Vagabond's House - X
Vagabonds House - the poem goes on
All these things I will have about,
Not a one could I do without;
Cedar and sandalwood chips to burn
In the tarnished bowl of a copper urn;
A paperweight of meteorite
That seared and scorched the sky one night,
A moro kris . . . my paper knife . . .
Once slit the throat of a Rajah’s wife.
The beams of my house will be fragrant wood
That once in a teeming jungle stood
As a proud tall tree where the leopards couched
And the parrots screamed and the black men crouched.
The roof must have a rakish dip
To shadowy eaves where the rain can drip
In a damp persistent tuneful way;
It’s a cheerful sound on a gloomy day.
And I want a shingle loose somewhere
To wail like a banshee in despair
When the wind is high and the storm-gods race
And I am snug by my fireplace.
Kilchoman, Machir Bay, 2014 46% Alc/vol Single Malt Scotch Whisky - update notice
I updated the 28 April '15 posting as named above with a photograph of the rather distinctive bottle that the whisky is distributed in.
Eastern Towhee - Pipilo erythrophthalmus
the photo was taken through our kitchen window-pane, so a bit soft
©
PIWO
A strikingly marked, oversized sparrow of the East,
feathered in bold black and warm reddish-browns – if you can get a clear
look at it. Eastern Towhees are birds of the undergrowth, where their
rummaging makes far more noise than you would expect for their size.
Their chewink calls let you know how common they are, but many of your sightings end up mere glimpses through tangles of little stems.
Kilchoman, Machir Bay, 2014 46% Alc/vol Single Malt Scotch Whisky
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Kilchoman, Machir Bay 2014 release 46% Alc/vol
NorvellHimself – using Michael Jackson's summary style
Guide to Single Malt Scotch:
House Style –after
dinner reminiscing
COLOUR
- pale, pale gold – pale straw
NOSE
- lovely mild heather breeze with subtle hints of peat
BODY
- overtures of spring country-side, rich sweet porridge giving
way to fresh mown green hay
PALATE
- uncloying sweetness, mild peatyness,
FINISH - long and smooth for a 46%
.
| score | 88 |
NorvellHimself’s take:
I like to try new Scotch offerings, but am so mean with
giving outlay to money that I agonize each time that I venture into the liquor
store. But this time, after being
beguiled by the presentation of the bottle and the packaging, the aftermath is
more than pleasing – Kilchoman (kil – ho – mon) is a great flavour treat that
surprises me with incredible smoothness combined with continuing different offerings
of flavour. As I jotted it down while
sipping:
Lovely nose,
mild heather breeze
Very smooth
for 46% with long lingering finish
If flavours
were colours then this would be a warm pebbly gray with overlays of glistening brown and
yellow-orange - and in the real world a pleasant mild sweetness overlaying the essence of Scotch
Grows better
with each sip – now giving taste to fresh mown green hay
This has to
be at least an 85
I like heavy
peat and this is mildly peaty
but it demands another bottle which
is unusual for mildly peaty whisky
This is
indeed a soul stirring sipping whisky for a nice long evening’s contentment –
make
that an 88
Highly recommend this!!!!
I have read many reviews with only one bad apple guy - and I think he must have misidentified his whisky - below read a professional review
Kilchoman Machir Bay 2014 – Tasting Review
By Loch Fyne Whiskies News
On the nose is a summery mixture of fruit,
heavily leaning towards a more dominant citrus kick. The classic character of
Islay peat is also heavily present which balances well with a slight vanilla
aroma.
On the palate again those fruits dominate whilst
the vanilla deepens bring forward a welcomed sweetness; possibly gifted to the
dram by those oloroso sherry butts.
As with the 2012 and the 2013 Machir Bay, the
finish is long and lingering; less harsh than the 2013.
Overall the Kilchoman Machir Bay 2014 is another
positive step towards something truly remarkable and again displays this small,
farm distilleries talent for distilling superb whisky. The 2014, is for me more
well balanced and shows more clearly the development of character that has
taken place than that of the 2013.
But
what is clear, is that the Machir Bay 2014 is a truly sublime dram and is just
a glimpse of the superiority we can expect to see from this distillery in
coming years.
