Windows to Russia

What I will have for lunch today…

I was going to dig up several potato plants today. I simply love new potatoes and wanted to get a few for eating with turnips. The turnips are the perfect size and definitely ready to harvest, but I stopped at one potato plant; twenty one small to medium potatoes off of one scraggly plant. 21…

I finished shelling the last of the peas, cleaned three nice turnips, and received as a blessing 21 potatoes. I nosed around and saw that all the plants are this way. We have a bountiful potatoes harvest coming…

Today is garden tasty day. I will slice the turnips and potatoes to fry in a skillet, with slices of salo cooked for the grease. Then add a fresh farm egg from Vova to stir together; then take the peas and add Caesar dressing to them. Then I will have a healthy lunch… Everything in moderation and lots of fresh well water to wash it down…

Tonight I will harvest the rest of the turnips and allow the rutabagas and beets to keep growing. I eat carrots just raw and fresh from the garden. What a wonderful day it is. Hot, but with homegrown food, it is plain alright…

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I am thankful and just wish Svetochka could be here to eat this wonderful meal with me. But she will have plenty, for we will have lots to store for the winter…

Have a good day…

WtR

We need to find God, and he cannot be found in noise and restlessness. God is the friend of silence. See how nature – trees, flowers, grass- grows in silence; see the stars, the moon and the sun, how they move in silence… We need silence to be able to touch souls. – Mother Teresa

The term God is what you make of it. Many have turned from this term called God! Many scoff at the idea that there is a God. Many, many more than we look around and see and acknowledge, have lost the way of God. God is what you make of him, it, them and or the idea…

I am a very scientific person, I have a degree based on genetics within biology. But I believe in God…

I believe in God, in gods, in angels, in demons, in the devil, in a guardian and in life as a miracle. I understand the basics of life as a biological viewpoint, but to ignore that there is something, someone and a presence beyond our control, is to ignore life itself. Humans have a tendency to dance the tune of the devil and we always seem to fall back to such tactics, as we develop. This seems to be the nature of humans and it is a dredging up of our animal beginnings. A beginning that was never developed naturally. This it seems is a degradation of society and we allow ourselves to self immolate into our worst part and or soullessness…

Today I will extend a depth into silence. We all should; we have walked a path never before seen by humans now on earth. I will not say never on earth, for we are but just a genetically accelerated species and have a long ways to grow, to encompass our potentials. I ponder if we are even able to reach those potentials, but the potential is there nonetheless…

Today I will enjoy the silence. It is hot, muggy and silence is needed. The world is in multiple forms of chaos and silence is needed to contemplate, but silence is also not to be extended. For with silence comes acceptance of all that is wrong…

Only when you drink from the river of silence shall you indeed sing. And when you have reached the mountain top, then you shall begin to climb. And when the earth shall claim your limbs, then shall you truly dance. – Khalil Gibran

We need silence to gather what we need to express…

I will be silent and garner what is happening in the world and why we seem powerless to stop the crushing decadence of our societies…

Maybe we are silent too long, Silent to deep, Silent when we should express? Silent maybe when we should have actions! Silent when others suffer! Silence kills as readily as bombs! Silence is growth and hindrance at the same time. Silence is a very powerful and silence is more than lack of noise; it is also oblivion…

Silence is sometimes important and sometimes not…

WtR

“Nice” the city, many deaths! I absorbed what happened and the first thing that waved over me was. A truck killed 80 to 100 people. Much more efficient than a gun. Yet there will be no calls for removal of trucks.

Not stupid as it sounds. Anything can literally be used to kill, including you bare hands. It is never the device used or means to kill that is the issue…

It is humans that are the issue and as long as we antagonize and degrade others in this world. Retaliation will be common as mud after a rain storm…

The earth is now too small and too assailable to all. Retaliation is easy…

We cry to the heavens because France was attacked again!

Why are we not crying to the heavens for all the deaths we create and or cause?

Things that happen such as in Nice is never right, but also at the same time it is never wrong. It just counts on which side of the fence you are on and how you look at your place in the world…

Small planet really; If you slap your neighbor, expect retaliation in some form or another…

Kyle Keeton

A trip to the Big Village is and can be an interesting diversion from normal Tiny Russian Village life. Yesterday, I ended up with three people going with me and it was an interesting time. Two of them were born and raised in the Tiny Russian Village and I was shown the hospital where one was born. He also told me how he walked to school to a nearby village; rain, sleet, snow and or shine. Five kilometers one way to school…

Except for not being in miles, I have heard that kind of stuff before. It is called the olden days and we did not think about how terrible things were. We just did what we had to do, to get it done. I lived the same way and we really should garner some courage and get back to our roots and toughen up some…

