Floating Boxes

Posted on November 4, 2013 by Julie-Ann Baumer

A news story broke a few days ago.  There’s a barge at a Cianbro-owned wharf in Casco Bay that reporters have discovered belongs to Google.  Made of shipping containers, its purpose and ultimate destination are unknown.  Google has not responded to requests for information.  It’s just a giant floating box on Portland’s working waterfront.  Residents and reporters have been wondering “what are they doing in that box?”

It’s an interesting story; thank goodness Reggie Black keeps me updated on practically everything that’s going on in the world and in my backyard.

Since the barge arrived in Portland’s harbor on October 10, 2013, I’ve been thinking about a different kind of floating box.

My father was not a hunter.  Sure, he had a rifle in the closet, but he didn’t spend his time in the woods hunting.  The late autumn machinations of men were unknown to me until I married a hunter.  Even so, I was oblivious to what my ex-husband did every Saturday and I grew accustomed to being “widowed” for those November weekends, spending my Saturdays in blissful household routines sprinkled with coffee and antique hunting.

A tree stand…what is that?  Can I put a vase or a lamp on it?

My life has changed and I’ve spent more time walking in the woods in the last few years.  My eyes now recognize things I would have missed in the past.  I see the black outline of the “store bought” stands that attach a flip-down seat or small platform to a tree.  I can see the camouflaged tents hiding behind pine boughs.

In some of my afternoon walks, I’ve observed the construction of a small floating box, rocking gently in the tree tops.  It’s not gargantuan and high-tech, like Google’s floating box in Casco Bay.  It’s more like the Shabby Chic of tree stands, made of wood scraps, repurposed siding, and plywood.  I’ve climbed up a few of the ladder rungs, but then stopped myself, recognizing it as the private property of two young hunting men.

I met them the other day and complimented them on their work.

There are women who hunt and I’ve considered hunting as a way to spend more time walking in the woods.  Perhaps I’ll hunt in the Apocalypse, but for right now, I’m content to leave the woods to the purview of my neighbors for a time.

Deer hunting season “officially” begins today in Maine.  It’s a serious time and I’ll exercise caution and wear hunter’s orange.  I’m glad I can wear orange.  I won’t be able to amble aimlessly across the fields like I’m in a Jane Austen novel or a Lord Peter Wimsey short story, but hunting season in Maine doesn’t last forever.

The good news is that unlike Google, I don’t have to wonder what my neighbors are doing in their floating box.  While I’m not privy to their patient introspection while they scan the edges of the field at dawn, I’m pretty sure they’re not trying to figure out how to rule the information ocean.

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They Were Curious

Posted on November 3, 2013 by Julie-Ann Baumer

I’m always happy about the time change in the fall.

photo(5)This is what a small herd of goats looks like when they learn they have retrieved an hour of the time that was stolen from them.

Goat stampede time.

Posted in Today We Rest | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Icons of Industry

Posted on November 1, 2013 by Julie-Ann Baumer

New readers of this blog may not know it, but I have lived without a Tee Vee since 2000.  I have a home computer, an i-phone, and a radio.  But I do not have a Tee Vee.  I don’t see this as a badge of honor; it’s a fact of my life.  I’m not militant about it and I don’t have a bumper sticker about it.

Recently, my mother invited me over to watch Game 6 of the World Series.  She included supper with the invitation and I couldn’t refuse.  We had a delicious meal, we did the dishes, and I took a walk while my parents watched “the evening news.”  I’ll have to write about my experience on the set of “the evening news” one of these days.  Let’s just say the presentation of “news” is not the same thing as the presentation of “information.”  Since my parents like to watch the “evening news” without my running commentary, I don’t watch it with them.

The pre-game show began and sadly, Fox Sports didn’t show Louis Tiant throwing out the ceremonial first pitch to Carlton Fisk.  Fox Sports preferred to show four former sports figures in expensive athletic-cut suits talking about the game.  I was disappointed, but what could I do?  It’s Tee Vee, after all.

The game began and the Red Sox were playing well.  It was a made for Tee Vee game, really.  Then there was a commercial break and I saw a face I had seen countless times when logging out of Facebook.  It was the image of a woman; this fictional character represents a certain insurance company.  According to Wikipedia, she is attaining “icon” status.

She’s also a popular Halloween costume and I couldn’t help but find this humorous because I think she’s scary.  I don’t find anything about her “upbeat” and “sincere.”  I know this is what Boston-based advertising giant Arnold Worldwide wants me to think about her, but I don’t.  When I see this “icon” of insurance, I’m frightened.  She reminds me of a gang of mean girls in high school who made fun of my too-short striped pants.  Back then, we didn’t use the word “bullying.”

