Who Dines On Acorns?

Just about everyone.  Squirrels, turkey and deer come to mind. 

If you take a moment to scan the forest floor beneath the oak trees you will find evidence of the critters dining on the acorns from above...

 

Autumn Pollinators

I haven't spied a monarch butterfly in awhile.

From our walk there were bumblebees and viceroy butterflies in abundance. 

 

Bean Counter

President Trump's recent proposal to prop-up the troubled economy of his pal, Argentina President Javier Milei, with a $20 billion aid package his raised the hackles of Democrats and Republicans in farm states as farmers struggle under the burden of the president's on-again, off-again, tariff policies.  

China hasn't purchased a single soybean from the United States since May of 2025.  And following Treasury Secretary Scott Bissent's announcement of the aid package for Argentina the Chinese flipped us the bird and purchased 2.66 million tons of Argentinian soybeans after Argentina waived their grain export taxes.  

Naturally, American farmers who voted for Trump and elected Republican officials who represent them are becoming grumpy. 

In case you're wondering what this means in dollars and cents, a year ago China had already placed orders for 40% of our soybean exports.  This year; not a single shipment.  Not a single, solitary bean.  And because China retaliated for Trump's tariffs with tariffs on soybeans, US exports of the crop are already down 51% and $3.4 billion from 2024. 

I suppose I have to wonder if this is more about propping-up a Trump ally or a mercurial trade policy directed by executive order?  Your guess is as good as mine. 

Meanwhile, American soybean growers are struggling with balancing their checkbooks while White House trade policy has jacked-up the price of fertilizer (most of which comes from Canada), increased the cost of farm machinery and pretty much vaporized a significant segment of our agricultural export market.

What next?  The administration has already floated a plan to have US taxpayers bailout domestic farmers with billions upon billions of dollars for soybeans they cannot sell.   

Of course, we've been to this rodeo before; so I can predictably tell you how it likely plays-out.  Don't believe me?  Type: soybeans in the search box in the upper left corner of the blog homepage and you'll be privy to a walk down memory lane of Trump 1.0 agriculture policy.

Maybe some day we should have a discussion of old-school, Soviet-style, centralized economic planning.  Meanwhile, If you honestly believe any of this makes sense I'm all ears.....

Zen And The Art Of Tractor Maintenance

Before

And after

That was after one of the four principle high pressure hydraulic lines to the loader burst

With all due respect to author Robert Pirsig and a book I read my freshman year of college I knew this was gonna happen.  I could see the fissures forming.  Almost a hose per year lately.

The upshot is that this was a big one; consequently, all four of the longest lines have been rebuilt and I reinstalled them a couple of days ago.  

The smaller connectors look pretty good yet and are easy peasy to get replaced at O'Reilly Auto Parts.  The longer lines with the 90 degree connections left the O'Reilly guys stumped.  Fortunately, Schartner Implement is still in business and Kevin got my lines rebuilt in short order. 

Took about a gallon of hydraulic fluid to refill the reservoir. 

Never a dull moment around here..... 

Semiquincentennial

Originally settled by Puritans seeking to escape religious persecution in England under King Charles I the Massachusetts Bay colony was established so that they could be self-governed and freely practice their faith.

Charles issued a royal decree in1629 providing a unique charter allowing for the transfer of governing authority from England to the largely Puritan colony.  Unlike other colonial charters this one did not contain a clause requiring the the company to remain part of England.  This key omission allowed for Puritan founders, led by John Winthrop, to establish a New World governing structure.  Because the founders were Puritans the colonists sought to establish a theocratic government where only church members could settle.  This unique constitutional framework was a key step in the evolution of American democracy.  

Consequently, the Massachusetts Bay Colony operated with a broad degree of autonomy.  They openly traded with merchants from foreign countries, minted coinage with a pine tree design in lieu of the king's image, passed their own laws inconsistent with English civil and religious law including courts unanswerable to English courts.  Lastly, the colonists were openly intolerant of non-Puritans and created laws that discriminated against members of the Church of England.  Naturally, this uppity independent attitude and defiance of British rule strained relations with England and the crown became grumpy.  

In 1686, King James II revoked the original charter replacing self-governance with royal government.  The Massachusetts Bay Colony was merged with the Plymouth, New Hampshire, Maine, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New York and Jersey colonies into a single royal colony - the Dominion of New England.  King James appointed Sir Edmund Andros as royal governor to lord over the citizenry with an authoritarian hand.  

