Bees in the Trees

Wasp Hive in a Crab Apple Tree
Elkridge, MD
August 22, 2021

Bees and wasps are in the late stages of gathering and preparing for the upcoming winter season. Chris and I noticed a large hive the other day while on our walk. The wasps were very busy streaming in and out at an incredible pace. 

We were walking along Ducketts Lane, a very busy area near the Elementary School when we saw the busy hive. Fortunately, even though the hive was directly above the street the wasps were so busy that they did not bother us as we stood directly under it and admitted its size and the steady stream of insects that were flying in an out. 

I wonder how many, or if any, children have been stung?

It is truly interesting what we can find if we keep our eyes open during walks.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Monday Musings - August 23, 2021

 

1. OK, at some point I thought today was the 24th. It isn't. It is the fourth of five Mondays in August, the 23rd. There are 18 Mondays remaining in the year. 

2. 18 is an interesting number. It is the number of consecutive losses recorded by the Orioles during their current losing streak. The Orioles are not the worst team in the Major Leagues. If this were Premier League Soccer, they would be relegated to the Minor Leagues next year. The Orioles have almost no hope of winning even 50 games this season. It this is the definition of rebuilding, I worry about the definition of deconstruction.

Chris looking at Sunflowers
Fulton, MD
August 22, 2021

3. Yesterday, Chris and I drove out to Fulton, MD, to look at a field of sunflowers. That may seem crazy to some, but since we both grew up in relatively rural Central New York getting back to a farm and seeing fields grounds us both.

4. Chris and I contracted with a company to upgrade our kitchen cabinets. They took the doors off the cabinets and took them away for processing. That was well over a month ago. The project is moving forward at tectonic-pace. I am not sure when we will have a complete kitchen again.

5. It has been a rainy and warm summer. At least the grass has not gotten brown. Wait, that means that I still have to mow every week, Ugh!

6. The journey into the future is fraught with missteps, the successful will find a way to continue moving forward despite the forces that would keep us looking backwards.

7. Today in History. August 23, 1927. Despite worldwide demonstrations in support of their innocence, Italian-born anarchists Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti are executed for murder.

On April 15, 1920, a paymaster for a shoe company in South Braintree, Massachusetts, was shot and killed along with his guard. The murderers, who were described as two Italian men, escaped with more than $15,000. After going to a garage to claim a car that police said was connected with the crime, Sacco and Vanzetti were arrested and charged with the crime. Although both men carried guns and made false statements upon their arrest, neither had a previous criminal record. On July 14, 1921, they were convicted and sentenced to die.

Pentagon Orders Airlines to Help Fly Afghan Evacuees From Foreign Bases - The Wall Street Journal

Taliban Seek Allies as Clashes Erupt in Northern Afghanistan - The Wall Street Journal

Henri, Now a Tropical Depression, Batters Northeast With Record Rain - The New York Times

The U.S. Is Getting a Crash Course in Scientific Uncertainty - The New York Times

Third Pfizer dose significantly lowers risk of infection in seniors, Israeli data shows - The Washington Post

Monoclonal antibodies are free and effective against covid-19, but few people are getting them - The Washington Post

Firefight involving Western forces at Kabul airport, Afghan guard killed - Reuters

UK's Johnson to push Biden for Afghan deadline extension - Reuters

Ronald Reagan Quote for the Week

On October 19, 1781, the British forces under Lord Cornwallis surrendered at Yorktown, Virginia, to General Washington and our French allies. That surrender signified the practical end of the struggle by our forefathers for liberty and independence. The impossible dream of those patriots was about to be transformed into the reality of a bright new Nation.

As the King's troops came slowly down the road to the surrender field, legend has it that they struck up the tune, ``The World Turned Upside Down.'' And, indeed, the old order was to be turned upside down, for the creative powers of democracy were about to be released on an unsuspecting world.

This year marks the two hundredth anniversary of the surrender. October 19, 1781, was a major date in the development of America and her freedoms; and today, two centuries later, it remains an important reminder of our identity as a nation. The anniversary is also an appropriate time to recall the assistance France gave to America's revolutionary struggle. We, as Americans, are the product of many victories, many sacrifices, and many hopes. The campaign at Yorktown is a historic example.

Proclamation 4857 -- Yorktown Bicentennial - September 14, 1981

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Golf and Baseball

 

Plugged Drive 4th Hole
Timbers at Troy
Elkridge, MD
August 21, 2021

It was a sports-themed Saturday. I started the day on a soggy golf course and ended it around my pool hosting a baseball team party. 

The golf course was very wet. I was unlucky enough to hit a drive off one tee that plugged upon ground impact. That really hurts because there are no additional yards from the roll out and I need every yard that I can get. It was however funny to watch the ball hit the course and not move almost like someone grabbed it. 

