Bluebells and Ramps

 

Getting Ready

It's upon us once more. The Easter Party has us scurrying to get ready. When I say us, it's mainly Justin and Claui and John. I did a bit of shopping and will be doing some cooking, but actually, I'm really enjoying the passed baton

The supplies are piling up in the shop and now I need to pull out some quilts for the decor

It's not like the old days when our community turned out three or four or more new quilts every year. Last year I borrowed lots of quilts. So many that I've run out of folks to ask. This year I'll go with my own collection

I think the first Easter party was in 1979. We missed two years because of covid. So that makes this the 43rd, if my math is correct

Not bad.

 

Mostly Green

After the greys and browns of winter, the bright yellows and purples of spring bulbs were a delight. But the tidal wave of green that surrounds us now is balm to the soul.

Azalea

Dent d' Lion

Lemon Balm

Siberian Iris

 

Disappeared

     

 

Dear Sen./Rep. _________,

I write in astonishment, that the GOP appears to back their president's flouting of the law as well as his apparent determination to exercise his  unchallenged power to arrest and send non-citizens and, indeed, potentially citizens, to foreign incarceration  in order to claim they can't be recovered.

This 'disappearing' of any persons the regime perceives as enemies, has long been a hallmark of corrupt dictatorships around the world. Now the USA joins this shameful cohort.

What are you prepared to do to get the unlawfully deported Kilmar Abrego Garcia returned to his family?

In disgust,

Your constituent 

Tax Day--But Not in NC

I was delighted to learn that all of NE, because of Helene, does not have to send in taxes till May 1. I'd been prepared to make a last minute dash to our tax preparer, but when I called, was given the good news.

It felt like being given a holiday. The taxes are ready to send, but I don't have them in hand yet. Now. there's no hurry.

I feel a little guilty, not having , as who should say, suffered due to Helene. Inconvienced, yes. We no longer have a post office in Marshall as the building was flooded and there seem to be no hurry to replace it. I can travel to Mars Hill or Weaverville if I want to mail a package--which isn't terrible but still . . .

An old and continuing annoyance re the mail is that, due to "efficiency and cost cutting" 

measures, our mail is no longer sorted locally but is sent to South Carolina for sorting. 

Imagine! A birthday card to a nearby friend would go from our mailbox, where I leave it to be picked up by the mail carrier, then to Weaverville in the next county (where the Marshall operations have moved) and thence to Greenville, South Carolina to be returned, eventually, to the addressee --a few miles from our house. 

One would almost think that DOGE was at work.

 

Pollinators!

                                                                                    

The Businessman and the Broom

                                              

I've been asked if I've ever received any responses to my letters to my congressmen. Yes, all fairly generic. Rep. Chuck Edwards responded recently to one of my complaints about the tariffs:

 Our president’s background as a seasoned businessman has provided him with the expertise necessary to skillfully negotiate new trade agreements to advance American interests, and I am fully supportive of his efforts to put America’s economy first. These actions have already proven effective: over 70 countries have reached out to the White House to express interest in facilitating trade negotiations.

While we may have different viewpoints on this matter, your thoughts, passion, and conviction with which you have articulated your stance is noted and respected. Through such open and honest exchanges, we should be able to work toward a more informed and balanced understanding of the issues that affect us all.

Oh, Chuck. A seasoned businessman, is he? With multiple bankruptcies and a history of stiffing creditors, he may be seasoned but is he moral? Is he making decisions for the good of the country or to line his own pockets and those of his friends and family?

I'm reminded of a business man on our rural community who ran a little country store during the Depression, giving credit to local folk in need of staples. He did so well out of his business that he ended up acquiring multiple properties in the little settlement from customers who couldn't settle their bills.

Many years later, his son bragged on his daddy's business acumen. "Daddy always had a new broom leaning against the counter and when folks came to reckon up what they were buying on credit, Daddy always counted the broom in the reckoning. Sometimes the customers caught it, but mostly they didn't. Daddy must of sold that same broom hundreds of times. He was a sharp dealer, Daddy was."

A seasoned businessman, no doubt.

Gone to the Dogs

 

Beauty All Around

 

Monetizing the Presidency

                                                               

 "Thanks, Mr. President!" was the headline from some conservative journalist, thanking the Orange One for pausing the ruinous tariffs that have sent the world economy into a tailspin. 

Yes, the pause engendered a huge leap in the stock market. But to thank the Meddler in Chief for this pause is like thanking the man operating the rack for taking a break from twisting the screws.

Like so much else, this is a disaster of his own making and he deserves no thanks. What he does deserve is an investigation into how this gross manipulation of the stock market benefits him and his family and friends.

And how about the Executive Order disbanding the group investigating cryptocurrency fraud? Just as the Trump family moves into the Bitcoin market. Shameless!

Thanks Again, Martha!

• They always catch me by surprise -- one day a bunch of tight green buds and then suddenly a glorious explosion of deep pink. And I always think of Martha Stewart and the article in her magazine about her bed of tree peonies that inspired me to acquire one of these magnificent shrubs.

I'd love to have more--but they aren't cheap.

And maybe I wouldn't appreciate this one so much if there were more.

Whatever. But once again I raise a silent toast to Martha S.

 

A Hollow Shell

                                     

Dear Sen./Rep.________,

As the billionaire wrecking crew and the ship of fools that is the Cabinet, headed by the Golfer in Chief, continue to hollow out our government, I am at a loss to understand how men and women of conscience can stand by and allow the Executive Branch to manufacture emergencies that allow them supreme power.

A Department of "Justice" that deports a legal resident through an administrative error then refuses to bring him back...

Massive cuts to the Social Security Administration that have resulted in poor to no service for frantic seniors, fearful of losing vital payments. . . .

Ridiculous punitive tariffs that will hurt all consumers and tragically lower the standing of the USA in world opinion . . .

Measles epidemics; abandonment of long time allies; an FDA that mustn't use words like 'water' or 'climate' ; a military that can't talk about minorities or women; a financial stranglehold on free speech at our universities . . .

I could go on but your intern has probably stopped reading.

But, as usual, I'd like to know what YOU plan to do about all this.

Your disgusted constituent

C

Mute Monday