Town meetings and colonial assemblies were declared unlawful, family land titles were vacated and declared invalid, trade with other nations was forbidden, dissent became a treasonous offense and as a zealous Anglican Governor Andros' doom was likely sealed when he forced the Puritans to host Episcopalian services in their Old South Meeting House on Good Friday.  

After more than a half century of independence and self-rule the colonists were now grumpy.

Fortuitously, a revolt in 1688 replaced James II with William and Mary and when news eventually crossed the Atlantic the Boston Colonists took up arms and revolted in April 1689.  Militias from neighboring towns streamed into the city.  They arrested the captain of the British frigate The Rose anchored in Boston harbor and two thousand Massachusetts militia marched on Andros' garrison of redcoats.  Outnumbered he had no choice but to surrender.  Bostonians promptly restored their former government and after almost a year in prison Andros and other royal officials were exiled to England.

While the revolt led to the end of the Dominion of New England it did not lead to the restoration of the original charter.  The new English monarchs - William and Mary - issued a new charter in 1691 merging Massachusetts and Plymouth colonies into the royal Province of Massachusetts Bay, appointed a royal governor and required religious tolerance.

It would be another 85 years before independence would arrive; nevertheless, the seeds of revolution had been sown. 

Better Living Through Bacon

From the bottom, up 

Toast

Mayo

Locally-sourced smoked bacon

Garden tomato

Lettuce 

Mayo 

Toast 

Frilly toothpicks too 

Heaven...... 

 

Fall Fireworks

Monday marked the astronomical arrival of fall.

From our walk the other day the asters have exploded like fireworks.

 

Further evidence of autumn.... 

Standoff

When we lived in Germany my folks took a trip thru East Germany to Berlin.  I still have my Soviet Visa authorizing my passage to the Russian Zone.  Yes, even a small child might have to produce his 'papers' on demand.  This was before the Soviets built a wall and before this cold war stand-off.  

By the time this photo was snapped in 1961 we had already returned stateside.  

In 2023, accompanied by two additional couples, we traveled thru what had previously been East Germany and took some photos at Checkpoint Charlie.  

What a difference 62 years makes.....

  

 

That KFC location is priceless.  Further evidence of significant progress following reunification.... 

Friday Music

Originally recorded by the Undisputed Truth in 1972 the version most of us remember was covered by the Temptations later that year.  It was this version that rose to the number one position of the Billboard Hot 100.

Included on the Temptations' album All Directions, it won three Grammy Awards in 1973; and was inducted in to the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1999.

Papa Was a Rollin' Stone.....

Last Monarch?

From our walk today was possibly one of the last monarch butterflies of the season; a migrator!

  

Yikes!

Not her first encounter - nevertheless, the dog is careful to stay at the tail end of the serpent... 

Ruby vs. Snake

  

Say Cheese

I started this citizen science journey in crowdsourcing wildlife data in October 2018.  Last week a replacement camera arrived. 

 

For those of you who know where it lurks give it a wave on your way out to chase birds or your deer stand…

 

 

Semiquincentennial

Also called the Bisesquicentennial, the Sestercentennial, America 250 or the Quarter Millenium - this marks the 250th anniversary of the United States Declaration of Independence.  Festivities will mark various events leading up to the Declaration's anniversary on July 4, 2026.

Nevertheless, I recommend we start celebrating now.  Why, you ask?  Because it was 250 years ago, this year, that stuff that really mattered in our history actually happened.

Consequently, The Missus and I traveled to Boston very recently and spent more than a week with a small group is similarly-motivated citizen history nerds to learn more about the history and events that led-up to our road to independence.

To facilitate this adventure we booked a tour with Road Scholar (formerly Elder Hostel) thereby utilizing their expertise in guiding the process, facilitating the participation of local historians and creating a group dynamic encouraging active participation of inquiry and search for knowledge.

Each day included a mix of lecture, Q&A, site visits with exploration and more walking than I've done in awhile.  If you've never been to Boston - as are many places in Europe and abroad - the streets and sidewalks are cobble stones strewn with potholes and other hazards to navigation.  The fact that not a person in our group turned an ankle is miraculous. 

Subsequent posts will cover some (but not all) of these significant events.  So stay-tuned and stop back periodically for a guided walk down our road to Independence.

