Trump Politics

Mostly I sit by and watch, amused, as the Republican presidential contenders try to out-do each other on the crazy.**

But every once in a while I read something about one of the candidates--in this case Trump--that makes me blow coffee out my nose:

“The Trump circus is largely comprised of hangers-on with a key skill set: kissing Donald Trump’s ass,” Wilson told the Guardian. “Oddly, the same skill set doesn’t extend into other domains like politics, common sense or judgment.”

** This is what my presidential platform would be (courtesy of Corrente's 12 Point Platform):

1. A Living Wage
2. Medicare for All
3. Tax the Rich
4. Job and Income Guarantee
5. Debt Jubilee
6. Retirement Security
7. Free Public Education, pre-K-16
8. Post Office Bank
9. Enforce the Bill of Rights
10. End the Wars
11. Clean Air, Water, Soil, and Food
12. Carbon Negative Economy

Tough Trail Work

A work group from the Potomac Appalachian Trail Club (PATC) called he Cadillac Crew came to our local section of the Tuscarora Trail to assist with some weed whacking this past weekend.  I was not along on this particular trip, but I had been weed whacking on the Tuscarora Trail solo two weeks ago since I knew I could not join this particular effort.

My forward progress was 1/4 mile per hour.  The briars were chest high and the trail was all but impassable.  My hat is off to the Cadillac Crew members who came out to assist, because if the main through trail, the Tuscarora, is not maintained and open, then all the good work I may do to keep my feeder trail (Reese Hollow) and backpacker's shelter spiffy goes for naught.

Anyway, here's the trip report from the crew's leader.  Sounds like a struggle:

Work on the TT this past weekend almost killed a few members of our crew, myself included.

The larger contingent went up the trail from Little Cove and took a left. We worked from where it was impassible till it seemed to descend from the ridge. A few made the decent but I ran out of water and string for my string trimmer so I'm not sure how much further they got. They were beyond my hearing of their brush cutters. We all got stopped by a lack of water.

I have no idea what distance we cleared, we waffled between just clearing a path and trying to clear enough so it wouldn't have to be redone in a month...

A smaller contingent went up the Alice trail. I didn't really condone this and wanted them to come down from Hells Hill but I couldn't convince people to go up Hells Hill again after our experience last year. They cleared a few blowdowns on the Alice and felt they made good progress North on the TT from the Alice. They had a much easier time, reporting that they mainly cleared vines that were knee high vs the shoulder high thorny stuff my group was clearing.

Sunday we didn't have the energy to hike all the way out to where we stopped so we went up to Rt 16 and worked our way south. It was pretty much lawn(&fern) mowing exercise, some places the trail was totally obscured but not with anything a string trimmer couldn't take care of. We only had 4-5 people working this stretch for a half day and we didn't meet up with where they had stopped the previous day.

I understand another crew is going out this weekend, one of our guys is contacting them to let them know where we got to. I'm not in a position to have the crew go out in August, 2 trips in a row to the same area was enough, especially if the weather is similar in August as I suspect it will be. I'm looking at options for August, one option would be to pull the November work at Silberman up to August so we could go back out to the TT when the weather is less harsh and to give us a variety of work before returning to the TT.

Since Cadillac did so much work on the TT relocation, we are obviously dedicated to this trail. I think we can plan at least 1 trip a year to go do maintenance on the TT in this area since it gets so little support. It would be better to do it when the weather is more conducive to carrying tools great distances and fighting the dragons we fought this past Saturday.

We could use some more help!

Seen at the Beach

We usually head to Nags Head, NC, but we had an opportunity to go to Ocean City, MD last week.  The two venues are quite different from one another.

I took this shot along the boardwalk:

The flying pig in the background--a huge kite--is quite appropriate juxtaposed with the sign.

Cats in Art: Morning (Tuxford)

From my continuing weekly Sunday series of cats in art. I am using some ideas from the coffee table book, The Cat in Art, by Stefano Zuffi.  

I have a loved one who lives in Eureka, CA, and works at the Humboldt Arts Council in the Morris Graves Museum of Art.  So...I perused the on-line images held by the Morris Graves Museum of Art and came up with 3 works containing cats (this is post 3 of 3).


