Rainy Day

Dear Folks,                              30th December 2015

   Our back deck is beautiful when it rains.  Not a simple rectangle, it speaks of original functional purpose in its design.  I do not sit on it; rather, I sit inside the sun room looking out on the deck and enjoy it intrinsically for its aesthetic appeal.  

   We have squirrels come on our deck.  I think I will collect a basket full of acorns and set them on the deck, if only to make it easy for the squirrels in their work allotment, coupled with the fact that I have no job and I love nothing so much as working.  

   There is a narrow walkway leading to the deck from the back porch.  And there is a fine crafted wooden bench in the middle of the deck, surrounding a hole where a maple tree rises.  

   My pulchritudinous, parsimonious better half would like to cut that tree, while I would persuade her to preserve it over time.  She fears it may grow huge and cost a lot to bring down.  I told her maples take a long time to get that big.  She asserts we will probably not have money for anything of that nature in the future.  

   Our immediate neighbor is a cheerful man, a horticulturalist.  He has large streams of runoff water coursing down through his pony and donkey pasture. There is nothing quite like living next door to a beloved donkey.  He erupts into a grand "Hee-hawing" session each morning.  I would not trade that for anything.  Plus, it is a sound which does not scold and anger my oldest son, who has psychosis and interprets each harsh sound as moral castigation of himself.  

   He has lately adopted an interest in bees and plans to raise them here. He should do well with them; he is an expert on raising mantises and cockroaches. My wife is pleased to see him discontinue raising cockroaches and take up some other insects, such as bees. I view honey production as a distinct difference between the two species.  

   I have honey in my Bengal Spice tea right now.  Raw, unfiltered honey would be better.  I raised bees in my twenties, and had a pollen trap on my hive.  People say bee pollen is good for you.  I have been blessed with health anyway so it is hard to say.  I do not eat much bee pollen now, but would not be averse to going back to that habit.  I would rather get it in the hands of people who prize it more, though, who could make better use of it.  

   There is a strong and wide network of believers here so I suppose I could donate bee pollen to some of them . . . for a small "rehoming fee."  I had never heard of a "rehome-ing" fee until a few days ago, when my wife was howling in great guffaws about it as she and our oldest son sat at the computer searching for hamsters to be given away on Craig's list.  People were claiming the hamsters were free to a good home, but they were asking for a "rehoming fee."  Never heard of that before.  But, I was gone to South Korea for 14 years and missed a lot of changes in the U.S. during my hiatus, which I like to call "the Rip Van Winkle effect."  


Here is a nice video about rhythm in Africa.