Amarillo 2009

Happy Thanksgiving All. Just a few pictures from my last-week trip to the Texas Panhandle. Photographs by Eric Edwards and Brian Millsap. Some scenes from hawking cottontails and jackrabbits with the Harris’ hawks: We caught quite a few cottontails and ate most of them. Here’s one that got away:And one that didn’t:Ernie’s first jack, a …

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Telegram from Steve

Imagine a dusty, one-post-office town on the high plains of central New Mexico, half a day’s ride west of Socorro. A telegram arives…

Lift: A Memoir

The respect of your peers is great. Writers crave that. Praise from a mentor is even better. But nothing beats a star in a national review. Congratulations to our friend Rebecca O’Connor for the following starred review in Publisher’s Weekly—and of course for penning the memoir that earned it. From PW: Lift: A Memoir Rebecca …

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Milton v. Dante, the Cage Match

Continuing the ecclesiastical theme begun by Cat, our shepard, I thought I’d share some thoughts on related readings. I’ve been on a damnation kick lately (possibly spurred by a recent birthday) and have read in the last few weeks C.S. Lewis’s The Great Divorce, all of Wayne Barlowe’s fascinating infernal art and text, John Milton’s …

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Amicus Brief by POMA

For those following the Professional Outdoor Media Association’s effort to combat U.S. v. Stevens (details below). SUMMARY OF THE ARGUMENT18 U.S.C. § 48 is overbroad and therefore unconstitutional. By its plain terms, the statute sweeps broadly: it criminalizes images “where an animal is wounded or killed” even if the underlying conduct, as with lawful hunting …

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A Discourse in Schooners and Candles

Patrick Burns, our friend and reader, can make an argument worthy of a terrier. His mind is unrelenting, unafraid to dig and always pressing home. While you may get in a bite or two, you’ll soon find all your exits blocked and him waiting with a snare. If you’re lucky, he’ll let you go unharmed. …

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Below the Fold

Readers please note a few photo-blogs from Steve just below Cat’s fine flowers. I just posted them this morning.

The President on Independence, Freedom, and Food Security

Last week President Obama addressed the people of Ghana, west Africa, at the end of an extended overseas tour. I was pleased to hear and later read his address, which focused on the importance of independence and democracy among Africa’s nations. Pointedly, Obama encouraged the Ghanaians to pursue self-sufficiency in food and fuel, while pledging …

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In Defense of Pets

This post is ill-considered. I mean, it responds to only one part of what’s probably an important, interesting and maddening discussion that I didn’t read. By the time I found the thread, it had come around to whether it’s OK to eat your pets. Caleb Stegall of the Front Porch Republic bloggers responds to the …

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Revolutionary Update

The latest monthly garden report reveals troop-strength at historical summer lows. The legions of tomatoes, once proudly at attention, are now “at ease” and nearly falling out of formation. In fact, two recently went AWOL. The sunflower looks to have enjoyed a little too much R&R. And the beans are just plain going to seed. …

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