Here's what the museum website says about their mission:

Museum art collections represent the nation’s patrimony and heritage, and the Humboldt Arts Council is conscious that we are entrusted with a resource that essentially belongs to the whole community— it’s yours to enjoy! Collecting works of art is one of the most basic undertakings of an art museum. Moreover, what the museum collects strongly determines its overall character and influence in the art community at large. As a consequence, the Humboldt Arts Council in the Morris Graves Museum of Art is founded upon the principles of ethical art collecting and stewardship. The Museum recognizes that it holds for posterity a significant portion of our cultural wealth.  The Morris Graves Museum of Art is dedicated to the arts and artists of the Pacific Northwest with the highest priority given to the works of our patron artist, Morris Graves. Emphasis is placed on collecting art which builds on the evolving strengths of the collection and which also have a significant potential for long-term usefulness.

With that intro, here's a very intriguing image:

Image credit Humboldt Arts Council in the Morris Graves Museum of Art, Brenda Tuxford, Morning, etching, 1995, size unspecified

I used the word "intriguing" because the cat does not appear on the table, yet its shadow does on the wall.  Maybe you could argue that the cat is really just out of the picture on the left, but why?  Seems to me that the whole intent is to draw the viewer in with this optical anomaly.

The kitty is relaxed and evidently pausing in the act of washing, as evidenced by the back feet in the air and the sense that the cat is looking at something.

In this one small etching of a silhouetted cat, Ms. Tuxford manages to capture so well the essence of catness.  

J. Geils Band Grammar Fail

Since my recent rant about no trespassing signs that read "Posted" (link here), I may as well dump on a rock band's butchering of the English language as well.

I'm talking about the J. Geils Band and their classic rock tune, Must of Got Lost.  My Sirius XM Radio was conveniently playing this the other day for my listening pleasure:




If the embedded video playeth not, here's the link.

Of course, the grammatical error is that it should read Must Have Got Lost.  Or if you really want to go full grammar police, Must Have Gotten Lost.

But then if I had the band's money I could burn mine, so what do I know.

Ed Note: I should point out that later iterations of the lyrics found on the web use the word Musta or Must've, which are perfectly OK, but the earlier versions of the title and lyrics use the word of.

Where I Run: Harshman Road and its Chicory Display

I've probably used that title before, as that 5 mile road loop is my absolute favorite run.  It's comfortable as an old shoe (great analogy, don't you think?), mostly traffic-free, and just plain pretty as the route winds past various farms.

And did I mention the roadside wildflowers?

[image credit Gary]

This is chicory, a lovely blue flower that seems quite content to grow well in crappy roadside areas.  It'll reach near waist high, and bears numerous 2" wide flowers close to the stalks, all summer long.

The pretty blue flowers do not seem to like being used for cut flowers, as they quickly wilt, despite being placed in water.  So the place to enjoy chicory is out along the roads, where it often is in association with Queen Anne's Lace, creating a lovely blue and white pageant.  

More Saint Stuff...and Ultrarunning

From a different Catholic web site I've examined another list of patron saints and patronages.  You may recall my post of a couple weeks ago on this topic, here, which identified St. Sebastian as the Patron Saint of Athletes.

The web site linked above specifically expands St. Sebastian's reach to be the Patron Saint of Running:

"...as he was a centurion he was extremely fit and able to withstand long physical endurance."

And his feast day is 20 January.  Sounds like a great reason for a midwinter party or ultra run to commemorate the day and the person.

An Ultrarunner!  Yay!

What to Do About the Middle East

This is some months old but every bit as timely as when it aired.  Thanks to Digby for the link:

Soon-to-be-ex–Daily Show host Jon Stewart recently interviewed Egyptian comedian and satirist Bassem Youssef about America and the Middle East. I found this surprisingly entertaining as well as nuanced; a smart piece. Their opening exchange:

Stewart: Tell me, Bassem. With the Middle East spiraling out of control, what should America do about this?

Youssef: (winning smile) Well, how about ... nothing.

