The play opens tomorrow, so my directing work is nearly done. Here’s a writeup on it in our local paper.

The play I was drafted into directing opens this Friday, so I spent both Saturday and Sunday at the final set calls making sure everything got finished. Still, Chris and I managed to sneak off Saturday night and watch Cirque du Soleil’s Varekai show now playing in Atlanta. This was our first Cirque show, and we were both awed by the performers, costumes, music, and everything else. Well, not so much the big post that partially obscured our view, but everything else, yes. My readers near Chicago might want to look into tickets, because it’s not to be missed. Also, I managed to find enough time and drained soil to plant a whole mess of peas, carrots, and radishes. It might be too late for the peas, but it couldn’t be helped.

I went down this morning to take pictures of the river where greenhouses ought to be, but it had receded some overnight. The high water mark was about a foot high inside the greenhouses, but everything inside survived just fine. The water wasn’t fast-moving there, so it merely rose up the legs of the tables. At its highest, it was only a few vertical inches and less than ten horizontal feet from the 100-year flood line. Our well house was under a couple feet of water, but nothing there was damaged. Assuming we get no rain today (it would be our first rain-free day in the last thirteen – there’s only “a chance of thunderstorms” forecast), the waters damaged nothing of ours. And who knows, maybe they’ll deposit something interesting on our beach on the way out.

“My Blue Taskmaster” This week’s Photo Friday topic is blue.

That’ll teach me to criticize the weather. I just had to wade into the greenhouses…

Nine feet high and rising…

I thought I’d break the silence here by saying things will be pretty quiet around here for a little while. I’ve had to take on the directorship of T&G;’s production of The Rover, opening a week from Friday. Between that and real work and my struggle to get the spring seeds in the ground in time (weather and circumstances have not been cooperative), there’s little time for writing here. You’ll have to content yourself with the daily farm photo and the Friday Photo and perhaps a short comment here and there until I emerge out from under this in a couple weeks.

In Congress, a member can (and almost always does) give a speech on the floor during a session, and then later on submit a written version that can go far beyond what was actually said. It is the written version that becomes the official Congressional Record. Almost always the congressman uses this technique merely to expand and clarify upon the speech, but it has been used by some to insert into the official record items that they intentionally wanted kept off the floor, the cameras, and out of the ears of any observers. Pretty much this same situation has recently occured to me, and it’s turned out to bite me hard. I find no intent to evade on the part of the reportee, but my assumption that the oral and written versions were the same have culminated in a turn of events that has shaken a few dearly-held friendships to their very core and may have severely harmed my working relationship with an excellent community theater. It has been a very hard, painful week. I see more farming in my future.

“Girl Scout Cookie Season” This week’s Photo Friday topic is garbage.

When you come across a flu strain that is unidentified, very virulent, and extremely fatal, it’s time to issue a global health alert. Here’s hoping it peters itself out and never comes back.