 Key Dates and Events

1630 - Puritans arrive in Massachusetts and settle Boston 

1686 - King James II revokes the Massachusetts Bay Colony's charter and installs                          Sir Edmund Andros as governor

1689 - Bostonians force Governor Andros to resign

1756 -1763 - Seven Year's War (French and Indian War) drains the British treasury

1760 - King George III accedes to the British Throne 

1761 - James Otis argues against the Writs of Assistance in a court trail at the Old                          State House

1763 - Faneuil Hall is dedicated to the "Cause of Liberty" by Otis 

1765 - Stamp Act passed; riots occur in Boston and other cities

1766 - Stamp Act repealed; great celebrations follow 

1767 - Townshend Acts passed; non-importation boycott begins

1768 - June 10, John Hancock's ship Liberty is seized in a disagreement over the                           payment of customs duties; protesters riot in Boston

         - October 1, British troops land in Boston to maintain order

1770 - March 5, the Boston Massacre 

1772 - Committees of Correspondence formed to oppose "despotism" of Governor                        Hutchinson in a dispute over his salary

1773 - Tea Act passed; December 16, Boston Tea Party 

1774 - Intolerable Acts passed; punishes Bostonians for the destroyed tea, closes                         the town's seaport and abolishes all local elected popular government

         - General Thomas Gage appointed governor by King George III

         - Patriots "practice the military art" and organize the Minute Men 

         - September, First Continental Congress meets in Philadelphia

1775 - April 19, Lexington and Concord, British troops march to Concord to seize rebel                     supplies.  Alarmed by Paul Revere and William Dawes the Minute Men stand on                 Lexington Green.  At Daybreak the first shots of the war are fired.  The Siege of                 Boston begins.  

         - June 17, Battle of Bunker Hill.  Americans fortify Charlestown overlooking Boston                from the north.  British troops suffer over 1,000 casualties to take the American's                fort.

         - July 2, General George Washington arrives at Cambridge to take command of the                Continental Army 

1776 - March 4-5, Americans fortify Dorchester Heights overlooking Boston from the south

         - March 17, Evacuation Day.  British troop, government officials, and loyalists sail                out of Boston harbor never to return  

         - July 4, Declaration of Independence adopted at Philadelphia

1781 - Battle of Yorktown (Virginia); final surrender of the British forces

1783 - Peace treaty is signed between the United States and Great Britain 

_____________________________________________________________________

Fast forward to today.  

In our travels we taken countless subway and bus rides.  If we don't make an advance purchase one of the first tasks after arriving and clearing Customs is the purchase of our transit passes.  Rider passes go by various names; Paris is Navigo, New York is the MetroCard, Berlin uses the WelcomeCard, London has the Oyster Card and in Boston it is called the CharlieCard.  CharlieCard you say?  There's even a song about it.....

Salsa

Yesterday's Game Day wasn’t a complete loss.

Behold a dozen pints of the best homemade salsa this side of State Highway 29.

Those two San Marzano tomato plants are the gift that keeps on giving.  Garden peppers too.

Raising a toast to gardening and canning….

Personal Kermis

Any of you who have paid a visit know that my raspberry patch is nothing to write home about.  It’s small, full of weeds and grass and survives only slightly above benign neglect.  Two varieties of raspberry varietals were planted 20 years ago - the types lost to memory.

Nevertheless, every spring I cut most of the dead canes and give it a good drench of Jung Seed Company ‘raspberry food’ from a watering can.

Summer production was steady; this fall it has been excellent.  This patch is an overachiever.

The birds obviously get first dibs but Doggo and I pick every couple of days or so - eating as we go. These are really good on vanilla ice cream.  Anything we cannot eat in short order is frozen. I think I’m up to 1.5 gallons of frozen berries. 

There is most definitely raspberry jam in our future.   Terrific stocking stuffers and hostess gifts.  Most importantly, a barter currency.

Raining today - double batch of homemade garden salsa is on deck….. 

September Astronomy

September brings us another astronomical event - the equinox - when days and nights will be approximately equal in length. For those of us in the Northern Hemisphere, this marks the tipping point where the sun will rise later and nightfall arrives sooner.  As things have grown cooler around these parts you don’t have to remind me that autumn is in the air. This is the time of year we stack firewood and roll-out the long sleeve t-shirts and long dungarees.  

Equinox (Latin for equal night) the amount of daylight is nearly equal to the hours of darkness. 

