Good morning all you wayfaring strangers:

“In the presence of eternity, the mountains are as transient as the clouds” ………………………………………………………………………………………Robert Ingersoll

“I would like to live like a river flows, carried by the surprise of its own unfolding” ……………………………………………………………………………. John O’Donohue

“I’m just a lonesome LA cowboy…hangin’ out…hangin’ on” …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. Peter Rowan

Time has settled into a standstill here in the Greens……the inevitable Stick Season provides the stark transition from the glory of Fall Foliage to the descent into winter ski season……where have all the flowers gone?…….Not many people about, not much doing, not all that much to say (you’d’ think) ……………………………………….

The magnificent Indian Summer of last week, with 65-degree sunny splendor for six days…has turned into the gray, chilly skies of the Pandemic world…. reducing most all human contact to The Zoom Universe………………

The Plague raged across the continent leaving countless bodies and spirits in its wake…..even pristine Vermont has now limited all reasonable contacts….cannot even see anyone not in your household outside…..72 cases statewide last week prompting a massive set of restrictions….though happy to say that our county, Rutland, has the lowest per capita incidence of cases in the country- at 83 cases per million- compared with, say,  our hometown of Delaware with around 3- 4000 cases per million….Christmas in Vermont, anyone?

Thanksgiving is an afterthought at this point……relegated to Zooming dinners…while the national shit storm rages ……and The Moron n’ Chief continues to brag about winning, poo-poohing the Virus, running again in 24, creating his own TV station (hates Fox News now) ……and generally providing a level of angst for our collective souls…. not seen since the glory days of Trick Dicky……got no mo’ nothin’…….

Three of the Bunty boys gathered for music in the driveway back in Cowtown this week, since Prodigal Brother Al returned for the birth of first grandkid from the wilds of Florida……which was so depressing to miss I did not even go to my weekly Monday music session…which now seems like it may have been the last one for a while, masks or no masks….

We bought a freezer for The Queen to fill with myriad jars of frozen soup…we bought an inflatable hot tub to soak in under the frozen stars…and likely buying a new car this week…after an impulse Covid-shopping trip that had us meeting the dealer salesman in the street with Hazmat suits, driving cars back and forth across Rutland town, putting the old Subaru on Craig’s list just to see, and immediately getting an offer….this is about what there is to do in the mountains these days…

Though…. we did take advantage of the sterling six day weather to have three straight days of last-ditch Dinners on the Ground…hauled the old dining table out of winter storage and set up in the side yard….starting each dinner mid-afternoon in short shorts and winding up in furs and blankets as the sun lowered…..what a parade….The Jewish Pig Farmer and his Death Cafe Queen bride (ribs), The slightly Brain-damaged Surgeon and his Honey-Irish betrothed (Veggie Lasagna), and finally the Erstwhile Russian Spy and The World’s greatest School Marm (sizzlin’ grill food)….now, all of it back stored in the rear barn – cum fitness center for the gray ahead…..

And what more is there to say……waiting for the car buyers to come down from Burlington with their wad of cash…and see what happens…. take a Sunday-in –the rain drive……and dream about…… sunny days, holiday gatherings, holding granddaughters (see Bebe in prep for Christmas #3), disconnecting Zoom, and the coming of January 20^th……this too shall pass…. Chains, my baby’s got me locked up in chains……

Stay safe, take a walk, bake some sourdough, love the ones you’re with……and let’s all keep our fingers crossed…. A Change is Gonna Come…………………………

Mountain Papi

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Greetings Friends and Fellow Americans:

“Let the sky outside awake a sky in your mind” …………………………………………………………………………………………………………. Sogyal Rinpoche

“The simplest questions are the hardest to answer” ……………………………………………………………………………………………………. Northrop Frye

“Snowflakes falling, flake by flake. Each flake falls in it proper place” ……………………………………………………………………………Zen saying

“I know I picked a bad time to be in love” ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………Grand Funk Railroad

It’s been a good week in the far northeast…… After five days of snow and highs in the 20s, the winds of Quebec have showered on us a reprieve with sunny mid 60 days for a predicted week…. we got out, we took off our coats, Papi put his shorts back on…and headed for the hills……and while we were there……driving and hiking through the barren- stick- season beauty of the Greens……we were off the grid….until we hit a cell signal on a mountaintop….and all the text messages hit both our phones……with The News that democracy had stepped up…..