The afternoon and early evening were filled with the Severn Seminoles 14U Baseball Team doing a team building event in the pool and one the yard in preparation for the upcoming Autumn season. The boys were full of energy and did some great bonding which we hope will carry onto the field as the team faces some of the best teams in the region.  The first scrimmage is Saturday and the team will compete in at least four tournaments. 

What a great and full day.

— Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD 

a

And Back to Saturday

Otium Cellars
Purcellville, VA
August 14, 2021

The week passed fairly quickly. I am amazed at how quickly it did pass. 

It is Saturday, again. Yay.

I am heading out for an a more reasonably Tee time this morning and to start the day on a likely soggy golf course.

Hey, a bad day on the golf course is better than a good day in the office? Right? Well, except on a Saturday when I would be at home anyway. 

Last Saturday began in a hotel room in Leesburg followed by a great day of wine tasting. 

Today promises to be even better with golf and a huge pool party for the Severn Seminoles 14U baseball team.

I hope the rain holds off.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

The Worst Sound

 

There are some sounds that mean bad things are happening. Other sounds are just hard to listen to. But sounds like the following are associated with messes or problems.

Glass breaking comes to mind. 

The sound of an engine turning over that will not start or the sound of the clicking that means the battery is too dead to turn over. 

A child's scream in pain.

But, I think I have determined the sound that evokes the most visceral response in me. It is the sound of a cat puking--repeatedly. 

I have a cat sitting in the kitchen right now puking. I want to do something violent to make the puking stop, but I am restraining myself from grabbing the cat and ushering it outside into the torrential rainstorm. 

The sound woke Chris up and she came downstairs to investigate. 

But it was just the cat. And I cleaned the messes up and sterilized the spots on the floor.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Rain, rain, tornados

 The remains of Tropical Storm Fred passed through the region yesterday and provided more rain than we really needed. I wish there were some way to move these storms across the nation to areas suffering drought.

There are three storms active in the hemisphere right now. Grace being the only one to have achieved hurricane status. 

The remnants of Tropical Storm Fred are making a mess out of the Northeast, Henri is going to turn north and has caused us to reschedule our weekend trip to NYC as it will be making the weather there bad all weekend, and then there is Grace which looks to be a very mean storm headed for Central Mexico. It is not a good time to be on a cruise ship off the Yucatán. 

So our celebratory trip to NYC will now occur on Patriots Day--a good day to visit the city.

With all of the weather here, I wish I was in Florida!

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Wines of Virginia

Tarting Room Casanel Vineyards
Leesburg, VA
August 13, 2021

Chris and I headed off to the Leesburg, VA, area this past weekend to sample wines from wineries and vineyards that we had not yet had the opportunity to visit.

Let me begin by writing that there are more wineries and vineyards in this region of Virginia than can possibly be sampled in a single weekend or for that matter likely in a month. Trying to keep the weekend sane and to truly experience the wines and ambiance of the vineyards we limited ourselves to three tastings per day. So for the weekend we visited six wineries or vineyards. We had alternates selected to account for unforeseen circumstances and, in fact, the first stop was at a winery we had previously visited, but forgotten, and so we went to our second planned stop instead and added the alternate to become the third stop of the day.

The six wineries or vineyards were chosen based upon a review of their websites and the types of wine offered. Two were chosen because they offered varietals not normally experienced in Virginia. One offered both a Tempranillo and an Albariño, while another offered a Vermentino. We were not disappointed at either vineyard, although truth be told, the Tempranillo was made with grapes sourced from Washington State. My understanding is that Tempranillo does not grow well in Virginia.

So the scorecard for the weekend was six stops at wineries or vineyards. Of there six, four were definite keepers, one is on the must revisit after COVID list, and one was truly disappointing despite having a magnificent facility and a seemingly diverse and exciting wine list. That said, we purchased wines from all six wineries and vineyards and joined the wine club at one of them. Yes, I came home with bottles of all three of the wines that most interested me and many more. 

So the top four, in no particular order:

Casanel Vineyards

Stone Tower Estate Winery

8 Chains North

Walsh Family Wine

Important safety tip: Check the websites at any winery/vineyard you intend to visit to determine how or if they are conducting tastings during COVID and whether reservations are required.

Important Safety Tip #2: Drink and drive responsibly. It is OK and desired for you to spit after tasting to avoid alcohol loading.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

And the Winter Forecast is in!

 

Woolly Worm
Elkridge, MD
August 16, 2021

I happened upon a forecast for the upcoming winter yesterday. A woolly worm was inside of my shed door and provided the unexpected and disturbing prediction: a long and difficult winter.

