Army-Navy. Yep, it’s this week – the renewal of the rivalry that started in 1890. This year, Army is 11-1 and Navy is 8-3, but records rarely seem to matter. I know I never take the game for granted and always feel a churn in my stomach in the days and hours leading up to game time.
Continue reading “Singing Second”
After three days in Lisbon, we were driving north to Nazaré. Big waves were coming, and by luck, we were going to be there to see them. On the way, we detoured for lunch at the restaurant O Forno in the town of Almeirim. O Forno is famous for their Sopa da Pedra (Stone Soup).
Continue reading “Sopa da Pedra”
For Thanksgiving this year, we are in Lousã, Portugal heading to the Douro Valley. No turkey. No dressing or mashed potatoes. No oyster stuffing. No cranberries. No pun’kin or pecan pie. When I look back at our lives, there have been many different Thanksgivings, often not at home.
Continue reading “Thanksgiving on the Road”
Tomorrow, we’ll arrive at The House on Pink Street in Lisbon. It’s our jumping off point for a vacation in Portugal. Seriously, who wouldn’t want to stay on a Pink Street, especially one with a history? After a couple of days there, we plan to eat and drink our way across Portugal.
Continue reading “Pink Street”
How much is quality work worth? How much would it be worth, if the person doing the work came back two years AFTER completing the job to make sure all was still good? That was our recent experience with Chad of Precision Painting and Improvements. Simply Amazing.
Continue reading “Gotta Stand Behind my Work”
R_____ looked at me and was on the verge of tears. “Oh Max, thank you so much. You are making me cry.” That wasn’t my intent. All I’d done was tell her that if she ran into problems, call me and I would help. It’s a shame what we have come to as a nation, when a person feels threatened by some of those around her.
Continue reading “R____”
It was a sunny morning at the end of October. I was sitting on the couch drinking coffee and looking out the window. It was pretty, but I noticed that in the breeze, leaves were falling like snow. Suddenly, and out of nowhere, the strangest sense of sadness gripped me. It was a visceral feeling.
Continue reading “Out of Nowhere”
Fifty years ago, in August of 1974, my then girlfriend (and now wife), Cathy moved to DC. Although 18 and holding a job with the FBI, she couldn’t qualify for a $500 loan on her own. Her father had to co-sign with her. Discrimination for loans, based on sex or marital status, wasn’t made illegal until two months later, on October 28th, 1974, with the passage of the Equal Credit Opportunity Act.
Continue reading “Not Going Back”
October 21st, 2024 is the 156th anniversary of the 1868 dedication of a statue at West Point honoring General John Sedgwick. In August of this year, my West Point Class of ‘78 took part in a rededication ceremony for the statue. You may ask why – The story spans two centuries.
Continue reading “Sedgwick’s Spurs”
It’s happening here in Virginia. We’ve seen the influx of more illegal and unwanted aliens. Their numbers are in the millions and growing. Trying to eliminate them by the usual methods isn’t working. Yep, the Spotted Lanternfly is causing problems and it’s going to get worse.
The Spotted Lanternfly is an invasive species, native to China and Vietnam. It first arrived in America in 2014 in Pennsylvania, probably via some kind of shipping container. Spreading slowly at first, it eventually arrived in Virginia a few years ago. Two years ago, there were none here at the farm. Last year we saw a few, and this year there are lots of them.
The major concern is that they cause damage to some native plants, including grapes, soybeans and trees, particularly walnut and maple trees. “Nymphs and adults feed on plants, using their piercing mouthparts to suck sap from trunks and stems. This has been shown to cause stunted growth, localized damage, and reduced yields.” *. It has no known predators at this point, although some birds like to eat them. In my view, trying to kill them by hand (by smashing them) is fairly worthless at this point, as there are so many of them.
In an interesting twist, the Spotted Lanternfly’s favorite host is the “Tree of Heaven”, another invasive species! Originally from China, the Tree of Heaven was brought to America in the late 1700s as both a shade and an ornamental tree. Unfortunately, it can crowd out native species with its dense shade, AND with a toxin it spreads in the ground that inhibits other plants from growing nearby. As an added “feature”, it stinks in the Fall.
It’s tough to kill the Tree of Heaven. If they are small, you can pull them out. If they are bigger, you can pull them out with a tractor. If they are large trees, you can cut them down and apply poison to the stump, but its roots spread and develop shoots establishing many more trees. There are other ways to kill them, but they are more complicated and you must stay vigilant afterwards We have plenty of them here on the property and across the Virginia Piedmont. If you kill all of those on your property and your neighbor does nothing, you are going to have problems, as they produce a prolific number of seeds that spread in Autumn. Some folk call it the “Tree from Hell”, rather than the Tree of Heaven.
We are working on controlling both the Spotted Lanternfly and the Tree of Heaven, although it’s an ongoing battle. Maybe the Spotted Lanternfly is helping in the Tree of Heaven battle, but it’s hard to tell at this point. The Lanternfly is a beautiful insect. Unfortunately, the beauty is only skin deep.
Addendum:
