The Ability

Youth is happy because it has the ability to see beauty. Anyone who keeps the ability to see beauty never grows old.

Franz Kafka

The Roundup

While recently attempting to identify some flora in our ditches I came across the website for the Weed Science Society Of America, a “non-profit professional society, promotes research, education, and extension outreach activities related to weeds; provides science-based information to the public and policy makers; and fosters awareness of weeds and their impacts on managed and natural ecosystems.”

The Rescued Film Project is “an online archive gallery of images that were captured on film between the 1930’s and late 1990’s. Each image in our archive was recovered from found film from locations all over the world, and came to us in the form of undeveloped rolls of film. We have the capability to process film from all era’s. Even film that has been degraded by heat, moisture, and age. Or is no longer manufactured.”

If you have bored kids hanging around the house or know someone who does, check out Science Bob for some fun experiments to try.

Check out Money Saving Mom for the latest store deals, coupons, freebies and giveaways, money management tips, recipes, homeschooling advice, and much more.

Current Summer Reading

Last summer I listed what I was reading at the time and I decided to share what I am currently working on. As I have said before I enjoy reading multiple books at the same time, and this year is no different:

Winesburg, Ohio By Sherwood Anderson. The introduction to this edition claims that Anderson offered little cohesiveness to the short stories in this, his most acclaimed book. I have to agree, and add that they are about strange people that, so far, don’t have much of a relationship with each other. Still, it is an interesting read knowing that so many great writers that came after him claimed Anderson as an early influence.

The Metamorphosis, In The Penal Colony, and Other Stories By Franz Kafka. The last time I read Kafka must have been well over 20 years ago. Many of the stories in this volume I have not read before. A few are only a paragraph long, others really have no discernible plot, while some are otherworldly and masterful.

Earth, My Friend By Peter Townsend. Townsend was a RAF pilot during WW 2 who decided to travel around the world in the 1950’s and write a book about it. This could be a boring read to some but I am enjoying reading about his adventures.

Eerdmans’ Handbook To The History Of Christianity edited by Dr Tim Dowley. This has been in my collection for a long time and I finally decided to read it. I think it will take awhile to plow through it.

The Great Gatsby By F. Scott Fitzgerald. This might be my third or fourth attempt over the years to read this one. I find myself not caring for any of the characters and and loosing interest, but I am going to try to finish it this time.

Listening Point By Sigurd F. Olson. When my son returned from working as a canoe guide in Canada a few years ago he mentioned being introduced to the work of Mr Olson. After remembering that I am finally reading this book that has been in my collection for years.

Smiling through the Apocalypse, Esquire’s History of the Sixties edited by Harold Hayes. Featuring articles by Norman Mailer, Gore Vidal, William Burroughs, Tom Wolfe, Terry Southern, Saul Bellow, Rex Reed, Malcolm Muggeridge, Peter Bogdanovich, William Styron, James Baldwin and William F. Buckley Jr, among many others. My favorite article so far is by Gay Talese titled “Frank Sinatra Has a Cold.”

Intent

I don’t know where

Or what I am

I shamble along

Hungry

I smell blood

And flesh

Where am I

What am I

I don’t care

Blood and flesh

Are my forever

Intent

2020 David Jacobi

The Wild Blue Yonder

A single engine airplane has been flying over the vast fields that surround our acreage. My guess is it’s a training plane or a very adventurous solo flier. The same thing happens each time it appears overhead. First we hear it, then locate it up in the sky. It begins the same aerobatics each time, a steep vertical climb until it can not go any higher, the plane turning over and beginning a plunge straight down, wings spinning, cutting the engine as it drops faster, plummeting toward the ground until the engine restarts and the plane evens out, flying horizontal again. Along comes a barrel roll, some normal flying, then flying upside down, then the vertical climb and plunge again. For around half an hour it repeats these maneuvers until it flies off to the north from where it came, only to reappear in a few days and do it all over again. If I am outside I can’t turn away from the show, I have to watch it flying about. The most thrilling part is when the engine is cut and the plane begins twirling straight down to the ground and you are convinced it will crash into the corn or bean fields and send up a huge Hollywood explosion until, bbrrrrrrr, the engine starts again and the day is saved. Maybe my fascination with all of this goes goes back to a favorite film of mine when I was a kid in the 1970’s called The Great Waldo Pepper. The air scenes in the movie used real aircraft, which gives a realistic dimension missing from films using models or CGI. A young, handsome Robert Redford is in the staring role as a barnstorming pilot during the 1920’s. Now, years later, I can look up and watch my own Waldo Pepper.

Website Review: Download

Download.com “is the place where people go to discover free-to-try legal downloads. Featuring rated reviews, Download.com is the trusted, safe, and secure resource for software, mobile applications, and game downloads. With everything from PC starter kits to games, security patches, screensavers, and mobile apps, you can play with more than 150,000 free downloads. Features such as most-popular lists, editorial reviews, blogs, and how-to articles will help you find the software that is right for you.” I have used Download several times over the years when looking for software, usually for security on a new computer. If you are searching for a program Download is a good place to start.

Loaded Cauliflower

Yet another delicious keto friendly recipe for this month. When we tried this dish for the first time I don’t think there were many leftovers. This recipe came from Crafty Morning.

Ingredients

Four strips of bacon cooked and diced

Four green onions, diced

One head of cauliflower

Avocado oil

6 ounces of cheddar cheese

Instructions

Cut the cauliflower into florets and boil or steam until tender. Coat a baking sheet with avocado oil then spread on the cauliflower and gently smash it down. Top with bacon, onions and cheese and bake at 425 degrees for 10-12 minutes.

Black Rose

Once a month I highlight a piece of art I have created and posted on my Fine Art America site. This one is titled Black Rose from the Flowers And Plants Collection.