The woolly worm was completely black. Tradition says that the amount of black supposedly means how hard the winter will be--and an all black woolly worm cannot be a good thing. It means a long and hard winter. 

Maybe it is a good thing that I am planning on being in Florida for the bulk of the winter season.

Hopefully the forecast will change as the season gets closer. I am hoping to see a woolly worm with at least some brown on it. It is said that the woolly worms found during September are the true weather forecasters, but that month is only two weeks away--so this one could be the "real thing."

Note to self--get prepared.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Monday Musings - August 16, 2021

 

1. We are past the midpoint of August and this is the third Monday of the Month. There are just 15 days remaining in the eighth month of the year. 

2. Creative and insightful is becoming too hard to find.

3. In a show of unprecedented bipartisanship last week the Senate passed the infrastructure bill. Perhaps, just perhaps, there is yet hope for the Republic.

4. My optimism for the Orioles season has evaporated this past week. The Orioles are on an 11 game losing streak and with just 46 games remaining in the season will have a hard time winning 12 to achieve 50 wins. Why would I pay money to watch this team lose baseball games? It is very possible the team could finish with a worse record than the 2018 Orioles who managed only 47 wins. I thought we were rebuilding.

5. Afghanistan is a mess--which is what was predicted. Actually it was a mess before the withdrawal began. The U.S. is abysmal at building nation-states that can survive adversity.

6. For those who doubt the infectiousness of the COVID-19 Delta Variant, check out the last headline from Reuters below. Children hospitalized with COVID-19 hosts record numbers in the U.S.

7. There are 137 days remaining in 2021.

8. Since the solstice, we have lost 1 hour 14 minutes and 32 seconds of daylight per day, already!

9. Today in History. While salmon fishing near the Klondike River in Canada’s Yukon Territory on August 16, 1896, George Carmack reportedly spots nuggets of gold in a creek bed. His lucky discovery sparks the last great gold rush in the American West.

Hoping to cash in on reported gold strikes in Alaska, Carmack had traveled there from California in 1881. After running into a dead end, he headed north into the isolated Yukon Territory, just across the Canadian border. In 1896, another prospector, Robert Henderson, told Carmack of finding gold in a tributary of the Klondike River. Carmack headed to the region with two Native American companions, known as Skookum Jim and Tagish Charlie. On August 16, while camping near Rabbit Creek, Carmack reportedly spotted a nugget of gold jutting out from the creek bank. His two companions later agreed that Skookum Jim–Carmack’s brother-in-law—actually made the discovery.

TALIBAN SEIZE AFGHANISTAN; U.S. SCRAMBLES TO EVACUATE AMERICANSTALIBAN SEIZE AFGHANISTAN; U.S. SCRAMBLES TO EVACUATE AMERICANS - The New York Times

You’ve Never Heard of the Biggest Digital Media Company in AmericaYou’ve Never Heard of the Biggest Digital Media Company in America - The New York Times

Pentagon to deploy another 1,000 troops to help with chaotic withdrawal - The Washington Post

As DeSantis consolidates power in Fla., local officials rebuke his leadership style - The Washington Post

Haiti Earthquake Death Toll Rises to Over 1,200 - The Wall Street Journal

The Delta Variant Is Already Leaving Its Mark on Business - The Wall Street Journal

Roadblocks erected in Sydney as Australia battles Delta outbreak - Reuters

U.S.Children hospitalized with COVID-19 in U.S. hits record number - Reuters

Ronald Reagan Quote for the Week

The true test of civilization, it's been said, is not the census or the size of cities or the crops, but the kind of people the country turns out. And ours is a country that was born of heroes. And now in the first decade of our third century, tried by all the challenges those years could hold, our moral fiber is stronger still.

Remarks on Presenting the Young American Medals for Bravery and Service - September 11, 1981

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Sunday

 Sundays dawn full of promise. Although they seem to dawn too early these days as the animals of the house cannot distinguish between week days and weekends so they arise at their usual 0500 time. 

Today has actually been very busy cataloging the new wines we acquired, picking up trash from the yard as a result of the storm we missed Friday night. And I even was happy to attend the last try-out and first practice of the Severn Seminoles. I noted that my contact lenses affect how I catch a baseball--when I shift from distance vision to near vision the ball shifts. It was weird until I finally figured it out. 

And there was even a little time spent in the pool enjoying a very typical mid-August afternoon. 

I do so enjoy relaxing days and it is even better when projects get accomplished while relaxing. 

I have been so very enjoying an unscheduled three-day weekend. Two days in Leesburg, VA, sampling wine. 

And so the weekend ends and another week begins. 

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD