O. C. F. Caretaker's Electronic Journal O. C. F. Caretaker's Electronic Journal"The human body evolved on this planet in close contact with the earth. Breaking these bonds with the earth leads to peculiar types of insanities found in cities. Breaking the bonds with the earth causes 'the paper reality' of civilization to encroach upon one's consciousness to a point where one believes that the paper reality is real, rather than a covenient construction of man."---John Lilly
Halloween 31 October I agonized over whether or not I would even bother going out for Halloween this year. It is a holiday for the energetic and always having made the effort in the past, I felt that not doing it this year would be putting one foot in the grave, so to speak. So in the end I dutifully did my duty, and went out to the Witches' Ball at the WOW Hall. The origins of Halloween has its beginnings in Celtic Ireland during the 5th century BC. There were only two seasons back then, Summer and Winter, and 31 October marked the beginning of their Winter. The holiday was called Samhain, the Celtic New Year. Samhain marked the transition from life to death and the veil between the two worlds being at its thinnest. It was believed that on this night disembodied spirits came to the possess bodies of the living.Villagers would extinguish the fires in their homes, to make them cold and undesirable. They would then dress up ghoulish costumes and parade around the neighborhood, being as destructive as possible in order to frighten away the spirits. They then built huge bonfires with sacred oak branches and sacrificed crops, animals, and even human beings---marking the end of the Sun's reign. With the Christianization of the Celtic people, the Church replaced Samhain with its own holiday. Those who continued to follow the old ways were said to be witches and evil demons. The word Halloween itself is a contracted corruption of All Hallows Eve. All Hallows Day, now All Saint's Day, is a Catholic observance in honor of the saints. Trick or Treating originated in the ninth-century with a custom called souling. On 2 November, All Souls Day, peasants would walk from village to village begging for soul cakes, a bread laced with currants. The more cakes the beggars received, the more prayers they would promise to say on behalf of the donor's dead relatives---as it was believed that the dead remained in limbo until they accumulated enough prayers. The custom of Halloween was brought to the United States in the 1840's by Irish immigrants fleeing the potato famine and whose favorite pranks included tipping over outhouses and unhinging fence gates. It has evolved into America's second biggest modern commercial holiday, second only after Christmas, has become a favorite of kids, and has spread in this form to various parts of the world. The appeal of the divine remains however, and coinciding with the end of Daylight Savings Time, we once again find ourselves in the embrace of the Ancient Night.
Thursday 28 October On this day in 1886 President Grover Cleveland officially accepted a gift from France entitled "Liberty Enlightening the World". It was shipped to the United States in 350 separate pieces in 214 crates aboard the frigate Isere. When placed on her pedestal in New York harbor the Lady Liberty stood 305 feet high. Poet Emma Lazarus wrote this poem for the Statue's Inscription and read it at the ceremony. It ends thus: "Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door!" Unfortunately for most of those millions of tired, wretched, poor, hungry, huddled masses yearning to breathe free, they never found that fabled Golden Door. President Cleveland for his part stated that: "We will not forget that liberty here made her home; nor shall her chosen altar be neglected". Thirty-eight years later the Statue of Liberty was finally designated as a National Monument. By this time liberty had seriously eroded with the passage of the Eighteenth Amendment and then the Volstead Act on 28 October 1920. It was designed to solve social problems, reduce crime, poverty and death rates, and to improve the economy and the quality of life---but in reality, during the thirteen years that Prohibition was enforced, the effect was quite the opposite to what was intended. Lawlessness, bootlegging, smuggling, speakeasies, homicides, burglaries, and organized crime all increased dramatically. In fact, the number of federal convicts over the course of the prohibition period increased 561 percent. Prohibition had destroyed legal jobs and created a black-market in its place. Average Americans now flagrantly violated the law and drank more alcohol than ever before. Graft and corruption remained at an all time high until the National Prohibition Act was repealed. A similar situation now exists in our own era---with Draconian drug and forfeiture laws, the corresponding breakdown of society, and the resulting opportunities for profesional criminals. It is a sad fact that violent offenders are routinely released from prison so that small time pot growers can serve hard time. Here is a list of lists that are quite revealing---a telling argument for the abolishment (or at least a prioritization) of some of our most misguided regulations.
