The Very Small Group- the one a little smaller than the entire Writer’s Section at The Farm- was talking about life and change this morning. Buck is the newest member of the group, and he is accustomed to the changing terms of reference in our common tongue. “Changing the Charter” was the subject of his […]

“We are going to be OK.” – President Joe Biden in his SOTU remarks last night. We had the morning production meeting early. Yesterday, we were concerned by the emergence of the term “Throw Weight.” It had an ominous tenor intended to keep the West at bay. We had read the text of the President’s […]

It was cold this morning and Splash was up early, hurling some logs toward the shy mass in the Fire Ring. He was clearly a couple cups of Chock Full o’ Nuts ahead of the rest of us. Our dawn’s early light brought the first conscious thoughts of the first morning of a bright and […]

We have adopted a new tradition in the Piedmont that is slowly coming alive after the howls of winter. We hold a Sunday Soiree at the Farm. It is a delightful amalgamation of traditions in this place that has been undifferentiated indigeonous territory, a British Colony, a founding member of a successful Republic, an occupied […]

(This image from Ukraine is what got Melissa going this morning. And the rest of us). Melissa led it off this morning. We naturally expected Splash to start the discussion on the fourth day of war. Mr. Putin has placed his nuclear forces on the highest alert, and that had him up early. This is, […]

The whole situation is surreal in changing weather. It is strange enough to make the stones by the Fire Ring look comfortable. The War is underway, third day, and there is stiff resistance by Ukrainian units and people. They have a foe with a history. Our panel of former experts remembers individual Soviet units of […]

The Russians are still going at it in Ukraine today. It is interesting of course, but it is being played out in levels ranging from abrupt and brutal violence through several levels of expertise and interpretation. That naturally depends on the volume of the crowd closest to your hearing. We are jarred at the news […]

(Entrance to the National Conference Center, Leesburg, Virginia. Soon to host an interesting conference sponsored by our Department of Homeland Security). As you might imagine, several of the key nodes of communication at Refuge Farm include military planners and veterans of other conflicts. Ukraine has their attention this morning, as it does ours. But we […]

We were working on the “Weather Report” chart we use weekly to keep track of what is going on around us. It is deliberately intended to be non-partisan to avoid rhetorical attacks on people who seem to intentionally be doing many of the things that pass without comment. As a point of order, we try […]

Lot of “number 2s” in the news this morning. They even rhyme, in a crude sort of way. Which is interesting, since we have been counting the number of flash points in today’s world in the number “3.” We have been muttering about that for months, and readers have only complained moderately. Rocket was unusually […]