 

Even though the equinox happens at the same moment worldwide the precise time for you depends-upon your time zone. Translation: this equinox will arrive tomorrow at 1:19 PM CDT.  This marks the astronomical arrival of fall.  The meteorological arrival of fall in the Northern Hemisphere is September 1st. This date is based on the consistent temperature cycle and the Gregorian calendar, which divides the year into four three-month seasons.  Meanwhile - south of the equator - spring is about to begin.  If you live on the equator the sun will be positioned directly overhead at high noon.

We live just shy of the 45th parallel (equidistant from the equator and pole) and it has been fascinating to observe the transit of the setting sun as it has moved from its furthest advance to the north to now set in the west.  The sun only rises due east and due west on two days of the year - The spring and fall equinoxes. 

 

Stonehenge View West

 

Explain This To Me

When I had a day job I was a Certified Financial Planner™ practitioner.  In the financial advisory world a CFP^® would be the equivalent of a CPA in public accounting.  I held a half-dozen securities licenses, four insurance licenses and was associated with an SEC registered investment advisory firm; a fee-based fiduciary.  I am not an economist; yet I know my way around the subject and took some measure of pride in making difficult content matter easy for a client to understand.  Economic themes and investment markets continue to interest me.  

As I look across the economic landscape and the on-again, off-again, inconsistent tariff 'deals' personally and individually negotiated by the President no one has adequately explained why the import tax policy is even minimally beneficial or necessary in replacing the proven track record of free trade over the last 75 years. I am mystified as to how raising taxes on business and consumers creates wealth, advances commerce and contributes to the betterment of our financial lot in life. 

Recently a federal appeals court ruled that most of Donald Trump's tariffs are an overreach of his use of emergency powers as president.  The so-called reciprocal tariffs - imposed on nearly every country the US trades with - are being illegally imposed.  This case will come before the Supreme Court so we should know more before too long.

Most weeks the President says, does or provokes something like this that flies in the face of the most basic and incontrovertible economic fundamentals.

Tariff policy likely played a role in the July jobs report.  And because the report did not conform to the President's world view he killed the messenger.  Ironically the July numbers were revised upwards a couple of weeks ago.  August added a weaker than expected 22,000 jobs but shed jobs in June for the first time since the pandemic.  Yes, there will be further revisions as more data is collected.

The President's seeming failure to understand that tariffs are a tax is further complicated by his belief that a trade deficit is consistent with being taken advantage-of.  Consequently, our largest manufacturer of agricultural machinery, John Deere, is grappling with ever higher steel and aluminum tariffs adding more than $600 million this year alone to manufacturing costs.  And because China retaliated for Trump's tariffs with tariffs on soybeans, US exports of the crop are already down 51% and $3.4 billion from 2024.  The president's capriciousness as it pertains to import taxes means that unless something changes really quickly a host American soybean growers will have less money to purchase more expensive John Deere machinery.  

Canada supplies up to 85% of US fertilizer and a 35% import tax on Canadian imports has further burdened American farmers with unnecessary volatility.  I have a trade deficit with my local butcher.  He's never purchased anything from me.  Can anybody explain this madness to me?  

The President's mercurial personal style doesn't inspire much confidence either.  Trade negotiations result in different countries getting different terms and terms can change overnight on a whim or Trumpian fit of pique.  What corporation would undertake a 3 to 5 year plan to move an assembly plant to the US with the knowledge that:  (1) The president could change his mind or back out of the deal without advance notice, (2) The president is out of office long before the project is close to completion and, (3) Your shareholders may revolt as a consequence of both.  Look no further than the billions of dollars of losses suffered by domestic auto manufacturers as a consequence of import duties.  

Then there is the business of Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell and interest rates.  One of the reasons our economy hasn't tipped into recession is its ginormous size, diversification and complicated resiliency.  Someone needs to maybe explain to the President that you micromanage the US economy at your own peril. Nothing new under the sun in that regard.  Naturally, with the economy flashing warning signs The Fed cut rates 25 basis points just the other day; and hinted at more of the same.

Speaking of interest rates, the Big Beautiful Bill that was recently signed into law is going to blow-up our mounting debt by an estimated figure north of $3.4 trillion. Government borrowing crowds out commercial borrowing; always.  Will this drive interest rates north further down the road?  Time will tell.

I'll close with the President's manic understanding of supply/demand economics and his conflicting and incomprehensible messaging on energy.  On one hand the President calls for cheaper prices at the pump all the while falling back on the refrain Drill Baby Drill.  Someone needs to take the President aside and explain that lower prices discourage drilling.  Which explains why business drills for oil or gas; not the government.

