Chattooga!

I took advantage of spring break at my tech college to go backpacking with son Thomas along the Chattooga River in the Ellicott Rock Wilderness Area of South Carolina.

 

In a word, the trip was: miserable! Oh yes, we had a great time, and we are glad we went, but still, it was miserable.

 

We entered the forest in the rain. Of course finding dry wood was a challenge, but we did it. It took all we could to start a fire and keep it going. Then it got coooooold! It was 25 F overnight the first night. In the morning not a single coal was left from our fire. (I usually don't do winter camping, but it was in the 70's just last week!)

 

And as we ate oat meal and hard boiled eggs for breakfast, it started snowing!

 



Our campsite viewing down river



We then hike 12 or 13 miles to come back to a even colder (but dryer) campsite. While making the fire was easier, the wind chilled faster than the fire could warm.

 

But the sights were out of this world.



Arriving at camp

A view from the camp upriver.

Recording the high (and lows) of the trip.





A view of the river

Another view of my better side as we headed out this morning

Oremus pro invicem!

That little green thing ...

is corn breaking the surface. (The green sprout, the other things are just weed debris.) Spring is here, and while all of next years wood is not yet in the shed, tilling and planting is starting to swing into full gear.

Oremus pro invicem!

Boys to Men

I spent the weekend in NC at St. Josephs Farm where Jason Craig gave a serious of talks on rites of passage and specifically what the father's role is in moving a boy into manhood-how can he help/how can he hinder.

 

We (son Thomas and I) had a great time and learned a lot. We actually went up to demonstrate for the group how to slaughter, cook and eat a pig. (They already knew the last part.) The rest was extra. Both were great!

I met a great group of 30 men who came up from Birmingham for the weekend.

Oremus pro invicem!

Winter work

We are about 1/2 way to a secure and warm 2018-2019 winter. Here is some of our work from today. (Yes, we usually use a chainsaw - I highly recommend the Echo CS440 which I have used for 14 years, but this tree got stuck and needed a little axe work.)

We are fortunate to have neighbors who always seem to have some hardwoods they want taken away. We have felled over a dozen trees of various sizes since the first week in January.

 

Oremus pro invicem!

The Courtship of Miles Standish

being read now!

I always liked Henry Wadsworth Longfellow dating back to a 4th grade field trip to his home. It was also in 4th grade when I memorized "The Arrow and the Song."

I haven't read poetry in years, but decided to reacquaint myself. After the Courtship, I think I might try "Song of Hiawatha."

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Also check out another new blog The Intentional Imagineer.

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Finally, wrote (or actually revised and updated) an article for New Catholic Land Movement. A version of this originally appeared in 2012 on Front Porch Republic. Enjoy it if you can!

 

 

Oremus pro invicem!

New Man

I left at 6:30 AM for my teaching job last Thursday with a tiny tickle in my throat. I arrived home at 9:00 PM with a 101 degree fever and all kinds of aches and pains. I pretty much stayed in bed for the next 72 hours, and have now emerged a new man (I hope).

Of course this was only possible with a Mrs. Curley who held everything and everyone together over the weekend. I was not the only one feeling poorly.

My theory in getting over sickness (if you can't just ignore it) is to stay in bed until you can't stand it anymore. At that point, you should be cured.

Oremus pro invicem!

God or Nothing

I have been reading this interview (God or Nothing, Ignatius Press) with Cardinal Sarah off and on for a few months now. I am finally getting close to the finish.

After this, I think Cardinal Sarah's book on silence should be on my list. A couple of passages I found this weekend on which I would like to report:

Here are some possibly comforting lines Cardinal Sarah quotes from St. Therese of Lisieux:

Listen, this is how great your confidence should be! It should make you believe purgatory is not made for you but only for the souls that failed to recognize God's merciful love or who doubted its power to purify. With those who strive to respond to this love, Jesus is 'blind' and 'does not count' [their sins], or rather, in order to purify them, he counts only on this fire of charity that 'covers all faults' and, especially, on the fruits of his perpetual Sacrifice. Yes, despite your little infidelities, you can hope to go straight to heaven, because the good Lord desires it even more than you do, and he will surely give you what you have hoped to receive of his Mercy. Your confidence and your resignation are what he will reward; his justice, which knows your frailty has been divinely arranged so as to achieve this. As you rely on this assurance, just make sure even more that he does not lose any love!