The Ultimate Weakness of Violence
The ultimate
weakness of violence is that it is a descending spiral,
begetting the very thing it seeks to destroy.
Instead of diminishing evil, it multiplies it.
Through violence you may murder the liar,
but you cannot murder the lie, nor establish the truth.
Through violence you may murder the hater,
but you do not murder hate.
In fact, violence merely increases hate.
So it goes.
Returning violence for violence multiplies violence,
adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars.
Darkness cannot drive out darkness:
only light can do that.
Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that.
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
begetting the very thing it seeks to destroy.
Instead of diminishing evil, it multiplies it.
Through violence you may murder the liar,
but you cannot murder the lie, nor establish the truth.
Through violence you may murder the hater,
but you do not murder hate.
In fact, violence merely increases hate.
So it goes.
Returning violence for violence multiplies violence,
adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars.
Darkness cannot drive out darkness:
only light can do that.
Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that.
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
This post was prompted by a post of my very young granddaughter condemning violence on facebook
Vagabond's House - IX (continued thru 3rd picture)
this lovely old 1920's poem continues now with the 3rd picture he would have hanging in his vagabond's house
The picture I love the best of all
Will hang alone on my study wall
Where the sunset’s glow and the moon’s cold gleam
Will fall on the face, and make it seem
That the eyes in the picture are meeting mine,
That the lips are curved in the fine sweet line
Of that wistful, tender, provocative smile
That has stirred my heart for a wondrous while.
It’s a sketch of the girl who loved too well
To tie me down to that bit of Hell
That a drifter knows when he know’s he’s held
By the soft, strong chains that passions weld.
It was best for her and for me, I know,
That she measured my love and bade me go
For we both have our great illusion yet
Unsoiled, unspoiled by vain regret.
I won’t deny that it makes me sad
To know that I’ve missed what I might have had.
It’s a clean sweet memory, quite apart,
And I’ve been faithful . . . in my heart.
Will hang alone on my study wall
Where the sunset’s glow and the moon’s cold gleam
Will fall on the face, and make it seem
That the eyes in the picture are meeting mine,
That the lips are curved in the fine sweet line
Of that wistful, tender, provocative smile
That has stirred my heart for a wondrous while.
It’s a sketch of the girl who loved too well
To tie me down to that bit of Hell
That a drifter knows when he know’s he’s held
By the soft, strong chains that passions weld.
It was best for her and for me, I know,
That she measured my love and bade me go
For we both have our great illusion yet
Unsoiled, unspoiled by vain regret.
I won’t deny that it makes me sad
To know that I’ve missed what I might have had.
It’s a clean sweet memory, quite apart,
And I’ve been faithful . . . in my heart.
New Take On The Old River
looking across part of the ole tailing of the old mill race - facing upriver
Invasive Understory In This Marshy Wood
Phragmites is a perennial plant with feathery plumes at the top of tall, stiff
stalks. It grows in wetlands, along roadsides and along shorelines
throughout the Bay watershed. Although its origin is unclear, it is
widely distributed across Europe, Asia, Africa, North America and
Australia. It was introduced to North America inadvertently in the 19th
century from the ballasts of Eurasian trade ships. Phragmites crowd out
native plants by creating tall, dense stands in wetland habitats.
Vagabond's House - IX
Vagabond's House continued
Pictures . . . I think I’ll have but three:
One, in oil, of a windswept sea
With the flying scud and the waves whipped white . . .
(I know the chap who can paint it right)
In lapis blue and deep jade green . . .
A great big smashing fine marine
That’ll make you feel the spray in your face.
I’ll hang it over my fireplace.
The second picture . . . a freakish thing . . .
Is gaudy and bright as a macaw’s wing,
An impressionist smear called “Sin”,
A nude on a striped zebra skin
By a Danish girl I knew in France.
My respectable friends will look askance
At the purple eyes and the scarlet hair,
At the pallid face and the evil stare
Of the sinister, beautiful vampire face.
I shouldn’t have it about the place,
But I like . . . while I loathe . . . the beastly thing,
And that’s the way that one feels about sin.
One, in oil, of a windswept sea
With the flying scud and the waves whipped white . . .