When I go to the Big Village, it is okay that people want to go also. It saves them a whole bunch of money. We have two big chain grocery stores in the Big Village and when you can buy new potatoes at 30 rubles a kilo and older potatoes at 18 rubles a kilo; then that makes a difference. The truck that comes out on Fridays, potatoes are 75 rubles a kilo. Not good…

Now if I was a some Russia hater, I would use the avto-market truck as the only price and claim that Russia is over run with rampant destruction of its economy, due to sanctions. 😉

Sorry Charlie! Not true….prices are really okay and people are not hurting, well except some people want their special cheeses from Europe and life is centered around those cheeses. Those people are nuts…

Therefore, yesterday the Volga was fully loaded as we came home. Packed with people, packed with food and everyone was, “Happy Happy Joy Joy…”

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The Tiny Russian Village is busy right now and I am filling the wells again. It is hot and gardens need watering and kids need water to play in and I need water to pour over my head, to get heat relief…

Speaking of gardens; our peas are done and I will pick the last of them today. Then dig them under to fertilize the ground again. The tomatoes are getting big and we will have a bunch of them. I get to eat about six strawberries today, that is after four yesterday. Yummy! The turnips are done and I need to pull them, I will eat lots of boiled turnips in the next month. Yummy! Beets are still growing and rutabagas are doing their thing. I love new potatoes, so I am digging them up now and going to even have several meals of new potatoes and turnips. I will mash them, smash them, fry them, bake them and broil them. I will even try to grill them when Svetochka comes again…

Today I will make a salad of turnip greens, beet greens, onion greens, garlic greens, shelled peas and the last of the delicious Caesar salad mix. Yummy…

The apples are almost ready and I eat one a day to keep the doctor away. We have just hundreds and hundreds of wonderful apples…

Our T-Rose is getting ready to bloom. Looks like three buds will bloom in the next week period. I hope the heat does not hurt them. One is showing white blossoms as I write this. I will get pictures of our rose experiment…

Gardens are the best…

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I got to go! I have to check the wells and it is going to be hot today. I did laundry yesterday and when it is happily baked in the heat, I will bring it in. Today, I need to rest! I kinda feel the need, just walk the dog five or six times and read a book…

WtR

My mood today is reflected in this video…

I play a version of this radio broadcast every once in a while. I find no faults in what he says and I find that we did not listen then and definitely do not listen now, to what this man said to us for many years. Paul Harvey was wise beyond his time and this video tells it like it is exactly in our day and age; right now…

I remember when he gave this very broadcast, it first appeared in 1964 and then he repeated it several times over the years…

We need more Paul Harvey’s, but I see nothing but lackeys in his place…

If I were the devil!

WtR

PAUL HARVEY’S ‘IF I WERE THE DEVIL’ TRANSCRIPT

If I were the devil … If I were the Prince of Darkness, I’d want to engulf the whole world in darkness. And I’d have a third of it’s real estate, and four-fifths of its population, but I wouldn’t be happy until I had seized the ripest apple on the tree — Thee. So I’d set about however necessary to take over the United States. I’d subvert the churches first — I’d begin with a campaign of whispers. With the wisdom of a serpent, I would whisper to you as I whispered to Eve: ‘Do as you please.’
“To the young, I would whisper that ‘The Bible is a myth.’ I would convince them that man created God instead of the other way around. I would confide that what’s bad is good, and what’s good is ‘square.’ And the old, I would teach to pray, after me, ‘Our Father, which art in Washington…’

“And then I’d get organized. I’d educate authors in how to make lurid literature exciting, so that anything else would appear dull and uninteresting. I’d threaten TV with dirtier movies and vice versa. I’d pedal narcotics to whom I could. I’d sell alcohol to ladies and gentlemen of distinction. I’d tranquilize the rest with pills.

“If I were the devil I’d soon have families that war with themselves, churches at war with themselves, and nations at war with themselves; until each in its turn was consumed. And with promises of higher ratings I’d have mesmerizing media fanning the flames. If I were the devil I would encourage schools to refine young intellects, but neglect to discipline emotions — just let those run wild, until before you knew it, you’d have to have drug sniffing dogs and metal detectors at every schoolhouse door.

“Within a decade I’d have prisons overflowing, I’d have judges promoting pornography — soon I could evict God from the courthouse, then from the schoolhouse, and then from the houses of Congress. And in His own churches I would substitute psychology for religion, and deify science. I would lure priests and pastors into misusing boys and girls, and church money. If I were the devil I’d make the symbols of Easter an egg and the symbol of Christmas a bottle.

“If I were the devil I’d take from those who have, and give to those who wanted until I had killed the incentive of the ambitious. And what do you bet? I couldn’t get whole states to promote gambling as thee way to get rich? I would caution against extremes and hard work, in Patriotism, in moral conduct. I would convince the young that marriage is old-fashioned, that swinging is more fun, that what you see on TV is the way to be. And thus I could undress you in public, and I could lure you into bed with diseases for which there is no cure. In other words, if I were the devil I’d just keep right on doing on what he’s doing. Paul Harvey, good day.”