 

Of course, relying on these lines may lead to complacency and presumption.

 

And from Pope Paul VI's "smoke of Satan" homily, comes the following:

 

Science exists to give us truths that do not separate from God, but make us seek him all the more and celebrate him with greater intensity ....

 

Pope Paul VI goes on to comment on how this purpose has been turned on its head.

 

It is good to reflect once more as an instructor in Physics what the purpose is of what I teach.

 

Oremus pro invicem!

And I highly recommend ....

Is your phone a tool or a weapon? Not just because it is written by someone I know very well, but because it is worth contemplating and then acting upon.

Oremus pro invicem!

One man's weed ....

.... is another man's meal.

 

Around here, pigweed is a scourge. Supposedly imported with turkey litter for fertilizer from somewhere, it now infests many a field during the growing season. It is prolific and aggressive. A garden or an acre of peanuts can be overgrown with pigweeds in a matter of days if you are not vigilant.

 

A perennial, you can't just plow it under. You need to hand pick it and move it. Some farmers used to use pesticides to rid their fields of it, but it has become resistant.

 

We have fought the pigweed in our small gardens (seeds carried from neighboring fields) and more intensively when we leased several acres to grow peanuts or sorghum.

 

A few years ago we were helping cut down some trees at the Missionaries of the Poor house in North Carolina, when I noticed they were growing pigweed in their garden on purpose!

 

Sure enough, Amaranth is grown for food around the world. Here's more proof from my own pantry.

We actually have fed pigweed removed from the garden to our pigs, and they eat it up. But I don't think I will be growing it for our consumption any time soon....

Oremus pro invicem!

A book recommendation

I finished Out of the Ashes the other day. Regular readers here know I am huge fan of Anthony Esolen. Perhaps my coolness to the current effort has more to do with what I need rather than what Mr. Esolen has to offer.

 

As always he writes very well. His writing is always a delight to read. However, at times (in Out of the Ashes) he seemed to have so much to say that he didn't know how to say it briefly, so uses examples that don't clearly cover the problem.

 

And this is another problem. The book is subtitled "Rebuilding American Culture", but Mr. Esolen spends so much time defining the problems, he neglects how to rebuild, other than 'don't continue the problem.'

 

Perhaps this was it for me. I read for enjoyment and to learn; the enjoyment was there, but in this case, I thoroughly know the problems already. I have been struggling in my own way to rebuild culture at least in my family and among my friends. I wanted a different perspective.

 

However, I DO recommend the book. This is not meant to be a negative review, just that my personal expectations were not met - I am sure Mr. Esolen did not write the book to satisfy me. But take a look, for example: 

The progressives of old had a clear idea of what they thought would bring about their earthly paradise: the dictatorship of the proletariat, the emancipation of women, the elimination of monarchy and its replacement with democracy, universal education, and so on. None of their nostrums has delivered on its promise, and some have had the perverse effect of rotting away the foundation upon which their suppositions of beneficence were based. So it is that democratic machinery without the soul of democracy has produced a far more intrusive and liberty-crushing state than anything that the proudest monarch could have imagined-or wished, since such a constant political preoccupation would have left no time for boar hunting or chasing women. So it is that universal schooling has not brought Milton to the millions, but rather has taken Milton away from the brightest and replaced him with "young adult" junk. So it is that women have been emancipated from the freedom of the home and chained to salaried work and lives of relative loneliness.

 Oremus pro invicem!

Two Christmas presents ...

Here are two of my favorite Christmas presents:

 From my youngest daughter.

