At 5:30am today, the air was soupy, sitting at the overnight low of 69°F. A waning Strawberry Moon set behind the trees to my southwest. Few birds were awake at that hour, save one very vocal Carolina wren.
This was as pleasant as it’ll be for days, maybe even weeks. Summertime has arrived in Ozarkansas.
I was way off my game yesterday. I truly had not a damned thing to say to you. Deb and I did the usual Sunday things — laundry, groceries — but other than that, we devoted ourselves to dodging a heat index that reached (and stayed at for hours) 106°F.
It was this hot a year ago, too. June 24th, 2023, a Saturday, was the last day that we didn’t call this place Home — hard as it is (for me) to believe, tomorrow is the first anniversary of our American Life on The Mountain.
Things are better now, and easier. Back then, we battled an uncooperative generator and could run only one AC unit. Today we have grid power, and both chillers are a-chillin’. We’re not yet where we want to be, but we’re tantalizingly close.
So this morning, when Miss Smudge and I stepped from the camper into a sea of mugginess, it was the most wonderful feeling in the world — because we’re Home.
In the few hours between wake-up and hunker-down, I puttered. For entertainment, I watched the squirrel feeder. (I no longer call it a “bird feeder.”) A chipmunk appeared grateful for seeds that his larger cousins had flung to the ground.
I walked back to White Rock and picked up a few ticks. None latched.
Along the trail, I found a hickory nut on the ground. Pignut, I think. Not the tastiest for human consumption. Still months away from being ready anyway.
The heat index was 105°F by noon. I was indoors long before that. Work or play, I can’t hang in those conditions.
An early morning perspective from OPSEC One and OPSEC Two.
These were the conditions on The Mountain at 5:02pm CDT.
While I wasn’t blogging yesterday afternoon, I amused myself by kicking turds on social media. I don’t do that very often, but there’s a certain sport in it.
Asshats lurk in every corner of the space, making it what you might call a “target-rich environment.” So yeah, it’s fun for me.
It was there I learned that the ruling regime had plucked a young flack from Interior to join The White House comms team. Maybe it’s just me, but shouldn’t it matter that he’s a raging anti-Semite?
Before you answer, read on. You’ll have more questions, I promise.
According to this new hire, the “Russia collusion” hoax is real, Trump won in 2016 because he’s a white supremacist (and you are, too), healthcare is racist and transphobic, not using someone’s “preferred pronouns” is “hate speech” and, basically, everyone is racist.
And if all of that isn’t enough to make him every progressive’s dream hire, he’s a walkin’ freak show (pictured).
(Check your luggage, ladies, and make sure you’re not missing something.)
If you don’t think they’re fuckin’ with us, you’ve lost your mind. You really want this to continue?
One of Deb’s Facebook friends sure does, asserting, “I would rather take my chances again with an ‘old man’ with good character.”
And yes, he’s talkin’ ’bout the current occupant of the Oval Office.
I made one last attempt yesterday to stir the proverbial pot, sharing a link to a Breitbart article. The piece reported on Friday’s 8-1 SCOTUS decision upholding a ban on possessing firearms for subjects of domestic-violence restraining orders.
That, in my opinion, was the wrong decision. Justice Clarence Thomas said this in his dissent:
“The court and government do not point to a single historical law revoking a citizen’s Second Amendment right based on possible interpersonal violence. Yet, in the interest of ensuring the government can regulate one subset of society, today’s decision puts at risk the Second Amendment rights of many more.”
Most of my social-media friends claim to be pro-2A. What did they have to say about this?
[crickets]
The post received only one reaction. That’s it. No comments. I guess everyone was just flappin’ their gums when they said they oppose “red flag laws,” huh?
And finally, it was a Facebook post from Field Notes — my favorite pocket notebook, made in America — that announced the company’s team-up with musician Jason Isbell. That news, unfortunately, put an immediate end to my years-long patronage of Field Notes.
Isbell is a strident advocate for “gun control” and a loud proponent of a federal ban on “assault weapons.” He’s also proudly pro-infanticide.
Field Notes chose to strike an endorsement deal with someone who’s an outspoken opponent of individual Liberty, who actively campaigns for legalizing the murder of babies. That forced my hand.
Damned shame, but I’ll find an alternative.
Take care of yourselves, Patriots. Stay calm. Stay sharp. Stay free.
#WiseUp #LibertyOrDeath #Ungovernable
#LetsGoBrandon #FJB