Wednesday 27 October I awoke to the sound of rain on the roof and it continued throughout the day, sometimes quite heavily. Though I had planned on doing some coreplugging, I worked at tarping a few things and getting others out of the wet. For the rest of the day I puttered around inside the Ware House working on bicycle art. I met with Jan VanderTuin yesterday at the Center for Appropriate Transport. Jan has been building human powered carrier machines for many years and is currently sharing his skills with youth in a Bicycle Framebuilding Apprenticeship Program.We both share a vision to design a human powered vehicle for the Fair that can fill the gap between a cart and a gator. Several years ago there was a Fair sponsored cart design contest that never went anywhere. Jan and I both agree that for the amount of abuse that any such a conveyance would receive, it needs to be completely bombproof--- which means professionally built out of high grade industrial materials. We will eventually submit a proposal for a Capital Project before the Board of Directors and hopefully build a prototype before the next Fair. We are, I think, extremely fortunate to have such a world-class facility right on our doorstep and I fully intend to forge closer links between CAT and the OCF. This afternoon Chris Doscher and Tim Justice arrived to scope out the removal of the wood stove at the old Security Tower. They want it to build a sauna off-site and I want it gone, so we are on the same page. Since being placed there years ago a portion of the road that led in has been claimed by the Long Tom River and it is no longer passable. The stove itself weighs approximately five hundred pounds and will therefore require about six strong healthy backs to carry it couple hundred yards before it can be reached with the tractor. After getting soaked, I stoked the Katchelofen up and I am now dry and cozy. The skylight is fixed and I lie on my back and watch the big raindrops falling straight down towards me.
Tuesday 26 October A month ago NASA's Mars Climate Orbiter, eighty miles off course, crashed into the red planet. Turns out that two different controlling agencies were using two different units of measurement, one the antiquated metric system and the other the even more antiquated English system. It would be nice to say that these are not exactly rocket scientists we are dealing with here---but of unfortunately they actually are. There are only three countries left in the world not using the metric system; Liberia, Myanmar, and the good ol' USA. Even England no longer uses the English system, having begun its transition way back in 1965, so that now it has become referred to as the American system. The metric system was created in France in 1799 to replace the chaotic collection of units that were used at that time. The French scientists obtained the length of the meter by taking a quadrant of the earth (one fourth of the circumference) along the meridian that passes through Paris, and dividing it into ten-million parts. The word meter is derived from the Greek word metron, meaning measure. Metric measurements make liberal use of prefixes such as: kilo, deci, micro, nano, pico, zeppo, gummo, centi, and milli---and are used to multiply the base unit. The metric system is known around the world as the S.I.--- French abbreviation for "too many ****ing prefixes". In 1875, the United States was one of the original seventeen signatory nations to the Treaty of the Meter. Exactly a century later Congress passed the Metric Conversion Act of 1975, which mandated eventual adoption of the metric system. Ironically the only ones who enthusiastically embraced the metric system were drug dealers. Total apathy by the rest of the American public, and in an effort to reduce Federal spending, caused the Metric Board to be disestablished in 1982. But Congress again recognized the necessity of the United States' conformance with international standards with the Omnibus Trade and Competitiveness Act of 1988, which designates the metric system as the "preferred system of weights and measures for United States trade and commerce." Because the United States hasn't adopt the metric system up until now, it will now take many years and cost untold billions of dollars to make the switch. When we finally do make the switch, we will have to change machines, tools, instruments, dials and scales, plans, specifications, books, pamphlets, signs, deeds and mortgages, etc. Failure to complete the change will increasingly handicap our nation's industry and economy into the new millennium.
