd learned in Florida, it was how much people will resent you for expecting them to be anything but predictable and petty and passionless." -- Maggie Thrash, We Know it was You

Kathy's Song - Simon and Garfunkel

Sweet Thing

Final Results

 Have to re-hang the gate: it was done kinda half-assed like everything else the previous owner did, and it's not lining up properly (the big rock is to keep it closed for now).

 The deer had been at my strawberry leaves, and I was all set to stock my freezer with venison. Waited up for them early in the morning with my rifle, then saw that it was two does with fawns, and my soft-heartedness got the better of me.

I want to add a little white picket fence around the edge once the grass is fully established.

Beck - Ramona

I love this movie. And I love this song. The band in this movie is the best made-up fake Hollywood band since the Monkees.

Evidence for the above opinion:
Exhibit A:

Exhibit B:

Exhibit C:

Exhibit D:

Verdict: Sex Bob-Omb Rocks.

Free - Be My Friend

100 Years of of Armored Warfare

Today is the 100th anniversary of the first tank assault, at the battle of the Somme in France.

Try to imagine yourself as a German soldier in the trenches. You're exhausted, miserable, scared, cold, wet, and demoralized because the war has been stalemated for so long, and because of the enormous death toll on both sides. You're carrying a bolt-action rifle, and the new invention, the machine-gun, is the terrifying reason you're bogged down in these trenches. You grew up in a world of horses, carriages, woodstoves, and gas lights. Electricity and motor vehicles are novelties of the wealthy; your milk back home is still delivered by a horse and cart, the fields are plowed by horse-drawn plows, and both armies still have horse-mounted cavalry (although they've been rendered ineffective by machineguns and modern artillery). You may have seen a tractor once or twice in your life.

Then, early in the morning, after a heavy artillery barrage, you see rolling toward you with a deafening thunder of huge engines and the squeak and clank of steel tracks, thirty-two of these monstrosities:




You've never heard of, or imagined such a thing. Their development has been kept a total secret by the British government until this moment (in fact, that's why we still call them 'tanks' to this day: Tank was a code-name assigned to hide what they were really doing, making it seem like they were working on some kind of water-storage system. The original, official name was "land ships" and they were part of the Royal Navy).

My respects, both to the very first brave tankers who hazarded the inside of these experimental rolling beasts, filled with exhaust fumes, burning cordite, and deafening noise, and trying to do their duty while being thrown about the hard steel compartment by the movement of the vehicle over rough terrain, and to the infantrymen on the ground who had to face them.

Victory

It's still sinking in, that the battle with my weight is over. My whole life. Since my parents' divorce, when I was six. And now I've finally won--all that's left now is taking captives and riding down fleeing peasants. And burying the dead.

Not that we can become complacent. There will come a time of feasting and revelry soon, but then we've got to build castles on the borderlands, and establish patrols to watch out for new invaders. We must remain vigilant.

But I need to be clear: this is not my victory.

Non nobis, Domine, non nobis, sed nomine Tuo da gloriam.

194

My weight starts with a 1.

Putting up my Fence

 

And that will be the last thing for this summer's work--my orchard and vinyard will be DONE.

200 Pounds!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Well, here it is, as promised: 200 pounds, baby! Yeah!

As I expected, I still need to take off another 10-15 pounds and tighten things up a bit; drop down to about 12% bodyfat, so my skin can recover. Then I'll start eating and working out again, and put 10 or 15 back on in muscle: I've had to sacrifice some muscle to lose all this fat. But that's One Hundred and Fifty Pounds that I've lost!

What I'm NOT going to do: get a fake tan and ridiculous tooth-whitening, shave my body, and generally become one of those ridiculous mid-life crisis narcissists who you see in the ads and fitness magazines. I will have to buy some new clothes, though. Even these pants, which I bought about two months ago, are too big now.

What a beautiful day...feels like Autumn is coming.

"A writer is a person for whom writing is more difficult than it is for other people."

-- Thomas Mann

Beethoven String Quartet No. 14 C Sharp Minor: 6th movement

"Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God." -- Matt 5:8

"Who is pure in heart? Only those who have surrendered their hearts completely to Jesus that he may reign in them alone. Only those whose hearts are undefiled by their own evil--and by their own virtues too. The pure in heart have a child-like simplicity like Adam before the fall, innocent alike of good and evil: their hearts are not ruled by their conscience, but by the will of Jesus. If men renounce their own good, if in penitence they have renounced their own hearts, if they rely solely upon Jesus, then his word purifies their hearts. Purity of heart is here contrasted with all outward purity, even the purity of high intentions. The pure heart is pure alike of good and evil, it belongs exclusively to Christ and looks only to him who goes on before. Only they will see God, who in this life have looked solely unto Jesus Christ, the Son of God. For then their hearts are free of all defiling phantasies and are not distracted by conflicting desires and intentions. They are wholly absorbed by the contemplation of God. They shall see God, whose hearts have become a reflection of the image of Jesus Christ." -- Dietrich Bonhoeffer

210!

I'll post pictures at 200.

"It matters more that heaven should exist than that any of us should ever get there."

