We are a highly adaptive species. Put us into just about any environment and we will modify our behavior to survive. We are all capable of learning how to “work the system,” and the strategies we use to work that system become our comfort zone, even when we are very uncomfortable. We are adaptive, until … More Better Tools
All those beautiful autumn leaves…are in our yard and on our driveway. The much-needed rain sent most of them to the ground, but I’ll wager at least a few were knocked down by the sound of wailing and the gnashing of teeth. It happens with some regularity now, every two and four years. The pendulum … More “D’oh!”
We used to watch a show called Criminal Minds. For a while it was an interesting aside. The first few seasons were loosely informed by actual behavioral science, but over time little effort was made at accuracy. Understandable. It was just a television show, and most are designed for immersion, not fact‑checking. However, the show … More The Opiate of Self Pity
It’s not uncommon in the history of U.S. elections for voters to contemplate changing horses in midstream at the midterms, and the economy is frequently the culprit behind the urge to “do something different.” Sadly, choosing a Democratic or Republican government to “fix” the economy is like switching between Coke and Pepsi in order to … More A Hard Truth
Maybe it wasn’t the best idea to put the air cleaner in the corner of the dining room. It’s quiet, most of the time, and unobtrusive. That’s not a problem. But it has a sensitive “nose,” and that can be a problem. It works like this, you see: The unit sits and runs so quietly … More The Smell Test
They forgot to tell the weather app that it’s fall, but the mountain knows. The cool air flowing down from the high country each morning is liquid refreshment. The hummingbirds are feeding constantly and getting fat. The yellow jackets are in a permanent state of road rage and the snakes are irritable. The birds are … More Elbowing Out
“As long as the earth endures, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night will never cease.” “And just like that — winter.” That was my brother’s weather report from Moreland, Georgia this morning, when their long tropical summer abruptly dipped into the 50s. Fifty is shirt‑sleeve weather in the mountains, … More Weather or Not
Mornings were cooler in the mountains, once upon a time. We still get summer nights in the sixties and temporary relief from the heat and humidity, but those mornings in the fifties — the kind that raised “goosebumples” when the wind rolled off the mountain — belong to another era. I remember them best the … More In A Pig’s Eye
As the midterm elections approach, most Americans already know how they will vote. Not because they’ve spent any time weighing policies or comparing competing visions for the country, but because they’ve sorted themselves into tribes. Red tribe, blue tribe, us and them. The lines are drawn long before anyone steps into a voting booth. Yet … More The Poisoned Well
I forgot to turn on the electric fence around the garden the other night, and something deprived me of at least one good tomato sandwich. I won’t make that mistake again, and I’m looking for a recipe for Lapin à la Tomate. I wonder if you can substitute groundhog… Parking arrangements around here are changing … More Another Cat Post