Monday 25 October When we drove out last Friday we left a sunny day behind and drove straight into a fog bank. Stepping out of the car in Florence it was as if the seasons had suddenly shifted. On Saturday it rained hard at the coast. For me the retreat itself was a study in contrasts. While last year I was excused while my job was one of the hot topics of discussion (subsequently I have received the pay, benefits, and employee status that I asked for), this year I felt accepted as a full fledged member of the club. We all had a chance to dream about the future on Saturday. The general consensus was that we are in a position to do more. A big lodge with kitchen, showers, sauna, a meeting room for workshops and volunteers is an idea that has been kicked around for some time and will eventually become a reality. Some kind of second event. A Chautauqua. A youth camp. The Fair as campus. More philanthropy. Stuff like that. I said that I'd like to see us have more of a 365 day community. Not everyone likes to attend meetings but I believe many would attend workshops put on by crafters, for example. The lodge is the key to making the Fair a year round educational facility, in my opinion, and I am willing to do the extra work that will be required of me to make it happen. The Retreat is all about looking at the big picture---which isn't always possible when trying to do the day to day business of the Fair. It is also a time to say goodbye to departing members. Saturday evening David Liberty treated everyone to a catered dinner. He is one of the outgoing Board members, along with Tom Alexander. We will miss them both. The new members, Lawrence Taylor and Howard Galvin are both going to be excellent however. Back here at the Fair the rain is much needed and appreciated. Leaves are rapidly falling off the trees now, blanketing the ground, crunching underfoot. It is a portion of the year which I genuinely enjoy.
Thursday 21 October This morning Woodall's called to come get the Site Truck. It needed work done on the hydraulic system, but it is only a temporary fix and will eventually require a new reservior. I rode the chopper over and got some great looks. I checked in with the Youth Corps and then went to formally known as Hubbard's and watered all the plants, which there are many---all thirsty. The weather continues to be great, but unseasonable, meaning that we are still doing plenty of irrigation out here. The East 13th Street path has a new growth of green grass and boy does it look good. It will help keep the erosion in check this Winter. I looked in on the afternoon Youth Corps crew as well. They put in a total of two days. It would probably take them several weeks at the rate they were going to finish the whole thing. We could need dynamite to dislodge some of those old growth blackberry roots. I took the rest of the day to myself, playing with my new arc welder. I'll be heading to the Yachats for the Board retreat and won't be back until Sunday. Arrow has graciously agreed to stay at the Yurt and watch the Site while I am away.
Wednesday 20 October Steve left yesterday for a working vacation and will be gone until the first of next month, leaving me here to mind the place. I was over tractoring on the Far Side yesterday and there again today with the Oregon Youth Corps, who are working in the experimental forest planted this summer. Unfortunately the blackberries are coming back with a vengence and they are attempting to weed them out---but it looks practically hopeless to me. There are few plants more tenacious than blackberries, and the roots of these are well established to say the least. I also spent some time on bikes. Leslie has encouraged me to pursue alternative transportation options at the Fair and I am going to do just that. I took the big step of buying a Lincoln- Electric wire feed welder today. So far the bikes I have put together are for fun and inspiration, but eventually I want to get serious with such projects as rickshaws, pedi-cabs, workbikes, carrier tricycles, and chariots. Obviously I have been doing a little surfing and here is an informative article I found about the use of bicycles in the third world, which has potential application for us.
Tuesday 19 October In June of 1812, with virtually all of continental Europe under his control, Napoleon Bonaparte began his invasion of Russia. He was attempting to force Tsar Alexander I to submit to the terms of a treaty that he had imposed upon him four years earlier. Napoleon entered Russia at the head of the largest army ever seen, numbering nearly half a million soldiers. The Russians wisely refused to engage Napoleon's superior army in a full-scale confrontation. Instead, they begin a strategic retreat, burning everything as they went, meanwhile harassing the flanks and supply lines of the French. Finally, on 7 September the Russians made a stand at Borodino Field, seventy miles outside of Moscow. Unable to stop Napoleon however, Marshal Kutuzov withdrew his troops from Moscow, and the citizens were forced to make a hasty exodus. The now starving French Army entered Moscow a week later only to find the city deserted and burned. On 19 October 1812, a serious lack of food and supplies forced Napoleon on a five hundred mile retreat back through the devastated route of the invasion. The hard Russian Winter has arrived early and many under-equipped troops froze to death. Kutuzov's Cossacks mercilessly picked off stragglers and isolated units at every turn. When the decimated French army finally escaped Russia, it numbered less than ten thousand. The ill fated campaign ensured Napoleon's eventual downfall and Russia's status as a leading power in post-Napoleonic Europe.