"In deepest solitude there is a road right out of the self, a commerce with something which, by refusing to identify itself with any object of the senses, or anything of which we have biological or social need, or anything imagined, or any state of our own minds, proclaims itself sheerly objective." -- C.S. Lewis

"We give thanks to Thee for Thy great glory." -- Book of Common Prayer

"I Am." -- God

"When Christ calls a man, he bids him come and die."

-- Dietrich Bonhoeffer, The Cost of Discipleship

Strawberries!

And visitors...

Yard Finished

Here's where my lawn is going to be.

Had to bring all this dirt in with my pickup and a shovel to build it up. The stones for the embankment were already here, of course. My truck is filthy. So am I, come to that.

I can't plant yet: too hot right now. I'll wait until late August, and that will also allow it to be rained on several times to help pack it down, and I'll go over it a few more times with the rake and the tamper to get it as flat as possible. I may rent a roller when I plant the grass.

"Who stands fast? Only the man whose final standard is not his reason, his principles, his conscience, his freedom, or his virtue, but who is ready to sacrifice all this when he is called to obedient and responsible action in faith and in exclusive allegiance to God--the responsible man, who tries to make his whole life an answer to the question and call of God." -- Dietrich Bonhoeffer

Shakey Graves - Late July

Why is the world of media and pop culture filled with such absolute crap when there are young musicians like this out there making real music?

"There are three things beautiful to see; beautiful before the Lord and men: the harmony of brothers, friendship between neighbors, and a wife and husband well-adjusted together." -- Ecclesiasticus 25:1

Bonhoffer on Learning Spiritual Endurance

"I'm not quite sure how we have largely got into a way of thinking which is positively dangerous. We think that we are acting particularly responsibly if every other week we take another look at the question whether the way on which we have set out is the right one. It is particularly noticeable that such a 'responsible reappraisal' always begins the moment serious difficulties begin to appear. We then speak as though we no longer had 'a proper joy and certainty' about this way, or, still worse, as though God and his Word were no longer as clearly present with us as they used to be. In all this we are ultimately trying to get round what the New Testament calls 'patience' and 'testing'. Paul, at any rate, did not begin to reflect whether his way was the right one when opposition and suffering threatened, nor did Luther. They were both quite certain and glad that they should remain disciples and followers of their Lord. Dear brethren, our real trouble is not doubt about the way upon which we have set out, but our failure to be patient, to keep quiet. We still cannot imagine that today God really doesn't want anything new for us, but simply to prove us in the old way. That is too petty, too monotonous, too undemanding for us. And we simply cannot be constant with the fact that God's cause us not always the successful one, that we really could be 'unsuccessful': and yet be on the right road. But this is where we find out whether we have begun in faith or in a burst of enthusiasm." -- Dietrich Bonhoeffer

Well, here's the vinyard finished.

And here's this year's berry harvest. This is just from the ones immediately around my house: didn't have time to get to the rest.

I hope all my other plants do as well as these wild berries; if so, I'll never lack for produce.

"Perhaps I seem to you rather fanatical and mad about a number of things. I myself am sometimes afraid of that. But I know that the day I become more "reasonable", to be honest, I should have to chuck my entire theology." -- Deitrich Bonhoeffer

"They were the happiest couple in that country, because they always understood each other, and that was because they always meant the same thing, and that was because they always loved what was fair and true and right better--not than anything else, but than everything else put together."

 -- George MacDonald, The Princess and Curdie

"One feels such a tremendous longing for real peace, in which all the misery and injustice, the lying and cowardice will come to an end."  -- Dietrich Bonhoeffer

So I was moving all the stones out of the orchard area, and thinking about how much lumber and hardware I'd need to bring in to build the planters around the trees...and I thought; "wait a minute...."

"They have but a poor knowledge of God, who suppose Him to be only capable of doing what comes within the compass of their own thoughts."

-- Tertullian, On the Resurrection of the Flesh

Hidden Treasure

Found this today about a hundred yards from my house: a mature American Chestnut! I'd estimate its height at about 30 ft. It's got catkins on it, which means it's old enough to bear nuts. Don't know if it will, as they usually require another tree nearby as a pollinator. But there's got to be something else out here that I haven't found yet, for all these young chestnuts to be growing: an older parent tree that is producing nuts. Because these trees are growing directly out of the ground, not sprouting from old stumps.

Psalm 62 - John Michael Talbot

I was singing this on my back porch this morning, and the birds gathered round and joined in. I felt like Orpheus or St. Francis.

That's my girl: get them started right early.

Orchard Complete

Finished building the grape trellis. All my grapes, berries, and fruit trees are planted. I already have blossoms on my strawberries and one apple tree. 

I still have to finish clearing and cleaning up the ground, to make it nice aesthetically and easier to get around on and maintain. Then fence it in, put the border frames around the trees, mulch, and plant my ground cover. But that can all be done at a more leisurely pace over the rest of the summer; the most urgent and important work is done.

Strawberry beds built. I'll plant this evening when it cools off.