Lest you get the mistaken impression that much of this lunacy is discouraging to me; perish the thought. Every day is another opportunity to observe the President wave his cape like a matador and produce another bright shiny object with which to distract.  The singularly madcap economic stuff is priceless. 

As long as the training wheels don't fall off it's a never-ending source of new material.

ACHOO!

From our walk today there was this... 

Meet Helenium autumnale - named after Helen of Troy and the autumn time of the blooms.  It is commonly knows as Sneezeweed.

It is not a weed - it is a member of the vast family of Asters (Asteraceae).

It begins blooming late summer and persists into the fall with sometimes as many a 100+ flowers on each plant.  Multiply that by many multiple plants and it puts on a stunning display of blooms.

It grows all over around here preferring the wetter clay soils.  We didn't plant any of it but there are ginormous clumps of it growing around the rain garden pond so maybe the seeds came in with the ducks.  That's anybody's guess.

The deer appear to avoid it so if anyone wants to propagate it in their yard come by this fall to shoot some deer and collect seeds.  It is a maintenance-free and lovely flowering native plant.

Here's a historic tidbit about this plant that you can use to amuse and impress your friends.  Back in the day the early settlers collected the leaves and flower petals of this plant, set them aside to dry and pulverized it into a powder that was utilized as snuff.  

Hence the sneeze.

Friday Music

Ghost Riders In The Sky is a country western style song composed by Stan Jones in 1948.   

Neil Levang was an American musician who was best known from television's The Lawrence Welk Show, playing guitar, violin, and banjo. His talents took him through a journey of hosting his own radio show and eventually landing a permanent position on The Lawrence Welk Show, where he stayed with the Welk Band until its final show in 1982.

He never earned a Grammy; nevertheless, this live recording is an excellent example of the depth of his musicianship.    

Highway Patrol

The 1970 Dodge Coronet Police Fleet was a popular choice among law enforcement agencies due to its power, durability, and aggressive styling. It was part of the sixth-generation Coronet lineup and was commonly used by police departments across the U.S. in the late 1960s and early 1970s.

Key Features of the 1970 Dodge Coronet Police Package:

Engines (varied by department budgets and needs):

• 318 CID (5.2L) V8 (Base engine)

• 383 CID (6.3L) V8 (Highway Patrol models)

• 440 CID (7.2L) V8 Magnum (Pursuit models)

• 426 CID (7.0L) HEMI V8 (Rare, special order)

Transmission:

• A727 Torqueflite 3-speed automatic (standard for most police cars)

Body Style:

• 4-door sedan (most common for fleet use)

• 2-door hardtop (rare, mainly for special pursuit units)

Performance & Equipment:

• Heavy-duty suspension for high-speed pursuits

• Upgraded cooling system to handle long idling periods

• High-performance brakes for durability and stopping power

• 140 mph certified speedometer

• Spotlights, radio and sirens (department-installed)

The 1970 Coronet’s distinctive “bumblebee wings” front-end styling made it stand out from other police cars of the era. The Dodge Coronet shared many components with the Plymouth Fury and Dodge Polara, which were also popular police vehicles.

Dodge dominated the police fleet market until the energy crisis of the 1970s. 

Wiley Coyote

Unlike wintertime coyotes sporting their prime winter coats the summertime coyotes around here look a bit scrawnier; like their cartoon brother.

 

 

Two-Step

What next; the samba?

From one camera at the same location there are dancing fawns and a turkey doing the turkey-trot.

 

The Pantry Warrior Strikes Again!

Before we left on vacation 10 days ago Jill took a big box of tomatoes to the local food pantry. I picked an additional flat of greenish ones to ripen in the garage while we were away.  Following more than a week  of neglect today I picked everything you see.  

Consider those beautiful San Marzano tomatoes at the top of the frame.

 

Those were not grown in the rich volcanic soil found in the shadow of Mount Vesuvius; rather they did rather well in the crappy clay and rocky soil found on the peninsula. Those two plants from Sully’s Greenhouse are tomato factories!

 

Anyway, when you have tomatoes in abundance and have just returned from holiday you scour your pantry and freezers and whip-together a batch of Autumn Shrimp Sausage Tomato Stew; a household favorite of ours.

 

Raising a toast to Sam Sifton or Melissa Clark - I forget specifically. 

 

Pretty good chow if you can get it….