We remain in a shit storm of trouble for the moment……… but many of us believe we now at least have possibilities….to be just, to be fair, to come together………

I am PROUD of our people…………………………

I am certainly PROUD to be a Vermonter, where almost everyone voted by mail and where a clear victory was announced in an hour on Tuesday…. despite a large number of Bernie write-ins………………

I am Not So Proud to be an Ohioan……. I will be rooting for Michigan this year in the annual rivalry game…. Go Blue!!……………………………..

I am REALLY PROUD of our kids, who all got out to vote and be heard, by mail, by early vote and on election day…. special kudos go to Ryan, who stood in line in Cleve-town 2 ½ hours on election day…. we will not be suppressed……

I am PROUD of the media who have refused to spend time focusing on the ridiculous contestations and protests coming from he and his minions…. expectable…. Can you say Hanging Chads?………

I think we can sum up the response to El Presidente in two words……You’re FIRED……

Soooo…. what else happened this week…. not much here…. five days of snow and cold demonstrated a touch of what Covid isolation can be in the mountains………but we remain way ahead of the curve in Vermont……though not immune…. are there really people still refusing to wear masks?………….

Did a bunch of yard cleanup, and winterizing on the house (The Queen has bought out Amazons supply of insulation materials) ……decided that we will be staying in hibernation here at least through November and Thanksgiving………first Turkey-day without the kids and Nave and Suba for 30 plus years……. this will be strange……but this is the boat we are in for now………playing’ any return to the red-going-purple heartland by ear at this point………

Lots of Zoomin’ this week with various projects/colleagues around the country…has anybody not bought Zoom stock yet?……….

Halloweenie passed like a ghost…. though we did have trunk or treat at the local fire station foe the kiddies….and we got to see the granddaughters do their thing from afar by Portal…. see pix of Bebe and surrogate granddaughter, Maddie…….

Donned my Hazmat suit and went back to the newly reopened gym at Okemo this week…after trying to work out in the barn in 22 degree weather (not too bad actually)….and jog up and down the snow/ice covered hills on our major Route 103 (absurd)…..so l found they were only allowing 6 gymsters in at a time for one hour blocks , with a host of safety protocols….picked a time to reserve a slot with no one else signed up….and indeed had the entire building to myself……got to consider risk and need…..and working off election blues was high on the need scale……but felt safe there and it went well -despite 35 minutes of treadmill wearing a required mask ……can you say oxygen ,please?………….

Signed up for Social Security……and thought, give me a break, can this really be true, how did it happen overnight…I mean Social Security, for Christ’s sake…….

And Saturday…..well Saturday was an almost perfect day (can’t tell you all of it for fear of landing on the FBI subversive list)………but when the sun comes out and it hits 70 degrees in November, in the Mount……you gotta be ready to go, go, go in the Greens…..so did our in- town chores and made for splendid Route 100 for a drive between the ranges….over both the Mad River and Lincoln Gaps….lunch on the Green in lovely ville of  Bristol, strollin’ through the graveyards, up and down the dirt roads amidst the slanted bare trees light of shortened days……trek to The View at the Lincoln Gap…………….picked up Chinese at long lost, beloved East in Rutland, on the way home…..a buy of yard art for Christmas shopping….and home in time to watch Uncle Joe give what may be the most inspiriting speech of his career…and how about Kamala the Socialist….what a moment for liberty…….

And…since we are having a run of his ridiculous weather……we have lunch on the ground here planned for the next three days with friends we have not seen since the dark cold descended on us and all moved indoors………gotta go  retrieve that big ass table from the barn storage…….