This morning at 4 a.m. I started to fill the wells. I had turned off the water at the pump and was tidying the wells up and making sure all was good. I was walking down to the well near us and I heard people wailing and chattering. This was about 6 a.m. and the village people were wound up!

Two babushkas were giving the “cross themselves” with their hands. One guy was hanging onto a tree. Another was running around and wailing. Another was hiding in the bushes. I found something that Tiny Russian Villagers are very superstitious of… 😉

I saved the village; Boza and I grabbed a bucket from our home and fished the poor snake out of the well. The snake literally swam into the bucket and was so happy to get out of the well…

It is 99% positive a rat snake and very beneficial, but anyone but me does not know that and they wanted it murdered, killed, chopped into pieces, smashed and burned at an alter as sacrifice to the gods or something like that…

We are safe now!

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Yes some pictures to finish the post!

WtR

I was fooled! I have been wondering why we had ducks that seemed to be not able to quack. They made a weird noise and then other strange noises. Well it seems after looking closely, they are Coots, not ducks….There goes my, “What a stupid duck!” theory…

https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/American_Coot/lifehistory

I saw their feet and said that is not a duck!

Then Sveta and I looked up what the heck it was. This is a Coot…

They have clown feet in my opinion and they make strange noises. I love them and we have a whole pond full. The smaller pond below is Coot city and the bigger pond is duck city…

Therefore, instead of saying, “What a Hoot!” I now say, “What a Coot!”

Then I recorded its strange sound, as it swims around. The sound gets much louder and urgent, if it sees me and Boza…

So while I was trying to take pictures of this strange duck! It was not a duck, but a coot. An Eurasian Coot…

Life is so wonderful…

WtR

The limelight of our lives is gone. Boza and I and even George the Birdbrain this morning, are kinda sad. We will snap out of it later today, but for now we miss our girl. Part of it is that we only are able to get to bed by 1 a.m. and sleep is lacking today. Boza and I walked and did our morning stuff, but it is always different without our sweetie…

Yesterday, Sveta filled a four liter jar with delicious strawberries from the Strawberry field. She is taking the huge jar to her mother. Her mom does not know that she has picked wild strawberries for her and she will be very surprised when she gets this prize. Wild strawberries are highly praised for health reasons in Russia and I hope that we see some wonderful strawberry jam from this. Yummy…

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I have been bit to the point of being sick by horseflies. They are terrible this year, it is like the mosquitoes went away and the horseflies took their place. Thus maybe, I should mellow out and recover today…

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This is some images from the last few days. Just some items that I like….George finally posed in all his glory for us. My favorite image is the one of Sveta and Boza walking. My buddies…

Sveta helped, Boza straw bossed and we put a new roof on the outhouse. I scrounged enough old wood and created out of thin air a roof for the outhouse. It works, for after a ton of rain last night, it was dry inside and that was the purpose…

The roof is the only thing even halfway level with the world, the old outhouse is so twisted and warped from the many years of weather, that the next rebuild will be a tear down and new…

I tar papered the roof after finishing and got done just in time. Now I need to find a large bucket and catch the rain water for the garden. I sloped the roof to create runoff. The roof survived wild winds and rain last night, so we did it…

No don’t say it; I am not much of a carpenter, but I still do what has to be done…

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I need to mow, do laundry, wash dishes and weed the garden! Oh well, gotta go and most likely will read a book today…

For there is always, “завтра” or zavtra in English. Means tomorrow and a most powerful, perfect and usable word in Russia…

WtR

Russian Eagle, hunting over the fields, soaring at the extent of my camera at 128x zoom, 6.23 MB image size, 5152 x 3864 pixels. Such a beautiful bird…

WtR

I knew Svetochka would get perturbed with me for posting an image of her and Boza sleeping. So she took one of Boza and I sleeping at nap time. All is fair, so I posted it…

Our strawberries are doing so good for the first year…

Sveta met Ralph the Raven…

Fields of grain are more than plentiful in our area. I watched empty discarded fields from the Soviet era, being revived and now are lush and abundant. Russia has “Gone Country” and that is growing her solid roots…

Svetochka was introduced to the, “Strawberry Fields Forever!” She was like a kid in a candy store and seriously, could not understand how these fields are undiscovered. I found them last year and this year they are twice as abundant as last year. Svetochka will pick about two liters today to take home to her mother…

Seriously people! No one could believe how many strawberries there are! Svetochka thought the same way and then she saw with her eyes, “Strawberry Fields Forever!”

I do realize that the song is about a children’s home, I sing the tune as I walk the strawberry fields and when you have kilometers of wild strawberries! You gotta sing something… 😉

You know life is a miracle, when a wild field of strawberries goes farther than you can physically see…

WtR