Sounds like a plan to me.  There are nearly 200 nations on the planet.  The U.S. has troops in approximately 150 of them.  And a tough-to-pin-down number of permanent overseas bases, totaling some 800-900 (go ahead and Google for the number...your head will quickly spin).

Maybe it's time we un-assumed the role of the world's policeman? 

Cat and Owl

In my reading I came across this link to a site called Bored Panda, where we find out that there are such things as "Owl Cafes."  And surprising animal friendships.

This cafe is in Japan, where we see a couple of fast friends:

Fuku the owlet and Marimo the kitten are an adorable pair of best friends that love to hang out, play together and nap at their home in Hukulou coffee shop in Osaka, Japan. The cafe occasionally gets other owl visitors as well, and it also sells fun owl-themed crafts and good, but it looks like these two are the stars of the show.

Owl cafes are becoming more and more popular in Japan and around the world – we’ve written about other cafes and bars in Tokyo and London as well. If you go to an owl cafe, please be sure that they’ve done everything they can to ensure the owls’ comfort and safety before giving them your business!

Naturally I was inspired to document a similar phenomenon right here on my own front porch:

[image credit Gary]

Well, if it's not a real owl, at least an owl statue!  And Tizzy the calico kitty is certainly real.

Cats in Art: Madi & Vessantara (Buddhist Story Cloth)

From my continuing weekly Sunday series of cats in art. I am using some ideas from the coffee table book, The Cat in Art, by Stefano Zuffi.  

I have a loved one who lives in Eureka, CA, and works at the Humboldt Arts Council in the Morris Graves Museum of Art.  So...I perused the on-line images held by the Morris Graves Museum of Art and came up with 3 works containing cats (this is post 2 of 3).


Here's what the museum website says about their mission:

Museum art collections represent the nation’s patrimony and heritage, and the Humboldt Arts Council is conscious that we are entrusted with a resource that essentially belongs to the whole community— it’s yours to enjoy! Collecting works of art is one of the most basic undertakings of an art museum. Moreover, what the museum collects strongly determines its overall character and influence in the art community at large. As a consequence, the Humboldt Arts Council in the Morris Graves Museum of Art is founded upon the principles of ethical art collecting and stewardship. The Museum recognizes that it holds for posterity a significant portion of our cultural wealth.  The Morris Graves Museum of Art is dedicated to the arts and artists of the Pacific Northwest with the highest priority given to the works of our patron artist, Morris Graves. Emphasis is placed on collecting art which builds on the evolving strengths of the collection and which also have a significant potential for long-term usefulness.

With that intro, here's an image from the recent past:

Image credit Humboldt Arts Council in the Morris Graves Museum of Art, Madi & Vessantara (Buddhist Story Cloth), artist unknown, 1900, on loan from Jeanne Nash.

And a close up of the kitties on the left:

As I have seen repeatedly over the past few years as I have explored the topic of Cats in Art every Sunday, many ancient images feature big, wild cats such as lions, tigers, and leopards as we see here.

Since this theme of depicting dangerous wild kitties is recurring across numerous cultures and times, it's fair to conclude that people have had an enduring fascination with cats of all sorts.  Maybe that's why we domesticated the smaller, less dangerous version and keep them until this day.

A Rather Strong Opinion on Mr. Trump

I've blogged here numerous times about how I have the secret guilty pleasure of following  a blog called The Rude Pundit.

The author, Lee Papa,  is disgustingly rude and uses crude sexual analogies plus a mega dose of profanity to make his point...which generally I agree with.  So I can overlook what Papa calls "the rudeness."

So in all its profane glory, here's an excerpt from a recent post on The Donald:

Because, you see, the one thing Trump has going for him, more than any other candidate running for the Republican nomination, is that the voters are fucking retards who get most of their information from TV news and Trump is more famous than any other candidate. Put it this way: there are people who paid good money to learn business success from Trump at one of his bullshit seminars, totally ignoring that Trump has declared bankruptcy multiple times. You think anyone gives a happy monkey fuck if Trump is "qualified" to be president? Fuck no. He hosted a TV show. His name is everywhere. He says things that make everyone else angry. He's a blatant racist who claims to love Hispanic people. He's a vulgar monster with voracious sexual appetites who preaches morality in marriage. 