And, from Mrs. Curley (some quotes to come...):

 

Finally, in an act of total vanity, I present a picture I came across of my self from a student ID in 1986 when I was in graduate school. Never looked as good again...

 

 

 

 

Oremus pro invicem!

Happy Nativity!

It has been a long time (December 13) since my last post-but much has happened!

As usual, I post a picture of our tree, not quite as big as in the past, but it looks the same when fully decorated.

Most of the children were home for Christmas, but two didn't make it. I guess that's what happens when they get older, live far away, and/or get married.

We wanted to go Christmas caroling on the vigil, but had been bogged down with nagging colds for a few weeks. We did go to Midnight Mass at St. Peter in Cheraw - the only one at midnight within 90 minutes.

With little ones in the house again. it was a challenge.

I do want to recommend a new blog: CountryWillAlwaysBeHome . Disclaimer: it is my son's, but check it out. He has some things to say.

Oremus pro invicem!

Reading...

The Evolution of Physics by Albert Einstein and Leopold Infeld. Interestingly (or unfortunately, or appallingly), as a physicist, I have never read anything written by Albert Einstein.

 

This book contains no math - quite a feat for a book about Physics. It is hard for me tell (because I already understand the content) how easily this book would be understood by the layman.

 

My sister used this text in college and for some reason, I have her copy. Never having read it, I decided I should.

 

I am enjoying it much more than I thought possible. As a Physics Adjunct, I think it may benefit my students on having read this, giving me better insight on how to explain things in different ways.

 

Oremus pro invicem!

In Reruns

Have you "made it" when you are in reruns?

In any event, on a serious and pressing topic, I am in reruns here .

While it appears from the website that this piece was originally published 6 years ago, in actuality, most of it was written in 2004 as the "publisher's introduction" to the booklet Requiem Press put out on praying for the Holy Souls in Purgatory.

It is always interesting to read what you wrote (at least for me!) in the past. Not only does it take you back, you can gain insight into where you are now, compared to then. It is not always a generous comparison!

But more importantly, pray for the Holy Souls in Purgatory!

Oremus pro invicem! 

The wonderful cold weather is here ...

This means hog-killing weather! Pass this post if you are squeamish.

Number 4 son and I had to do this one by ourselves. It is back to work. I am used to supervising, but with my boys scattered around the country I actually have to get my hands and boots dirty.

We have several more to do this season, but this is the first of the cold weather. Because this one is going to be all sausage, we took the skin off (as opposed to scalding and scraping the hair.

Here we are working....

Oremus pro invicem!

Travelling Man

I spent last weekend (2 weeks ago) in Dallas visiting number 3 son. This past weekend I spent in Lander Wyoming with number 1 son and his new bride. (The numbers refer to age and not to any other quality!)

 

I don't have pictures of Dallas, but share two from Wyoming. Both weekends were fantastic. I miss these boys of mine. (Not limiting it to these two. I miss my number 2 son and my number 1 & 2 daughters just as much.)

 

 

This is the part of the restored Ghost Town in South Pass City in Wyoming. Don't miss Atlantic City just up the road either.

 

This waterfall was part of our 6+ mile hike at Johnny Behind the Rocks near Lander, Wyoming. We did "climb" to the top of the falls by a path just out of view on the left of the falls.

 

I think I will be staying put for a while. My family (not to mention our homestead) needs some tender attention. I am certainly looking forward to this.

 

Oremus pro invicem!

My Antonia

Just finished Willa Cather's My Antonia. It is a book I liked but did not give total satisfaction, if that is the right sentiment. Certainly it was not all satisfying in the way a popular novel is. The ending is happy, but there is some melancholy - things that should or could have been different, the fact of mistakes made even by good people,, but a resilient spirit can overcome?

 

Is the difference between literature and the majority of novels not just the quality of writing, but that literature captures life as it is with all the bumps and bruises and sometimes the regrets and not just an adventure with a happy ending?

 

One line caught me towards the end. The narrator asks:

 

I wondered whether the life that was right for one is ever right for two!

