Bellingham Sunrise

 

Bellingham, Washington.

I've seen the sun rise every morning since I moved back here in February.

If you knew what a lazy S.O.B. I am by nature you'd be shocked.

People learn to adjust, I guess.

Cedar Fever

 

It's not hard to find these old metal plates on lots of the bigger cedar trees out here.  When the logging industry was in full swing, they were used to mark trees meant for processing into cedar shingles.

Don't blink, because the plates are everywhere once you know where to look.  (There are multiple ones on my Dad's property, for example.)

Bellingham Coyotes

 

When I came out here on February 1st my sister mentioned that something was "singing" in the backyard at night.  She went to college in Arizona, and she thought it sounded like coyotes.

Well, it turns out coyotes actually live out here in Bellingham as well (to my total surprise).

It seems like a mom has set up a den for these pups on corner of my Dad's property, or near it.

I managed to scare them away with the flash of my camera, but I hope to see them again soon.

"the whole biosphere is in trouble"

Are there too many people on Earth?  Probably!

Can we feed them all?  Yes, but with great damage to the planet itself:

"Even if another 4 billion people were added to the planet, as was being predicted at the time, Lam felt confident they could be fed. At last month’s webinar, he pointed out that population growth had slowed since 2011, with the addition of about 850 million people since then, while poverty had continued to decline and per capita food production had continued to increase. This was true even in sub-Saharan Africa, where food production lagged behind population growth until the last decade.

Becker, of Johns Hopkins University, objected both in 2011 and a decade on, not that it was impossible to feed 11 billion people, but that this prospect ignored the collateral damage to other species and to the planet for which humans would eventually pay. He pointed to Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) statistics showing that nearly 70% of fisheries are already fully or over-exploited. Others mentioned the shrinking stock of fresh water and the erosion of biodiversity. 'The whole biosphere is in trouble,' Becker said."

Humans are very good at adapting, but not so good at recognizing larger, long-term threats.  There's plenty of room for more innovation, but innovation will always have limits. 

Jamie's Jalapenos

 

Stuffed jalapenos a la Jamie (that's me).

I didn't quite get the needed char on these that indicates you've roasted down some of the spiciness, but also brought out some of the natural taste of the peppers.  After three months I'm still getting used to using the Old Man's kitchen.  So these were good, but it's even better when you blister the skins a little bit more.

I'd serve these with sour cream, or even just some plain yogurt if it's too much heat.

15-16!

Let's see if I can get this straight -- Orioles pitcher Jon Means pitched a complete game no-hitter, but in striking someone out on a wild pitch he just missed a perfect game.  The base runner got thrown out at second, but having a single base runner on first invalidates a perfect game.  He only faced 27 hitters (the minimum possible) but the (IMO catch-able) WP ruined it.

Still pretty cool though.

"The Guy Fieri of Bellingham"

 

Beef chili made with grass-fed beef (our neighbor keeps a cow for slaughter sometimes).

I'm pretty proud of how it turned out.  I mean, the Old Man has a fully stocked kitchen but not much in the way of frou-frou ingredients or spices.  Beef, chopped veggies, one can tomatoes, one can beans, basically.

We have a ton left over, and it's one of those dishes that should taste better tomorrow anyways.

Secret Knowledge of Backroads

 

Bellingham, Washington.

I've been walking a lot lately -- every day, to be precise.  My regular morning walk takes me down and back the private road my Dad and his neighbors live on.  Sometimes I skip out here, which offers a better view of Mount Baker (not visible today).  There's a "town" about two miles away that has a grocery store, a bank, and a Subway, so I'll head into there for a longer journey.  The problem is that part of it is on a county road, with no sidewalk.

It's still cool here, which is nice.

"some joy I know not how to name"

"When the golden sun has driven winter back down

Under the earth and opened up the sky

With the radiance of summer, then the bees

Fly everywhere through all the groves and glades,

Gathering from the beautiful flowers and lightly

Imbibing from the surface of the streams.

It's thus that, motivated by some joy

I know not how to name, they go about

The caring for their offspring and their nests;

It's thus that artfully they make new wax

And shape and form and mold their clinging honey.

And so, when you look up and see the swarm,

Emancipated from the hive and floating

Up to the starry sky through the summer air,

Or when you wonder at the sight of a dark

Cloud carried along and drifting on the wind,

Take heed, for there they are, on the hunt for leafy

Shelter near sweet water.  There you should scatter

Scents as I prescribe -- melisphyllum

And the common healing herb that's known as beebread;

And let there be the sound of tinkling bells

And the cymbals of Cybele, the Mighty Mother.

The bees will settle, of themselves, upon

The scented settling places you've prepared,

And of themselves will hide themselves within

The inner recesses of their cradling home."

-- Virgil, The Georgics trans. David Ferry

"cool as a motherfucker"

"Bill [Graham] and I got along all right, but we had our disagreements because Bill is a tough motherfucking businessman, and I don't take no shit, either.  So there were clashes.  I remember one time -- it might have been a couple of times -- at the Fillmore East in 1970, I was opening up for this sorry-ass cat named Steve Miller.  I think Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young were on that program, and they were a little better.  Anyway, Steve Miller didn't have shit going for him, so I'm pissed because I got to open for this non-playing motherfucker just because he had one or two sorry-ass records out.  So I would come late and he would have to go on first, and then when we got there, we just smoked the motherfucking place and everybody dug it, including Bill!

This went of for a couple of nights and every time I would come late, Bill would be telling me about 'it's being disrespectful to the artist' and shit like that.  On this last night, I do the same thing.  When I get there I see that Bill is madder than a motherfucker because he's not waiting for me inside like he normally does, but he's standing outside the Fillmore.  He starts to cut into me with this bullshit about 'disrespecting Steve' and everything.  So I just look at him, cool as a motherfucker, and say to him, 'Hey, baby, just like the other nights and you know they worked out just fine, right?'  So he couldn't say nothing to that because we had torn the place down."

-- Miles Davis, Miles: The Autobiography

What an amazing book.  Everything Miles says about music and racism in America is still true.  His treatment of women is insanely horrid.

I couldn't put it down though.

And there are some much better passages when it comes to art and life, but dissing Steve Miller and CSN&Y this hard is a thing of beauty.

"can't stand people being any other way"

"There was a hipness in the black people back then.  After St. Louis closed down at night, everybody over there came to Brooklyn [Illinois] to listen to the music and party all night long.  People in East St. Louis and St. Louis worked their asses off in them packing and slaughterhouses.  So you know they was mad when they took off work.  They didn't want to hear no dumb shit off nobody, and would kill a motherfucker quick who brought them some stupid shit.  That's why they were serious about their partying and listening to music.  That's why I loved playing up in Brooklyn.  People were really into listening to what you were playing.  If you weren't' playing anything, the people in Brooklyn would let you know it quick.  I've always liked honesty and can't stand people being any other way."

-- Miles Davis, Miles: The Autobiography