And many, many voters simply will overlook that because he's the most goddamned entertaining clown in the circus, the only candidate they know, and his pop culture status has given him the aura of earthy wisdom instead of nonsensical shit-tossing. He's like most of the other candidates rolled into one: a blithering, idiotic, climate change-denying loudmouth xenophobe who wants endless war, Christian "values" (whatever the fuck those are anymore), an economic and health care system that benefits the rich, and a big fuckin' fence with alligators or some such shit to keep out the Mexican rapists. He doesn't need to pander to the baser instincts of the primary voters. He is the living embodiment of the baser instincts of GOP primary voters. That's why he's wiping the floor with virtually every other candidate. 

Don't say I didn't warn you.  Now, go ahead and put The Rude Pundit on your regular reading list. You know you want to.

Ancient Bobcat Buried Like a Human Being

Bobkitten, image credit here

Via the always great Mike the Mad Biologist, we find a link to this article at ScienceMag:

About 2000 years ago in what is today western Illinois, a group of Native Americans buried something unusual in a sacred place. In the outer edge of a funeral mound typically reserved for humans, villagers interred a bobcat, just a few months old and wearing a necklace of bear teeth and marine shells. The discovery represents the only known ceremonial burial of an animal in such mounds and the only individual burial of a wild cat in the entire archaeological record, researchers claim in a new study. The villagers may have begun to tame the animal, the authors say, potentially shedding light on how dogs, cats, and other animals were domesticated.

Those crazy native Americans...centuries before domesticated cats arrived from the Old World, these guys knew the value of a good kitty.

The article is much longer than the snippet I excerpted--you really should go and read the whole thing.

The Return of American Chestnut to the Forest

American Chestnut (all image credits Gary)

First, a bit of natural history.  Please bear with me if you know this part already.

This is a shot of a small American Chestnut seedling, Castanea dentata, along the Reese Hollow Trail near Mercersburg, PA.  This is from a healthy plant that nearly certainly will die within the next 10 years. Wikipedia tells us more:

Once an important hardwood timber tree, the American Chestnut is highly susceptible to chestnut blight, caused by an Asian bark fungus accidentally introduced into North America on imported Asiatic chestnut trees. The disease was first noticed on American Chestnut trees in what was then the New York Zoological Park in 1904. The airborne bark fungus spread 50 miles a year and in a few decades girdled and killed up to three billion American Chestnut trees. New shoots often sprout from the roots when the main stem dies, so the species has not yet become extinct. However, the stump sprouts rarely reach more than 6 meters (20 ft) in height before blight infection returns.

Here are 2 stunning historical facts:

It is estimated that the total number of chestnut trees in eastern North America was over three billion, and that 25 percent of the trees in the Appalachian Mountains were American Chestnut.

The number of large surviving American Chestnut trees over 60 centimeters (24 in) in diameter within the tree's former range is probably fewer than 100. 

I always get excited when I see chestnut saplings when I run along the ridges of the Allegheny Mountains. They speak to me of perseverance and of hope. 

The American Chestnut Foundation is aggressively working to develop a blight-resistant strain, and results thus far look promising.  So there is a very good chance that the chestnut may be successfully reintroduced here in the U.S.  Read more on that valiant effort here.

You'd think with that long introduction, and my title--The Return of American Chestnut to the Forest--that this post would be about hopes for restoring the American Chestnut to its former glory.

But no, you'd be wrong.  This post is about a single piece of American Chestnut board from over a century ago.  I just returned it to the forest.

The board was a leftover from from a chestnut-sided barn (that still stands) near Tower City, PA, that was probably built by the bride's great-great grandfather in the late 1800s.  When I say "leftover," the builder left a stack of unused exterior sheathing boards inside the barn for future use in replacing siding that might fail in the future.  These extras were not needed due to the bulletproof nature and durability of chestnut, which was the early natural version of pressure-treated lumber.  

Well, 100+ years on, when the ancestral family farm was finally (and sadly) sold off, my father-in-law gave me a couple of these boards.  Why?  So I could create some birdhouses for wrens, that would have legacy value for family members.  I've done that.