Next up: grapes. I'm going to put them just below the strawberries. Grapes love rocky slopes, which is just fine with me; I have those in spades. So they won't be nearly as much work. Then I'll turn the area inside the retaing wall at the bottom of this section into another planter for the blueberries and cranberries. They both need acid soil (they're related) and have shallow roots, so for them I won't have to dig as deep: just clear out the rocks around where each bush is going, then fill the hole with good soil, compost, and peat moss.

After all the planting is done, I'll build a square frame around each tree, bush, and vine and lay down mulch. Then I'm going to clear out the big rocks from the entire area to create a relatively smooth surface, and let the grass, clover, and wood sorrel grow back over it, and add some lavender. Then fence it in and plant marigolds and crysanthemums along the fenceline: those two and lavender and clover repel pests and attract bees and butterflies.

Next project will be to bring in some more fill dirt and topsoil, and get the grass planted behind the house. Need to do that before working the vegetable garden so I can get the dump truck back here. Then, probably this fall, I'll have the guy in with the tractor to clear the rocks and plow up the subsoil in the garden, then bring in the topsoil and compost for that, and let it sit over the winter, during which time I'll put up fences for the garden and yard, and use some of this rock to build retaining walls where they're needed around those areas.

I've added a native plants area off to the side of the orchard. I've got hazelnuts, chinkapins (American dwarf chestnuts), and mulberries in now, and have wild plums and wild strawberries on the way. I'll also let the wild grapes, wineberries, and blackberries come back in there. I'm not going to fence that part. The idea is: a) have the wild fruit and nuts growing in a convenient location where I can get some; b) create a diversion for the wildlife to help keep them from my garden and orchard; c) share with them, because I like them; and d) let the native species spread and re-establish themselves in this forest. I'm also going to sow some deer feed mix down in the meadow below my orchard. I'm thinking I'll keep the taller trees cut back in that area to keep it as a meadow rather than letting it go back to forest.

Yesterday evening as I was out watering my trees, a yearling buck came out into the clearing and just browsed around, casual as could be, about twenty paces from me. I talked to him, and he looked up at me then just went about his business, completely unalarmed.

220...

Recalculating

I'm thinking that it may be best not to try and plant the vegetable garden this summer. Getting an idea of the amount of work and expense it's going to be to get it ready, it may just be impractical at this point to try and force it--it's almost too late to plant summer vegetables already. Judging by yesterday's labors, doing the entire vegetable garden by hand is going to be next to impossible--the strawberry plants only need 8-12 inches for their roots, but the garden needs to be worked to about 2 feet. So I'm looking at options, like hiring a guy with a tractor to come and drag the plot with a rock rake and/or bringing in some quality topsoil to put down. Parts of the garden have been cut down to the clay anyway in leveling it out, so they're going to need some good soil added back in.

Also, I need to bring in some topsoil to finish the yard area and plant the grass, and if I've already got the garden in, it's going to block access for the truck, and I'll have to cart the soil from the driveway one wheelbarrow full at a time.

Probably the best thing is to be patient, get it done right, and plant next spring. I may get some cool-weather fall vegetables in, in August--lettuces and broccoli and such. And I think I'll put some tomatoes in the large pots I've got the grapevines in now, once they're planted in the ground, and time them so that they'll be ready at the same time as the lettuce; at least get a few salads out of it this year. The key to a good plan is flexibility. I'd rather take longer and do it right than rush and do it poorly.

This will probably work out best anyway. It's looking like it will be at least August before I'm ready to start eating again, maybe later. I never know when I'm going to hit a plateau in my weight loss, and I don't really know exactly at what weight I'll be when I've reached my goal of proper bodyfat percentage; I'm judging by visual appearance more than scale weight.

A little disappointing, but the rewards will be worth it next year. I'm not going to get any fruit off my trees and vines this year anyway, so I'll just treat this as a preparatory year and next year it will begin paying off.

Rocks

Only managed to get the strawberry bed mostly done today. Spent all day digging up rocks...mostly pick and mattock work; my soil seems to be about 50% rock. I'm tired.

Some of the rocks I dug up today.

The rest of them. I'm going to use the rock to reinforce this bank.

Oh, and roots. That's the other thing I"ve been digging up.

Planting!

Today I finally got to go out and start digging and planting. There's nothing like working the land. It was man's first occupation, and still carries a resonance in the soul that brings one closer to God, nature, and one's self.

Today's work: got all my trees planted (except the two that haven't been delivered yet).

Tomorrow's work: gotta move all these rocks and prepare the beds for the grapes and berries.

My nosy neighbor came by to see what was going on around here.

It doesnt look like much yet--still a lot of work to be done. I'll make it look nice later. First things first.

Mike's rules for successful gardening:

1. Plan what you're going to grow, how much space you'll need, and where you're going to put it.

2. Purchase quality seeds and plants of the best varieties for your soil, space, and climate.

3. Prepare the soil. Can't stress this enough: it's what makes the difference between success and failure.

4. Plant. Do it right, and then water, water, water.

5. Protect your plants from animals, bugs, weeds, weather, and disease.

6. Then make it Pretty, if you have time.

7. Last but not least: my super-secret practice for healthy, abundant gardens--I Pray over my crops and bless them in Jesus' name.