So, my friends and family……continue to be safe, take good care of one another…… and let’s come together now and find our true selves…. we can reach the mountaintop  yet……

Papi

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Welcome Freedom Fighters and Semi- Happy Plague Warriors:

“Everything in life is speaking in spite of its apparent silence” ………………………………………………………………………………………………Hazrat Inayit Khan

“It’s the Goya thing” ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………The Queen on describing having a bagel with butter and jam

“Please lock me away, and don’t allow the days, here inside where I hide with my loneliness……

I don’t care what they say, I won’t stay in a world… without Zoom” ………………………………………………………………………………………Peter, Gordon and Papi

Does anybody really know what time it is? Does anybody really care? ……………What will you do with your bonus hour today? Hour-schmour……. Ain’t much to do these days, except watch the talking heads, dread the next few days and bake more sourdough bread……and it’s gonna get dark before I eventually get dressed. Da-Da-Da…Da-Da-Da…. Da-Da-Da…. Da-Da-Da…. My Corona……

And…then there were two days remaining……let’s just all go out and find a Biden-bus to hold hostage by gunpoint or try to roll over……we are almost living in a third world dictatorship….  Coup, anyone?

(ED. note- sorry about the below-could not get rid of the bold)

And Fauci says………. are we nuts or what?……….Headline: We ‘Could Not Be Positioned More Poorly’ On COVID-19…………….apparently, contrary to our national leadership, he does not think we are “rounding the bend”, “creating herd immunity”, “or that is it no big deal”…..way to stand up, Infection-man….and how long will he stay around, now?                https://www.yahoo.com/huffpost/fauci-trump-covid-19-dire-025255462.html

And then…she discovered Paula Bunyan—-got out the new chainsaw my beloved got me while the sun was peeking out last Sunday and took to the trees….after using the same saw for 35 years, which started occasionally, and ran periodically, this baby….cuts like Buttah’…had two trees downed and cut for firewood in an hour…..and in the mix of it…..The Queen requested saw lessons for the first time in her life ….from there it was stand back, Papi… no getting the machine back from her…..timbers away……got to get the lunkers out of the way in order to plant all those pilfered pine trees

Wild and Crazy outing for the week….in the time of Corona, any adventure, no matter how small, is Golden…so made the hour long  trek up to Claremont (only blue county in New Hampshire) to the Mart, for oil and tiers rotation (Papi) and vision exam (Nanna) and inspecting all the bottom shelves for accuracy (Lucy)…..had drive – thru Pizza Hut for lurch and grabbed the infamous Mart fried chicken for dinner (working on our diet)….Lucy was the swoon of the season for Mart shoppers and employees….Who do you love? Who do you love…. It’s not the Caribbean…but oh well…makin’ do (or doo) ……big stuff…had to come home and nap….

And The Goat…is now our regular Saturday visit…. Smells Lucy a mile away and comes out to the Dump (From where?) ready to nuzzle…while Lucy runs in circles barking at the moon…. Goat, undeterred, climbed into the Subaru this week and refused to get out (and-has horns) …. totally unflappable and a bit of a stinky-mystic……this is my new Corona bestie….

And…. then it Snowed……three inches overnight on Thursday, creating a Winter Wonderland on Friday morning…and an overnight on Friday of fifteen degrees…. gonna need a BIG heater to keep workin’ out in The Barn……snow covered hills against the few remaining red maples…. WHEW…brings tears to my eyes…. joy to my heart…and frost to my toes…could be a long winter…………………………

Goodbye……James Bond……Another childhood icon gone….

Thanksgiving Blues……family, friends, convenience, Chinese delivery and Red heading for Purple…. OR……a bit isolated, holiday alone, NO delivery, but Solid Blue? Got the Mullin’ -Over Blues big time…

Be well, stay warm and SAFE…try an d love one another right now….