When I see this icon of insurance, I think “mean girl.”

Tee Vee exists to sell ideas and crap and bully people.  It doesn’t exist to expand anyone’s mind.  But like I said, I’m not militant about the destruction of Tee Vee.  I live in a world of sound and natural images, relatively speaking.

The images and people I see are not stage sets or actors and actresses posing as men and women who care.  They’re not selling anything.

I don’t see Tee Vee going away any time soon.

That’s too bad because we need more caring men and women in the world and fewer icons of industry.

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I’m Not a Halloween Person

Posted on October 31, 2013 by Julie-Ann Baumer

This is the best I could come up with today.

I’m more of an “All Saints Day” kind of person.

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The Coming Darkness

Posted on October 30, 2013 by Julie-Ann Baumer

My alarm went off at the usual time this morning.  I hit “snooze” over and over.  It wasn’t that it was cold outside my warm covers or that I dreaded the day.   It was because I had been tossing and turning all night, thinking about writing about walking.

A confluence of remarks and thoughts reminded me that the days were growing shorter; longer shadows graced the afternoon landscape, soon to be the domain of hunters hiding in tree stands.

The snow will fly before I can safely walk through the fields at dusk again.

My friend and neighbor Gina reminds me that the time will change this weekend.  I’m happy because I’ll get an hour of time back.

The thermostat clicks and the sweet, rugged smell of wood smoke fills the air.

My friend Julie, Sistah Slippah, sent me a long note about walking as a remedy to many physical and spiritual ills.  She wrote metaphorically, basing her assessment of walking’s goodness on how it served the well-being of her dog.  She said dogs build up energy during the day and if their bodies don’t have an outlet for this energy, vis-a-vis walking, their minds will create all kinds of things to use their pent-up energy on.

Chewed slippers, chair legs, and gloves, just to name a few.

Reggie reminded me of writers and poets who used physical work to process their emotions and bring them into submission to their art.

As I was walking the fields near my house the other day, I thought of Andrew Wyeth’s painting Trodden Weed.  In January, 1951, Wyeth had a portion of his lung removed due to a disease of his bronchial tube.  The surgery was significant; his chest was split open and the muscles of his right shoulder were severed.  Although the shoulder muscles were reconnected, his recovery would include intense pain and agony.  To rebuild his strength, he began taking walks in familiar fields.

Schedules and routines will need to be rearranged.  As the coming darkness approaches, walking will be important. 

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Pas de Quoi (It was Nothing)

Posted on October 28, 2013 by Julie-Ann Baumer

A few months ago, I got a letter in the mail reminding me that I had won a raffle prize at the fancy dress ball I attended in February. The envelope contained a photocopied picture of a restaurant we’ll call Mimi’s French Bistro and Bar of Le Back Bay. The print on the picture said this was a “gift certificate” and instructions followed for my prize, which was a free dinner for ten. TEN!

Wow. When I first read “dinner for ten” I started making the guest list in my mind, carefully considering who might sit on my left, whether Reggie Black might be able to fly up for the night to sit on my right, who would sit on his right, and so forth and so on.

Then I read the fine print.

“This certificate must be used on the 2nd Tuesday of Marcel Proust Month during Croque Monsieur Dinner Night.”

In smaller print,

“In no uncertain terms may Croque Madame replace Croque Monsieur.”

photo(1)Additionally,

“Dinner does not include any beverages, appetizers, or desserts. A 25% gratuity will be added to your bill.”

Mon Dieu!

I went to Mimi’s web site and I couldn’t find anything about Marcel Proust month. Even Wikipedia told me nothing about a month devoted to the French author, although I did find an article alleging he subsisted entirely on beer for the last month of his life. He died on November 18, 1922. Could November be Marcel Proust Month?

Vouloir c’est pouvoir!

Since it was clear to me that I had won absolutely nothing, I threw the gift certificate away.

Quel Dommage!

Posted in Cooking and Food | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

Counting My Nightmares

Posted on October 27, 2013 by Julie-Ann Baumer

I don’t sleep well.  I close my eyes and I fall asleep, but I don’t wake up refreshed.  I wake up worried and I wake up tired.

Sometimes, I have nightmares and bad dreams.

Last night I had my first nightmare in my new home.  I don’t know what caused it.  As Ebenezer Scrooge supposed, it could have been caused by “an undigested bit of beef, a blot of mustard, a crumb of cheese, a fragment of an underdone potato.”  It could have been a Canada mint.

