Editor’s Note: I am in an undisclosed location on Virginia’s historic and lovely Northern Neck. I am working off the iPad and phone, and neither gives me much flexibility. I will have some observations about the trip, which will eventually follow the Historyland Highway, originally cut through the brush by the legendary planter King Carter […]

(Two of the cooler members in attendance at the Spring Red Tie Luncheon. Photo Socotra). The Spring Red Tie Luncheon was yesterday, one of the biennial events that gets all the old and new Spooks together to share a meal and catch up on the health of the organization Mac Showers founded almost thirty years […]

(Ike and Alan Dulles at the dedication of the Original Headquarters Building at Langley. Image CIA). OK- the big news of the night was that Heather went three-for-three, drove in two RBIs and had no errors. The Naturals of the Nature Conservatory, going head to head with the World Wildlife Fund, still went down by […]

(The Blue Goose in better days. I have been used to seeing it like this for the nearly thirty years I have been knocking around Arlington. Image CoStar). I probably should ride my bike over to Willow in the afternoon, and perhaps I will start doing that once it gets warm and stays that way. […]

It is nice to be out of the bubble of noise in Your Nation’s Capital. It is soothing to be in the country. With the emergence of the season, I feel a sense of new energy down at the farm. The Russians have brought in the first crop of the Spring, a bunch of red […]

I am sure it is the anniversary of something this morning, since I have been spewing accounts of momentous days in Virginia, Massachusetts and Oklahoma City lately. It has been fun, but as my eyes blinked open in the country pre-dawn this morning, I realized I have a busy time coming up, and the time […]

There was a pot-luck party in Arlington last night, with cocktails at Willow before, and it was a blast. It pinned me down up North, and I have been itching to get back to the farm and see if the first cut is needed on the lawn. It is, but that is a matter for […]

(Radical Activist and silversmith Paul Revere. Portrait by John Singleton Copley) It is a grand day in Washington, with multiple events happening downtown as disparate as Earth Day (huge concert on the Mall) and the tightly-buttoned IMF/World Bank Spring Meetings. There have been some anniversaries of momentous events over the last couple weeks. I think […]

(John Singleton Mosby. Image Library of Congress) There is one thing worth mentioning about Marshall, VA. Well, maybe two. I was last there with a pal looking for real estate in horse country. It didn’t work, but we saw a lot of places with decimal points in the asking price. But it was horsey, all […]

I was reading after a brisk walk with the heavy-hands around the long block. The temperatures have dipped a bit, and I could have worn a sweatshirt but didn’t. The brown chair was comfortable and the iPad rested on my lap as the clock counted down to a quarter to five, and time to go […]