(I know the chap who can paint it right)
In lapis blue and deep jade green . . .
A great big smashing fine marine
That’ll make you feel the spray in your face.
I’ll hang it over my fireplace.
The second picture . . . a freakish thing . . .
Is gaudy and bright as a macaw’s wing,
An impressionist smear called “Sin”,
A nude on a striped zebra skin
By a Danish girl I knew in France.
My respectable friends will look askance
At the purple eyes and the scarlet hair,
At the pallid face and the evil stare
Of the sinister, beautiful vampire face.
I shouldn’t have it about the place,
But I like . . . while I loathe . . . the beastly thing,
And that’s the way that one feels about sin.
Montanan
Well just guessing but the only other vehicle parked nearby had Montana tags so I'm guessing that the fly fisherman is from Montana - possibly a Cecil county resident of yore - will never know for sure
Vagabond's House - VIII
continuing one of my favorite poems -
certainly not high-brow but certainly one with easy cadence pictures of the mind
-
And there where the shadows fall I’ve planned
To have a magnificent concert-grand
With polished wood and ivory keys,
For wild discordant rhapsodies,
For wailing minor Hindu songs,
For Chinese chants and clanging gongs,
For flippant jazz, and for lullabies,
And moody things that I’ll improvise
To play the long gray dusk away
And bid goodbye to another day.
To have a magnificent concert-grand
With polished wood and ivory keys,
For wild discordant rhapsodies,
For wailing minor Hindu songs,
For Chinese chants and clanging gongs,
For flippant jazz, and for lullabies,
And moody things that I’ll improvise
To play the long gray dusk away
And bid goodbye to another day.
Vagabond's House - VII
continuing one of my favorite poems -
certainly not high-brow but certainly easy cadence pictures of the mind
Then just in range of a lazy reach . . .
A bulging bowl of Indian beech
Will brim with things that are good to munch,
Hickory nuts to crack and crunch;
Big fat raisins and sun-dried dates,
And curious fruits from the Malay Straits;
Maple sugar and cookies brown
With good hard cider to wash them down;
Wine-sap apples, pick of the crop,
And ears of corn to shell and pop
With plenty of butter and lots of salt . . .
If you don’t get filled it’s not my fault.
A bulging bowl of Indian beech
Will brim with things that are good to munch,
Hickory nuts to crack and crunch;
Big fat raisins and sun-dried dates,
And curious fruits from the Malay Straits;
Maple sugar and cookies brown
With good hard cider to wash them down;
Wine-sap apples, pick of the crop,
And ears of corn to shell and pop
With plenty of butter and lots of salt . . .
If you don’t get filled it’s not my fault.
Skunk Cabbage - Symplocarpus foetidus
Breaking or tearing a leaf produces a pungent but not harmful odor, the source of the plant's common name; it is also foul smelling when it blooms. The plant is not poisonous to the touch. The foul odor attracts its pollinators, scavenging flies, stoneflies, and bees. The odor in the leaves may also serve to discourage large animals from disturbing or damaging this plant which grows in soft wetland soils.
Eastern skunk cabbage is notable for its ability to generate temperatures of up to 15–35 °C (27–63 °F) above air temperature by cyanide resistant cellular respiration in order to melt its way through frozen ground,[3] placing it among a small group of plants exhibiting thermogenesis. Even though it flowers while there is still snow and ice on the ground it is successfully pollinated by early insects that also emerge at this time. Some studies suggest that beyond allowing the plant to grow in icy soil, the heat it produces may help to spread its odor in the air.[3] Carrion-feeding insects that are attracted by the scent may be doubly encouraged to enter the spathe because it is warmer than the surrounding air, fueling pollination.[4][5]
Eastern skunk cabbage has contractile roots which contract after growing into the earth. This pulls the stem of the plant deeper into the mud, so that the plant in effect grows downward, not upward. Each year, the plant grows deeper into the earth, so that older plants are practically impossible to dig up. They reproduce by hard, pea-sized seeds which fall in the mud and are carried away by animals or by floods.
The middle photograph shows clean fresh water flowing from the earth over a wash of sand and small pebbles - the Skunk Cabbage is growing all around this small rill-let.
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