The purple iris is Tennessee’s State flower. I have four beds of irises–all different colors. When I was growing up, we called them Flags”. Interesting side note: Irises were commonly known as “Flags” up until the early part of the twentieth century. Irises were called “Flags” which is derived from the middle English word “flagge” which meant rush or weed found in the wetlands. Iris flowers symbolize power and the three petals represent wisdom, faith, and courage. (None of these qualities are evident in any meaningful way in most of the people who reside in present day Tennessee. So, maybe aspirational for the future.) I was weeding one of the beds and hidden in the grass was a terrapin. Not the same one I photographed last summer, but a smaller one. It’s been raining, so weeding has been on hold. Maybe, it will have moved by the time this rainy spell has passed.
When I was growing up, one of the summer’s taste treats was the drop of nectar at the end of the stamen of the honeysuckle flower. One had to be careful in pulling out the stamen or the precious drop would be lost. I wouldn’t dare do that today–too many herbicides.
About ten years ago, I planted some baobab seeds in a pot. I think I had three or four seedlings. The trees cannot survive a Tennessee winter, so, pursuant to the advice from a website about overwintering baobab trees, I pulled the seedlings from the pot and let them dry out over the winter. Needless to say, in the spring, all I had were some dried twigs. Anyway, a couple of weeks ago, I found the leftover seeds from that experiment. I did not think the seeds were viable, however, I planted them anyway. To my surprise, all three seeds have sprouted. This time, I will treat the baobab as a houseplant and maybe, just maybe, the baobab seedlings will survive.
We’re really into the world of “Animal Farm”. Two new holidays have been declared and a military parade for the leader. Smacks of “Animal Farm“. Pageantry and hoopla to gaslight the lesser beings into thinking that they are living their best life.
Perry Mason…Season Five…circa 1962…a Miranda warning of sorts in one of the episodes. Also, in Season Five, a Black male hospital orderly and a Black female hotel maid (These shows are not in color. My first impression of her was that she was a light-skinned Black female.) Season Six–an unmistakable Black maid and a Black male expert witness and a Black male police officer. Also, there was a show that featured Chinese-Americans. Bones–Deforest Kelley, Spock–Leonard Nimoy, and Bette Davis have been guests in this season. And, there were some other actors that I recognize from the science fiction movies of the 1950s that have been guests.
I’m working in my garden, so I watch Perry Mason on rest breaks. I cleared my garden area of weeds back in late February? and Mother Nature decided that it was too bare, so she regrew all the weeds, The tomato seedlings are coming along nicely. I was at Lowe‘s and some of the plants were selling for almost five dollars. There was a sale that was reasonable, but the sale plants were mixed in with the regular priced plants. I was surprised at the lack of selection. The Clerk said that the plants were selling well, so maybe on the day I went the store had not restocked.
For the first time in years, I worked in the garden until deep dusk. You know that time after sunset just before all the surrounding vegetation loses their distinctive green. Where I live, there is the song of the mating crickets, the roar of airplanes, and the chime or carillon that strikes the hour. I don’t hear the chime or carillion until around seven in the evening. From a quick Google search, there appears to be two sites of carillon bells in N’Town. I don’t know if it is the Belmont or the downtown bells that I hear in the evening. Although, I think I may be hearing the bells of a nearby church which may not be listed as a carillon.
A planeload of racist white people has been off-loaded into the United States. Did the United States need any more racists? Kudos to the Episcopalian Church for seeing this offloading for what it is–a lie to promote white immigration to bolster the number of white racists in the United States. They belong to a group of people who committed countless atrocities in South Africa and, of course, cannot accept the consequences of their evil acts. They stole the land from the Natives. One should never obtain good title by theft. However, that is the way of the people who call themselves “white”. They steal and cry foul when they cannot keep what they have stolen.
Strawberries began ripening the latter part of April. I’ve frozen the strawberries I picked in the last week. I’ve had my fill of strawberry shortcake for the time being!
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Just to show that in the spring, my pear tree has lots of pears. By the end of summer, the tree will be bare. Why? Squirrels. Too bad, I’m not in the country. In the past, my older brother would hunt squirrels and these squirrels that have gorged on pears should be very tasty.
That community is already in the process of dissolution where each man begins to eye his neighbor as a possible enemy, where non-conformity with the accepted creed, political as well as religious, is a mark of disaffection; where denunciation, without specification or backing, takes the place of evidence; where orthodoxy chokes freedom of dissent; where faith in the eventual supremacy of reason has become so timid that we dare not enter our convictions in the open lists, to win or lose. Supreme Court Justice Lerned Hand circa 1952. (Perry Mason only quoted an excerpt of the above quote about the supremacy of reason and it caught my attention. I googled what Perry Mason said.) So, in the 1950s, people with discernment were already foreseeing the fractured society of today. For white people, change is a zero sum game and white people are determined not to lose anything, especially their status, because of societal change.
When I heard the quote, I wondered how could stupid, ignorant people who live for an emotional high based in hatred, bigotry, greed have any understanding of or want to participate in “the supremacy of reason”. I have come to the conclusion that they don’t. They don’t have the intellect nor the will to be anything but what they are.
Isn’t that why the racist white South Africans have come to the United States? They are being settled in Idaho, a state that is probably 99% white and is one of the most racist states in the United States. They should assimilate well. Is our tax money being used, in any way, to settle them? If so, that is wrong.They’re white and do not need a government handout as that is socialism and white people are anti-socialism, except when they are the recipients thereof. It’s called hypocrisy. But, that’s okay for the forked tongued–their greed is being fed and that’s all that matters to them. I wonder if they paid the $5,000,000 dollars for–the gold-colored card, emblazoned with a likeness of Trump’s face, offers a path to citizenship to foreigners after paying $5 million to the government. https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2025/04/10/gold-card-trump-lutnick-millionaires/830330220 That planeload could represent a nice chunk of change if each had to pay the five million dollars or did they get a family discount?
I fear my silence and my voice, so I speak and I am silent to quell the fear. My thought after a seeing a video of Jasmine Crockett quoting her father.
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