He didn't get all sentimental about the wood or the tragedy that befell the chestnut, he just gave me the boards--no, he entrusted the boards to me--and each of us knew both sides of the unspoken back story.

So it was with this background that as a Potomac Appalachian Trail Club (PATC) trail overseer, I came to need a piece of wood that was a full 1" in thickness, not the nominal 1" dimension lumber from Lowes that actually measures a scant 3/4" thick.  This board was to fit snugly underneath and become the rot-resistant stout base of a vintage rural mailbox that I just installed for a trail register.  It's located along the Tuscarora Trail at its junction with the Reese Hollow Trail just west of Mercersburg, PA.

The base of the mailbox--that fits up inside the recessed bottom of the mailbox--is made, as you will have guessed by now, from one of those old American Chestnut boards.

The base prior to installing the mailbox 

And with the mailbox in place

So if you ever get the chance to hike this part of the Tuscarora Trail and chance upon this trail register, sit down beside the trail post and take a glance up under the mailbox.  Reach under and touch that old wood and just ponder a bit.

The trail is a good place for pondering.

Top-Heavy Hydrangeas

Image credit Gary

The bride loves hydrangeas.  No, that's not true: she LOVES hydrangeas.  They are beautiful plants, but in the bride's case there is a strong family component in that her grandmother was a hydrangea lover. We have numerous varieties scattered around the yard.

The variety shown above--Limelight--which will yield a volleyball-sized lime green flower head--is not quite in bloom.  Imagine such a large flower on the end of 6' long canes...then imagine rain.

Yes, the canes tip over, which is one of the drawbacks to this variety.  They require support, and in years past I have tried long pressure treated stakes combined with binder twine or that green horticultural tape that is used to stake trees.  With the plants winding up looking strangled.

So this year, I got some free bamboo (remember, your best bamboo is your free bamboo!) from a friend who was happy to pawn off some this invasive plant.  I pounded 4 stout pieces into the ground in a 4' square, then zip-tied the cross pieces.

The result is a natural-looking, aesthetically pleasing cage that holds up the plant very nicely.  If, when the flowers and the rains come, the canes still tip too much, I can raise the cross pieces or add another bar a tad higher up.

"I Was Like Holy Crap, We're Doomed"

A teen nearly loses his life in a canoeing accident where he was pinned partially under a swamped canoe.

That's NOT funny, but his analysis of the situation is funny since there was a a happy ending.

The AP article follows:

ROCHESTER, Minn. (AP) — A Minnesota teenager says he drifted in and out of consciousness as rescuers worked to free him after his canoe capsized and pinned him to the rocks near the crest of a waterfall in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area near the Canadian border.

Asher Bloom, 16, of Rochester, was canoeing with a group from Calvary Baptist Church on Tuesday when the boat he and two friends were paddling got sucked into Upper Basswood Falls and hit a rock, causing it to flip.

"I was like holy crap, we're doomed," Bloom said.

Bloom's friends managed to get to safety, but the badly bent aluminum canoe pinned his foot to the rocks near the waterfall's crest, with just his head out of the cold water. He said a group leader eventually reached him and kept his head out of the water while they waited for help to arrive. It took around six hours for authorities to reach and free Bloom in the remote wilderness area, and a few more to put him on a seaplane and get him to the hospital in Ely.

Seen While Running...and Another "Posted" Rant

Pastoral pasture scene seen while running on Shinham Road near my home.

First off is the perennial stupidity of the sign on the tree.  If you don't want people to trespass on your land--and that certainly is your right--you should put up a sign that says "No Trespassing."

Whenever I see such signage proclaiming "Posted," I think, well, all that means is that the property has signs on it.  And the owner is an English language nitwit.

The language police in me has ranted about this before (here, here and here) at Mister Tristan (the blog, not the 7 year old human being).  I get how the colloquialism came about:

When a landowner wishes to keep his/her property off-limits to others, he/she posts signs along the boundary that indicate that the land is private property and others may not trespass without permission.  

