Country life can be complicated when attempting to juggle local and national affairs. The Chairman has been off the property, attempting to juggle the perceived value of the property against the inexorable inflation and threat of dramatic interest rate increases from the Federal Reserve. He sent a note to DeMille and the other department heads […]

The junior Attorney attached to the Writer’s Section at Refuge Farm was clearly frazzled. It was a nice enough morning, some sunshine amid the clouds, and temperatures might even break freezing later. She waved a regular sheet of paper from the printer that was completely blacked out with china marker. “See? This is what you […]

Author’s Note: This was a rough from 2005, a long time ago in modern terms. In that year, Minneapolis-Saint Paul was still a bustling modern city that had few immigrants beyond the ones who had come from Scandinavia. We don’t want to pick on any particular group, since these days the discussion spins off into […]

The Attorney was missing this morning. She was required to attend some proceeding in town, or at least that was the rumor, but naturally the Writer’s Section was uneasy with the possibility of veering into non-compliant discussion. Splash was already concerned. “I counted twenty-one buzzards in the trees this morning at first light. Now there […]

Morning had brought a disconcerting blue tinge to Splash’s unshaven visage. Not that it was unattractive, but consensus polling suggested he ought to try warming up before launching on the day. There is a lot going on at The Farm on Sundays, so a certain amount of morning confusion is the norm. There are holy […]

There was silence as the first of the blue skies broke over The Farm. There had been some minor discussion, nothing critical, mind you, but just some observations from people who had been looking and occasionally participating in some of the events that will someday be viewed as “historic.” We were ‘warriors,’ of a sort, […]

This would normally be a great day to puff up and start re-hashing some of the news of just the last couple days. Or hours, if one was particular about the topic. Since we have already been warned that expressing opinions about this in the retired/annuitant community could subject us to criminal charges, we naturally […]

A challenging morning on all fronts under clear chill Piedmont skies. The latest thrust of arctic air has visited, with the little sensor outside the kitchen window reading an even dozen at first reading: “12.” Splash was aware of the cold front, and had established a warm spot indoors. Except for that small gap at […]

(The Bi-Partisan Infrastructure Bill advances from Congress for signing at the White House). We tend to be a little contemplative on Sunday mornings. You know how that goes. Saturday nights express relief that another week has passed without disaster. Or at least complete disaster. We were arguing about numbers this morning, but not in a […]

It was a good night’s sleep at Refuge Farm. That said, it took two layers of eiderdown to maintain the bubble of warmth in our beds. It was a struggle to maintain warmth against cold. Splash let out something that sounded like a giggle. Looking over at the little weather monitor in the great room, […]