J.R.R. #Tolkien was not above a pun, but I can’t tell if this one was intentional or not. Chapter 13 of the Silmarillion “On the Flight of the Noldor” says, “…there followed after long years of peace, while their swords fenced Beleriand…” What do you think?

A woodchuck was out in the corn stubble today, looking remarkably portly for March. Winter must not have been very hard. #willdlife

Started reading “Careless People”, aka the book Facebook doesn’t want you to read. So far, there’s been an earthquake, a shark attack, and an escape in evening dress from a ruined mesoamerican palace. And I’m only up to chapter 3! This is how to write a memoir. 📚

“He had an engaging callousness about the value of political lives which, if universally shared, would make democracy an enchantingly simple business.” #TheSaint, for the #IdesOfMarch

HOMICIDE, n.
The slaying of one human being by another. There are four kinds of homocide: felonious, excusable, justifiable, and praiseworthy, but it makes no great difference to the person slain whether he fell by one kind or another - the classification is for advantage of the lawyers.

Out front of the cemetery, there’s a sign advertising “Spring Special: Up to 20% off”. I guess the logic is something like, “the ground has thawed, so we’re passing the savings on to you!”

Running errands this afternoon, I got stuck behind a Maserati driving 10 mph below the speed limit. I think the driver must be unclear on the concept. #sportscars

One for the vegetable #gardening 🌱 experts: It looks like potash is going to get very expensive soon. What’s your go-to source for potassium?

The only money I spent today was at a taqueria where they know I speak ~5 words of Spanish, but like yanking my chain. I will put up with a lot from a good cook. #strike

Thank you, Germany, for making sure “Alice Überdeutschland” is still just a P.D.Q. Bach joke. #depol

Last fall I left the fallen leaves on my yard, following advice from the #gardening 🌱 people here, because beneficial insects lay their eggs under leaves. Right now, there are about two dozen extremely round robins flipping over leaves and eating whatever’s underneath. Guess it worked.

In the 20th Century, I was part of a payroll savings bond program. Because I procrastinate a lot, I never got around to converting them to electronic form on the Treasury website. They’re still a big stack of paper bonds in a safe-deposit box. I’m feeling accidentally smart right now… #uspol

The first time I went to a corporate #DEI seminar, it was because we were going to have a new type of co-workers who talk and act differently, and they wanted to be sure we could smoothly integrate Millennials into our work. Don’t know why I thought of that today.

“In two of the most anti-feminist institutions, the church and the law court, the men are wearing the dresses.” - Flo Kennedy

Buying perfume in Paris: A story

The last day of a business trip. I was looking for a present for my girlfriend at the Samaritaine department store. Perfume – that’s the ticket! Went up to the counter and before I said a word, the lady behind the counter handed me a little flask. “I’m looking for…” She said, “This is the right one.” I asked, “Don’t different women need different kinds of perfume?” She replied, “Of course! This is for a woman who’s tall, has blonde hair, is athletic, plays tennis.” I was stunned. Can their intelligence service be that good? “What color are her eyes?” I asked. “Blue, but that doesn’t matter for scent.”

Moral: never doubt a saleslady in France.

A walk around the cornfield in the snow revealed that a lot more rabbits live on the #farm than I thought. #winter

I miss the weird diction Chinese menus used to have. The proprietors of Chinese restaurants have been here for decades now; their English is too good. So I was delighted to encounter “Barbecued Fork with Vegetable” just now.

Listening to “In Our Time”, I learned that the Antikythera Mechanism may have been created as a thing to show off at parties. Nerds have been around longer than I thought. We are eternal!

Applause for the publishing genius/madman who is marketing the “Meditations” of Marcus Aurelius as a tie-in to the #Gladiator2 movie. #philosophy

Found this praying mantis catching rays on the south wall of the old barn. We had two freezes this week. Haven’t seen a grasshopper sincee October. But here she is, still. #mantids

Part of a window frame, part of a wall, and all of a five-inch-long mantis. In the Virginia mountains. In November.