In common vernacular, such land is described as being "Posted."  For example, a hiker might tell a friend, "I'd like to take you there to see that rock outcrop, but the land is posted" or a hunter would say, "You can't hunt there, it's posted."  That descriptor--saying that land is posted--simply means that the owner has put up some sort of sign indicating that people should stay out.

However, somehow along the way, a clear and simple sign saying something unambiguous like "NO TRESPASSING" or "PRIVATE PROPERTY" or "KEEP OUT" has been supplanted by the "POSTED" sign as in my photo above.  

In other words, the shorthand description of a property being posted with signs (i.e., off-limits) has morphed into the sign itself.

I also took the shot to get a tree in the far treeline in the image.  That tree in the front dead center in the blow-up frame below evidently is inside a cattle pasture, because the browse line is virtually laser-perfect: as high as a cow can reach.

I've also seen similar browse lines in forested areas where the whitetail deer population is out of control.

Image credits Gary

Cats in Art: Expectations--Australia Series (Garbutt)

From my continuing weekly Sunday series of cats in art. I am using some ideas from the coffee table book, The Cat in Art, by Stefano Zuffi.  

I have a loved one who lives in Eureka, CA, and works at the Humboldt Arts Council in the Morris Graves Museum of Art.  So...I perused the on-line images held by the Morris Graves Museum of Art and came up with 3 works containing cats that I will feature today and over the next 2 weeks.


Here's what the museum website says about their mission:

Museum art collections represent the nation’s patrimony and heritage, and the Humboldt Arts Council is conscious that we are entrusted with a resource that essentially belongs to the whole community— it’s yours to enjoy! Collecting works of art is one of the most basic undertakings of an art museum. Moreover, what the museum collects strongly determines its overall character and influence in the art community at large. As a consequence, the Humboldt Arts Council in the Morris Graves Museum of Art is founded upon the principles of ethical art collecting and stewardship. The Museum recognizes that it holds for posterity a significant portion of our cultural wealth.  The Morris Graves Museum of Art is dedicated to the arts and artists of the Pacific Northwest with the highest priority given to the works of our patron artist, Morris Graves. Emphasis is placed on collecting art which builds on the evolving strengths of the collection and which also have a significant potential for long-term usefulness.

With that intro, here's a very entertaining image:

Image credit Humboldt Arts Council in the Morris Graves Museum of Art, Peggy Jane Garbutt, 1981, Expectations--Australia series, serigraph, silkscreen, size unspecified.

I've always been a sucker for images of animals wearing clothes, especially cats, since that concept is so absolutely alien to them.  But we like it, so that's why such things persist.   

In this image we see several animals in the casual contact enforced by air travel (must be first class due to the spacious accommodations!?).  I just love the dozing, contemplative expression of the yellow tabby in the gray suit, so I assume the artist has a great deal of familiarity with cats.

Or perhaps she has a great deal of familiarity with air travel, and the animals represent various archetypes of travelers.

Regardless, Ms. Garbutt was able to translate her understanding into a wonderful image that evokes on the part of the viewer not only thought, but appreciation for the imagination of the artist.

Alpaca Head

Here is one of the heirs to the Gary estate, whom we lovingly call "Alpaca Head."

Image credit Gary, with a Photoshop assist from cousin John

And here is a real alpaca so you can see the uncanny resemblance:

Image credit Gary.  The alpaca farm where I took this image is called Sugar Loaf Alpaca Company, near Frederick, MD.

The Patron Saint of....and Ultrarunning

I was looking for a list of patron saints (although I am not Catholic) to see whether there was one who was associated with trail work, hiking, etc.  Came up completely empty, other than the patron saint of Ecology is--of course--St. Francis of Assisi.

Anyway, the site I was searching is called MyCatholicSource and just to scan through the alphabetical listing of patronages is interesting.  Just within the "A" section we see that there are patron saints for:

Actors (St. Genesius)
Accountants (St. Matthew)
Ammunition Workers (St. Barbara)
Amputees (St. Anthony the Great)
Archaeologists (St. Jerome)
Auto Industry (St. Catherine of Alexandria)

Scrolling down, there are 3 patrons saints for Comedians (St. Genesius, Laurence, and Vitus), and the patron saint of Dog Bites is St. Ubald.