 

 

While my answer to this is in the affirmative, not everyone always experiences this, either due to chance or choice. 

 

But more, the line reminded me of a thought of Dietrich von Hildebrand about marriage itself, and not the more material life. I paraphrase the thought below, which is a paraphrase from my own blog entry of 2005 - so it possible it is a little distorted from the actual writing of DVB as I don't have his text with me.

 

Dietrich Von Hildebrand says in his book Marriage – the mystery of faithful love (Sophia Institute Press) that all marriages have the purpose of attaining the highest possible communion or mutual love possible between the spouses. Some marriages in particular are truly made in Heaven and have the potential of being a true living example to the world of Christ’s spousal love. In the other extreme, one spouse must forego receiving the love of their spouse and must spend their life “primarily in sacrifice and renunciation, in care for the salvation of the other” – who is not participating in the love of the marriage. Thus the purpose of every spouse in every marriage, no matter the nature of their particular marriage, will not be realized until that spouse truly lives in a spirit of sacrifice - fully embracing his vocation.

 

By the way, if you want a really good analysis (as opposed to mine) of a classic novel (not this one) you should venture here to read about the correlation between sin and death as portrayed in Crime and Punishment.

 

Oremus pro invicem!

Pigs

We only have one sow left. We sold our last other two in the spring. A few years ago we selected the best gilt from our best boar and sow and raised her to be our remaining sow. She has done well - not our biggest star in the past 10 years - but okay. She usually averages 10-12 pigs per litter, and loses few.

"Polly" had her fall litter this weekend: 5 pigs.

Of course, the low number is likely "Thor's" fault (the boar). We've had him 2 years. I have to say, I think his two predecessors, Red and Tarzan, were better boars.

In any event, may be its a blessing. For the first time, I had trouble selling off the spring litters. (We had two.) I have 7 pigs left from those litters, and I have no need for so many. These guys are getting pretty big, and yet I have 2-300 pound pigs from last winter's litter to put in the freezer. I am just waiting for the weather to cool.

 

Oremus pro invicem!

Reading

Right now I am reading (actual books) two books. One is My Antonia by Willa Cather which a friend of mine was amazed I hadn’t read before. I am some 50 pages into it, and so far so good.

I am also reading Reading Don’t Fix No Chevys: Literacy in the Lives of Young Men, which I won as a door prize at the Adjunct faculty conference at the tech school where I “instruct”. Basically it is a study of why high school boys – well, the title gives the purpose. I have multiple interests regarding the education of young men and am hoping I gain some insight – however, my hopes are tempered by the source of the information.  

But of course I am always listening to something in my long commutes 3 days a week. One of my favorite listens (as reported here before) are audio books by Louis L’Amour. My son forwarded an article about him from a website called The Art of Manliness. A couple of L’Amour quotes stood out.

First: “The idea of education has been so tied to schools, universities, and professors that many assume there is no other way, but education is available to anyone within reach of a library.”

Of course this observation based on the premise (more prevalent in the past than today) that education is not a utilitarian pursuit of employment. Colleges and universities are often (but not always) in the business of job training as opposed to education. I can truly say I have learned more about just about everything from my own reading habits than I ever learned in school,/college the exceptions being in math/calculus and some areas of science.

The second quote I also find very true:

“A book is less important for what it says than for what it makes you think.”

Some may my following observation is a bit strange, but one reason I enjoy many John Grisham novels (surely light fare) is that they really make me think about things-plight of peoples, relations, state of law etc. Obviously there are books written to make one think-and I read those. But often I find light fiction does the same.

Oremus pro invicem!

Two Pictures

Usually I walk in the late afternoon. But yesterday I started my walk just before sunset.

First, as I was passing my hogs, I was struck by the "3 generations", the boar being in the foreground. 2 hogs from last years litter next, and if strain your eyes, you can see this years litter in the background. The picture isn't that good as it is from my cellphone.

The next picture, just around the corner from the hogs is even less clear, but the color that did come through is beautiful.

Oremus pro invicem!