Living the rural life, especially in the Great Land, entails dealing with some things that urban folks often don’t. Two examples: Mosquitoes and dandelions.
What’s fun is that we can use nature against nature, so to speak to deal with these issues. Mosquitoes, for example; while I have used some buckets of water containing mosquito dunks to lessen the local population (and mind you, Alaska mosquitoes are so big they show up on air-traffic radar) the primary means of control is feathered. Around our property are a bunch of nest boxes, intended to attract a summer visitor, the Violet-Green Swallow. These show up in April, occupy the nest boxes and their first broods generally fledge in mid-June, when the mosquito population booms – and they spend their days in acrobatic flight, swooping about, hoovering up the biting bugs as they go.
Now, the dandelions; that’s even easier. Wherever I’ve lived or worked, even in Silicon Valley, I’ve generally run a bird feeder. I like having the little guys around; their presence adds to my day. But here, in the Great Land, the feeders attract not only chickadees, woodpeckers and juncos but big flocks of Pine Siskins, who after visiting the feeder spend a lot of time around the property eating the seeds off the dandelion seed-heads, greatly reducing the spread of that weed.
I’m not against using modern methods against weeds and bugs, mind. But I do enjoy having the birds around.
And so…
On to The Links!
A modern-day Jonah. Wow.
President Biden(‘s handlers) may have paid for crack-head son Hunter’s nights of hookers and blow.
RIP John McAfee, you magnificent bastard. He was a coke-head and a nut, but he was our coke-head and nut.
What, you didn’t see that coming?
President Biden(‘s handlers) threaten to use F-15s, nukes on American citizens.
More information on the Denisovans.
Larry Elder drops some truth bombs.
Joe Rogan likewise drops some truth bombs.
More on this: Heels-Up makes a swift pass in the general vicinity of a relatively untroubled section of the southern border, calls it a “visit.” Wall of Voodoo was unavailable for comment.
A possible new human species with a cool name – Dragon Man.
Inner city violence is not at all unfathomable. It’s the inevitable consequence of the policies of the people running those cities.
Screw Nike. Personally I only wear Justin ropers and Chippewa boots.
P.J. O’Rourke on President Biden(‘s handlers) jobs plan.
I have to admit, this gave me a chuckle.
This Week’s Idiots:
The Atlantic‘s Ibram Kendi (Repeat Offender Alert) is an idiot.
Hold my beer and watch this! I know all about crazy rednecks – I grew up amongst them – but while many supposed crazy rednecks are pretty good folks, the people described in this article are, objectively, being idiots.
Poll: Majority of Vaccinated Democrats Are Idiots.
Salon‘s Amanda Marcotte (Repeat Offender Alert) is an idiot.
The Los Angeles Times‘ editorial board is composed of idiots.
The Nation‘s Elie Mystal (Repeat Offender Alert) is an idiot.
MSNBC’s Hayes Brown is an idiot.
AOC: “Herp herpity derp derp, herpity herpity derp.”
This Week’s Cultural Edification:
I always admired David Bowie’s talent, even though I had mixed opinions of some of his actual songs. But when he had a good tune, he often had a really good tune. Everyone knows the older stuff he did in his Ziggy Stardust days, but he also turned out some great stuff after dialing things back a little in the Eighties and Nineties; songs like Let’s Dance, China Girl and Heroes are all worth a listen.
Here, though, is one of his songs I’ve always liked in particular, because reasons, I guess – music likes and dislikes being pretty subjective. From Bowie’s 1983 album Let’s Dance, this is the single Modern Love. Enjoy.