Not trying to poke fun here, but you just gotta smile at some of these!

The link to Ultrarunning?  On the Ultrarunning side of life the best fit would be the patron saint of Athletes, St. Sebastian.

However, note that St. Sebastian also doubles as the patron saint of Bookbinders, Unruly Children, Contagious Diseases, Enemies of Religion (against), Funeral Directors, Iron Workers, Lead Workers, Neighborhood Watch, Pestilence (against), Plague, Police, Potters, Soldiers, Surgeons, and Swans...so go figure.

Respecting Society While Avoiding Civilization

The Keystone Trails Association puts out a monthly newsletter about hiking, etc.  The KTA is a sister organization to my Potomac Appalachian Trail Club (PATC).  KTA maintains the next section of the Appalachian Trail in central and northern PA.

Below is the entire text of a piece in their latest newsletter entitled Respecting Society While Avoiding Civilization.  The focus is on Principle #7, Be Considerate of Other Visitors, of the Leave No Trace philosophy.

While I would say state in general I embrace Leave No Trace, when I actually read this piece, turns out there were a couple of items that made me kinda raise my eyebrows.  I've BOLDed them below:

“Civilization has a precarious hold on us and there is an undoubted attraction in a life of absolute freedom once it has been tasted. The call o’ the wild is in the blood of many of us and finds its safety valve in adventure.” - Colonel Percy Harrison Fawcett

 

The words of this famed Royal Geographical Society explorer capture the intense draw of the wilderness for those of us who choose to experience it. Our daily lives are full of noise and the metronome of society relentlessly marks time at a seemingly unsustainable rate. We lucky few that have deciphered life’s code and discovered the importance of communing with nature understand exactly what Colonel Fawcett proclaimed.

 

Leave No Trace is not entirely focused on minimizing impact on nature, but also on ensuring the tranquility of each person’s outdoor experience. Embracing Leave No Trace Principle #7, Be Considerate of Other Visitors, will make each adventure more enjoyable for you and those with which you share the trail. The keys are silent respect and constant courtesy.

 

Keep noise to a minimum. Silence your phone [or leave it in the car] and commit to not taking calls while on the trail. Nature has an amazing soundtrack, but, if you choose to provide your own, use headphones whenever listening to a portable music device. Avoid whistling and loud conversation to keep from disturbing wildlife and other travelers. To reduce impact on the trail…and your sanity…try not to plan trips on holidays and busy weekends whenever possible. Brightly colored clothing and equipment can be disturbing, as well. Wherever practical, choose earth-toned colors to lessen visual impacts.

 

Many trails are multi-use and experience the passage of hikers, horses, and mountain bikers. Groups leading or riding livestock have the right-of-way, and hikers and bicyclists should move off the trail to the downhill side. Horses are easily startled, so talk quietly to the riders as they pass, give them plenty of space, and avoid any sudden movements. Mountain bikers should be in control at all times and avoid excessive speed through blind corners and unknown terrain. Always politely announce your presence before passing others and proceed with caution only when your calls are acknowledged.

 

Do not become an obstacle for other travelers. Take rest breaks off-trail and only on durable surfaces. Do not leave equipment on the trail and never prank passersby. Game playing is for backyards, city parks, and designated frontcountry areas. Leave any gates you encounter as you found them and remove any signs of your passage. Always keep your pets under control, clean up behind them, and follow land use regulations.

 

Ethical behavior should be habitual, and outdoor ethics begin before the trailhead. First, commit to applying all Seven Principles on every journey. These are not an ala carte menu to select from or on a scorecard to keep, but a holistic methodology for stewardship of our natural world. We are all part of nature…even those that choose to resist the notion. For those that hear the call o’ the wild and declare their love of nature and care of the environment, there can be only one path: Leave No Trace.

Explore Responsibly!

My thoughts?

--I sometimes whistle on the trail and actually don't plan to change that.  
--And I think that brightly colored clothing may be of benefit in a search-and-rescue situation.
--The item about not pranking people seems odd and out of place--is this behavior such a serious problem that it needs to be called out? 
--And the game-playing prohibition--again, is this truly a problem in the backcountry?