Papi

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Bienvenidos mi Amigos:

“The leaves fall, the wind blows, and the farm country slowly changes from the summer cottons into its winter wools.” ………………………………………………………Henry Beston

“My baby and me we went down to the sea……gonna wash these sins from our hands” ……………………………………………………………………………………. Bruce Springsteen

“It’s been a long time comin’……gonna be a long time gone” …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………David Crosby

Sundays are the new Wednesdays- seems all the same these days for us……today dawned bright(nice) and high 20s (not so nice)……but got a new chainsaw and there is tree cutting to be done this afternoon, which would usually be followed by late day walk, backs permitting….last Sunday we took the late afternoon silent walk up (straight up, that is) Bowlesville Road to the viewpoint on top….dappled late day autumn sunlight falling down though the rippled ridges, small snow peaked mountain in the distance…amazingly- encountered two sets of human on the trail’s quietude….seemed like a walk through the suburbs?

The Last Supper? – We did outdoor lunch (vegan chili, cornbread, cobbler, cognac) with The Russian Spy and Beloved School Marm last Sunday, too……high 40s for a three-hour visit in the cold and muted sunshine……this may be the end of our social life for the foreseeable future…. shuttin’ down on the Mount????

Speaking of Trees……the planting of trees, shrubs and bushes have become The Queens latest obsession…. which means we go everywhere with a hoe and small shovel in the trunk…to dig up potential soulmates for our ever growing arbor…side of the road, mountain trails, graveyards, parks……all in play for the shovel…apparently the goal is to surround The inn with a moat like perimeter of trees…. pine, pine, everywhere a pine…

“Cases and Races” ………. both of which our fearless leader calls “Fake News” ……ten days and counting……saw online that my ballot had been received and counted, which had me drooling with ecstasy……Have you VOTED yet? Every soul must have its rest…. but the end is not in sight……

Back to pickin’ and grinnin’…. resumed going to the local hoedown on Monday night for the past month…. inside at the cavernous Odd Fellows (this is a real thing) Hall in town……six or seven of us in a room half the size of a football field…cavernous, but good acoustics….and everyone masked……have you ever tried to sing wearing a mask?

And, remember the Dentist thing?- made my horrified return trip to the Dentist in the Shopping Center on Tuesday, after reluctantly going the previous week to have my teeth cleaned (way, way overdue)…..and winding up the next day with what seemed like a cracked tooth……luckily, turned out to be a cracked filling which took all of twelve minutes to replace (this guy is making some real dough gliding from room to room on roller skates- apparently working to make his exodus from the shopping center to a new building he is erecting with my profits…..was glad to get in and out and make the throbbing stop, but thought it was caused by over aggressive scraping/cleaning…..are health pro types ever accountable for the secondary problems they may cause?

Off to The Sea, my son……Made our annual pilgrimage to the coast of Maine this week, our third and last outing of the Fall. Trip over was illuminating with Biden signs abounding (3 to 1 in Red New Hampshire, 10 to 1 in southern Maine). In 2016, we made the same trip, and, after living in the Vermont progressive cocoon all spring, summer, and fall- were shocked to find these same areas engorged with Trump signs…we had No Idea, and it was devastating to us….so THIS trip got off to a world class start this year

The Atlantic is very different than The Pacific, where The Prodigal resides….joy and ebullience are countered Down East by a somber, powerful undertoad….it is overwhelmingly powerful….and, this time of year…overwhelmingly devoid of humans….long walks on the misty and mystical empty beaches all up and down the coast from the NH border to north of Portland…abandoned Ferris wheels and play shacks, skeletal bungalows, quietude amongst the rollicking waves, lonely surfers out for a  big squall….stayed in a family cottage (we qualified with Lucy in tow in )the village of Scarborough and combed the back roads for Lobsta Rolls……………..Mainers are fierce and independently rugged souls, though not unpleasantly so….returned home (after some mandatory stops for tree digging) with a hint of sadness at the looming end of Autumn and the coming of the bleak terrain of Stick Season….yet joy of joys-we got another burst of Magnifico fall foliage at the sea…before it gives way until next year……ahhhhh…..The Sea….

Let’s make a better world……

Papi

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