Murray Forest 3/29/2023

Observations: Cut-leaved toothwort White fawnlily Spring beauty Rue anemone Lemon balm American columbo Common cinquefoil Large-leaf water leaf Carolina crane’s-bill Six white-tailed deer Red-bellied woodpecker Bonus: on the walk home I saw a catbird and listened to its complicated song

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Spent a few minutes at an auction this morning. First time we’ve been to one in years so we were mainly there to remind ourselves how it works. It seems like a good way to get some tools or other things we may need without buying new, as well as ensuring useful things don’t end up in the landfill.


Twenty five years of marriage with this girl today!


Woodworking notes 3/27/2023

I finished a tabletop shelf for all of my work electronics, plus an inset pencil cup. Plenty of flaws and a couple of big mistakes, but I learned a bit more about priming and painting and filling gaps in plywood ends. Now having completed a handful of projects, I have discovered that there is almost always a moment—usually near the end—when I am convinced that this is the crappiest thing ever built by human hands.

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Anyone with experience growing amaranth? Anything I should know?


The Tao makes no effort at all, yet there is nothing it doesn’t do

The Tao makes no effort at all yet there is nothing it doesn’t do if a ruler could uphold it the people by themselves would change and changing if their desires stirred he could make them still with simplicity that has no name and stilled by nameless simplicity they would not desire and not desiring be at peace the world would fix itself Taoteching verse 37, translated by Red Pine

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Beautiful documentary of Red Pine revisiting the Chinese hermitages he made famous with Road to Heaven.


Jay Owens

More-than-human thinking isn’t just about recognising the near-to-human cleverness of certain animals, but recognising agency and interdependent relations across every kingdom of life, from the single-celled extremophiles known as archaeans, to fungi, animals and plants.

The article mentions several books that have been on my reading list for some time now. This needs to be the year I finally read them.


Green Man’s Grotto is showing signs of life! Phlox is blooming:

Yarrow is back and is spreading around the pond:


David Cain: “Most phone use is a tragic loss of life