I thought I heard footsteps on the stairs and then they approached my bedroom.  They paused in front of my bedroom door and as I waited for the intruder to do whatever intruders do, I contemplated grabbing whatever weapon was within reach.  I was frozen in sleep.

I screamed.

I woke up and found it was just a dream.  There was no intruder and I was alone here in the country.

Meanwhile, in Bath, Maine, some geraniums have survived a killing frost.

Sleep…it’s out there somewhere.

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A Little Gas Left in the Tank

Posted on October 25, 2013 by Julie-Ann Baumer

There are certain topics I have written about over and over again on this blog.  Community Sponsored Agriculture (CSA) would be one.  Moxie would be another.  There are other topics on which I have only skimmed the surface, mostly divisive topics like political parties and candidates.  My mockery of Tee Vee must be offensive to some, as well as my occasional disregard for cheap bleep from China.  If a reader is offended because I see no point in voting in anything but local elections and I’d like to buy shoes made by a neighbor, we can part in peace.  There are lots of other blogs in the inter-clouds; some might even offer coupons for free Tide.

I think my readers probably know how I feel about cheap sentiment, e-blasts, and spam.  Wait…I haven’t written my blog post about spam yet, but one of these days I will.  I am not a fan.

I’ve even written about the unpleasant topic of economic collapse from time to time.

One topic I have written about obtusely is God.  Long discourses on The Divine open the door for all kinds of crazies and hypocrites spouting Bible verses they’ve read under the eyes of professional football players.  I’ve been a hypocrite about these things from time to time, too, and that’s why I haven’t written much about God here on this blog.  I’m trying to pare down the things in my life which don’t honor The Divine and I’m trying to avoid hypocrisy, as much as that is humanly possible.

Last week, I got an e-mail I thought was spam.  It was for some internet promotion and it included a ten dollar coupon I could use on with my first purchase at a website which apparently offers everything I love for less.  I’ve seen some of my Facebook friends “like” this site and I’ve always wondered about it.  But I’m not a big “joiner.”

I deleted the e-mail and assumed that was the last of it.

Yesterday, I got another e-mail about the promotion.  It was a friendly reminder that my $10 coupon would soon expire.  I looked at the e-mail more closely this time.  The sender’s e-mail didn’t seem like a spam bot.  Let’s say it was something like crazy4jesus4eva@blablamail.com.  I did some research and was shocked to realize that this note had come from someone at the church I previously attended in New Hampshire.  I didn’t know her well, but she seemed like a perfectly lovely person.

I was troubled and I contemplated sending her a long e-mail about how the pursuit of worldly goods is antithetical to the spiritual claims of Jesus Christ and that there was a certain stink of hypocrisy in her sending me this particular garbage.  I thought about the trouble that might ensue and perhaps the hurt feelings.  I’m no divinity scholar; who am I to take on the legions of people who profess to believe in something and then behave in a way that makes that belief system a joke.  The truth is, I’ve been troubled by my own boatload of worldly goods lately and have felt more like the rich young ruler than Mother Theresa.

This is not a new dilemma for me.  I’ve shared it with Reggie before and he’s presented a few logical facts.  Today is Friday and I don’t have a lot of gas left in my spiritual tank for taking on the world.  I’m going to delete the e-mail I got from this woman and share some words I got from Reggie about religion and Jesus:

‘You should remember the origins of the word “religion,” which are in ligare, to tie together.  Religion is what which ties us together.

America has a religion, but Jesus isn’t part of it.’

These are tough words for a Friday; I send them in peace. 

Posted in Friday Pillow Talk | Tagged , , | 3 Comments

How the Wind Blows

Posted on October 24, 2013 by Julie-Ann Baumer

Click on the picture to see which way the wind blows.

It blows an ill wind and few words are needed.

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The Garlic Repeater

Posted on October 23, 2013 by Julie-Ann Baumer

In the early days of telecommunications, a “repeater” was part of telegraph communications; the device was used to regenerate signals for transmission.

It’s Wednesday, “Tiny Steps Gardening Day.”  It’s time to plant garlic and as I look over my writing history, I know I’ve written about this topic before.  Is there really anything new under the garlic sun?

This year, I’m going to plant my own garlic, meaning I’m going to take the largest bulbs that I grew, break them into individual cloves, and plant these cloves.  Knowing the provenance of my garlic, I’m comfortable planting my own.  Maybe I’m slightly nervous, but if I’m able to regenerate a crop of beautiful garlic, then I’ll be a “Garlic Repeater” and that will be a good thing.

Rather than try to say something new and creative about garlic, I’ll leave my blog readers with a few classics from past:

Good Garlic Days

The State of the Garlic

Two Pounds of Inspiration

How’s your garlic repeating?

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