Please don't think I'm being nitpicky--it's just that these couple items stood out to me.  I do get and concur in the overall philosophy, however.

Cats in Art: Wildcat Hunt Tapestry (Stradano)

From my continuing weekly Sunday series of cats in art. I am using some ideas from the coffee table book, The Cat in Art, by Stefano Zuffi. This is the third in a series of the art of Giovanni Stradano.

Image credit CODART, Wildcat Hunt Tapestry, Giovanni Stradano, tapestry (size information unavailable), held by Palazzo Pitti, Florence, Italy.

The CODART page gives some background:

Cosimo I Medici employed Stradanus as designer for tapestries in the Arazzeria Medicea. The tapestries with hunting scenes, inspired by antique literature of Plini, Homer and Herodotos but also by hunting practice at the Florentine court, were destined for the villa at Poggio a Caiano and grew out to be a major success. As a consequence of their popularity, these Hunts were translated in prints; this marks the beginning of Stradanus’ activity as designer of prints. In collaboration with the renowned printmakers in Antwerp, Hieronymus Cock and the Galle family, Stradanus produced a vast amount of prints in series with profane and religious subjects. Through the combination of his knowledge and insight in the courtly Florentine and Italian culture and his contacts with the internationally oriented engravers and editors in Antwerp, Stradanus played an important role in the history of the art of printmaking.

Now this for me is a very disturbing image: the hunting of cats.  For sport.  How sick is that?

For example, below is a close up of what's up the tree in the center: a pair of small kitties (sorry for the distortion and fuzziness):

Looking around the whole image, you'll see that the cats are seemingly all house cats, or at the most bobcats.  No lions or other big cats, just rather small ones. 

Which renders the macho hunting thereof rather, well, very unmacho.

Picking Watermelons

In honor of all the picnics happening all across the U.S. for the 4th of July, here's my foolproof winning strategy on how to pick a good watermelon.

1. First you step up to the pile or bin of watermelons, with a very serious expression. You must exude quiet confidence and a knowing air.

2. Sequentially tap or knock on several watermelons, listening for the appropriate sound that will denote ripeness and flavor.

3. Finally, just pick any watermelon at random and buy it. The whole knocking thing is just a sham anyway.

Or, the best strategy of all, if you, say, are at a farm market: just ask the proprietor to pick one for you. She or he should have the picking experience you lack...or will just be going through steps 1-3 above. In any case, you won't know either way and you'll feel like you got the right watermelon.

The beauty of this 3-step process is that it works for not only watermelons, but cantaloupes and honeydew melons as well.

Gay Marriage: Reactions to Reactions

This is the appropriate reaction (link here, original found at Avedon Carol's blog).  Gay couple Brett and Harry pretty much nail it:

Same Sex Couple Threaten Not To Give A Shit If Other Couple Divorces

In response to threats from a Canberra [Australia] couple to divorce were equal marriage laws to pass, a local couple in a committed same-sex relationship have in turn threatened to absolutely not give the slightest shit were that to happen.

Local couple Brett and Harry have said that while they are not heterophobic and do their best to be open to all different kinds of views if this divorce does go ahead they will have no choice but to go on with their lives completely unaffected by such a dumb stunt.

“You know, it’s kind of like equal marriage laws themselves,” said Harry. “It absolutely does not affect anyone except the people directly involved. This couple divorcing because we have equal rights makes about as much impact on the rest of our lives as if they decided to wear big novelty hats if same sex marriage passes. The only difference being big novelty hats are fun and this threat is just kinda pathetic.

“It’s truly surprising that they expect other people to give the slightest shit about their relationship when clearly they don’t. If you’re willing to throw away your ten year marriage because a bit of legislation you don’t like passed maybe the thing you’re really unhappy about is your terrible marriage.

Rules of the Road

I truly appreciate simple things and am an aficionado of signage, so this is right up my alley.

The reason for the sign is that this ramp goes from two lanes down to one:

Image credit Gary: on-ramp of Halfway Blvd to I-81 northbound near Hagerstown, MD