Jack’s Walk

No sign of the tinman. ©voyager, all rights reserved

 

Jack and I encountered quite a scary beast in the woods today, and he said, “Roaoar!” I jumped and had to look around a bit before I spotted him, and by the time I did, Jack was softly laughing.

“Silly Mummy, It’s only a toy.”

“I can see that, Jack, but it might be dangerous. It roared at me,” I said, playing along.

“What did it sound like, Mummy?”

“It sounded big and scary,” I exclaimed.

“Really? I mean, did it really sound big and scary?”

“Yes,” I giggled, reaching over to scratch his ear, “and maybe a bit like you. Only bigger. And scarier. Definitely scarier.”

“Ha!” he said. “Fooled you. It was me made who made the roar,” and to prove his point, he roared again and again as he walked into the sunlight and away.

 

Jack’s Walk

 ©voyager, all rights reserved

I live in a highly agricultural area, and my small city is surrounded on all sides by family run farms, many of which have market gardens. So, from May through October, I have access to a variety of locally grown produce at our outdoor farmer’s market. It’s a bit more expensive than the stuff you can get at a grocery store, but it tastes better and there isn’t a hint of plastic packaging to be found. I have a great set of resuable produce bags.

Local also means that I don’t need to buy American produce, which is a relief during this damned pandemic. Covid may or may not not linger on fresh fruit and veg, but I feel better not taking the chance.

 

Jack’s Walk

© voyager, all rights reserved

I’m sorry we weren’t here on Friday, but Jack and I have been experiencing technical difficulties. Our computer is old, and it’s been acting up and giving me the pip. So since I won’t be going to Paris anytime soon, I decided to dip into the travel fund and buy myself a new Macbook. This may not be one of my better decisions because I’ve never used a Mac, and I have no idea what I’m doing. Thankfully, the old PC is twitchy but useable, and I have time to learn about the Mac before switching over. Today I’m feeling ridiculously proud of myself for having successfully transferred over my lightroom files and catalogue. It took me all day yesterday, but I did it, and I learned a bunch of stuff in the process.

To celebrate, I took Jack to the park this morning and let him go for a dip. He stayed in the water for about 15 minutes, then shuffled up the bank and dried himself off in the weeds. I could see he was tired, so I sat on the grass with him, and we basked in the late summer sun for a while before heading home. It was a big outing for Jack, who tires easily now, but it filled him with happiness, and it helped clear my mind. Now, I can get back to that user manual…

It’s September Fun, Fun, Fun(d raising)

Freethought Blogs is creatively trying to raise funds to pay off the sizeable legal bills incurred in the fight against the SLAPP suit brought by Richard Carrier. SLAPP claims are nuisance suits, intended to shut down free speech by making it expensive, so even though we “won,” we still have large legal bills to pay off.

That’s where you, Dear Reader, can help. We need your donations, and we’re prepared to earn them! We’re hosting a series of events, The Carnival of Curiosity, beginning on Friday, September 25 and running through the weekend of Sept. 26 & 27. You can click the link above or on the large banner on the top left side panel to see the schedule of events, and we’re sure that you’ll find something that interests you. It’s going to be a full weekend of festive fun, and any donation is helpful. If you’d like to contribute, you can do so at PayPal.me/freethoughtblogs.

In addition to the Carnival of Curiosity, several bloggers are having auctions with all proceeds going to the fundraiser.

  • Iris at Death to Squirrels is auctioning off a chance to interview her or be interviewed by her.
  • Marcus at Stderr is auctioning 4 of his beautiful art pieces.
  • William at The Bolingbrook Babbler is auctioning a PDF collection of Babbler articles from his pre-Freethought Blog days that looks deliciously interesting. He is also planning to read an excerpt from his in-progress book  The Rift: A Bolingbrook Babbler Story if donations reach $200.00, and if donations get to $500.00, he will read it live.
  • TD Walker at Freethinking Ahead is auctioning a half-hour creative coaching session via Zoom.

Doesn’t all that look like fun? You bet it does, and we want you to join us and make a donation if possible. More events may be added, so be sure to check for future announcements.