Monday 18 October One of the things to watch out for when visiting the Site is poison oak (Toxicodendron diversilobum). Although efforts to eradicate this obnoxious plant here have been largely successful, due in large part to the efforts of David Hoffman, it can still be encountered in out of the way places. A description and picture here. It can assume the guises of anything from a tiny shrub, to a small tree, to a large vine. In fact, the word diversilobum is Latin for diverse lobes. The sap of the poison oak plant contains the chemical urushiol, which causes those itchy rashes on approximately eighty percent of the population. Unless the leaves or stems have been mechanically bruised or chewed by insects, the urushiol will not be present on the surface of the plant. However it only takes a tiny molecular amount to cause a reaction on some people. Oil droplets can be spread by the smoke of burning foliage, a potentially deadly occurrence if it is contracted in the lungs. It can also be transferred by objects such as clothing and the fur of animals, notably pet dogs. The resin can remain volatile for years. Contrary to popular beliefs, the rash cannot be spread from one body site to another or to another person via the blister fluid. If you are exposed to poison oak, washing it off with soap is as about as effective as trying to wash off pine pitch. Fortunately there is a product on the market called Technu Oak-N-Ivy® Cleanser. Use it to dissolve the urushiol containing terpene resins from the skin then rinse with cold water. It is interesting to note that the original TechNu product was developed to remove radioactive fallout dust from the skin without water and was stocked in fallout shelters across the country. Later it was accidentally discovered to be highly effective in removing urushiol. A cool shower will work better than a hot bath. Hot water can open the pores and allow the toxin to penetrate the skin. The oil can float on the surface of the bath and effectively coat your bady as you rise. Of course, if the allergen has already penetrated the epidermal layer, there is very little hope that the process will stop---short of a cortisone shot from a doctor. Calamine lotion is almost useless, but TechNu will help relieve the itching and dry up the oozing scabs in a week or so.
Sunday 17 October Met with Charles and Marlene from the Personnel Committee this morning concerning the results of my evaluation. The bottom line is that while I certainly ain't perfect, they're going to keep me around. After the meeting we site walked and later I did the same with Leslie. I made lots of mental notes about odds and ends that still need to be taken care of, although I didn't get much done today. I located a tandem bicycle and trike in the paper and this evening I went and got them. I stopped by to show them off to Hilary and we ended up going to see FIGHT CLUB **. The movie started out with a lot of promise, but spun out of control in the second half. An awful lot of awfully bloody faces here. AMERICAN BEAUTY **** on the other hand is a must-see gem. Each movie carries a similar theme about modern alienation in society, but the latter relies more heavily on ironic satire than on gratuitous violence. Both are probably destined for cult movie status.
Saturday 16 October The final cleanup workparty took place today and we got a lot done. I worked with David Peek, Randy Wilmart, and Hilary on dimensional runs, Jar and others finished the final decon, and the Traffic crew got all the bales out of the lots. The Annual Meeting took place in Wheeler Pavilion, which was rather like having it in an airline terminal, but in a way I felt right at home as it was just like a big huge Yurt. Next year we will be back in the embrace of the old familiar WOW Hall. Here are the election results hot off the presses. Re-elected Board members; Charlie Zennache, Michele Sharpy, Jim Sahr, and Entienne Smith. New board members; Lawrence Taylor, Charles Drew (two year alternate), and Howard Galvin (one year alternate). The shocker of the evening was that David Liberty withdrew his candidacy during his election statement. He and Sandy are moving to Fontana, California.. We will all miss David's energy and enthusiasm.
Friday 15 October A future mutant bike is under construction. It seems this has become my latest hobby. Once Steve arrived I put my toys away and cleaned up the Ware House. I decided to take some pictures while the light was good, but unfortunately the disk I used was bad, and the data lost. But I know what you want and I'll get some fresh photographs online soon. We brought up three truckloads old compost ready for sifting. As usual, if you sift an equal amount for the Fair, you can take home as much as you need. Money can't begin to buy stuff this good, there's that warm fuzzy feeling of satisfaction by doing it yourself that is so immeasurable, and of course all that wonderful Karma . . . . need I say more. I have this wacky idea that I want to help create a 3-4 mile loop nature trail through the back ways of the Fair that use the main paths only if necessary. It would cost nothing but some time and energy. After my run, five of us regulars went to Our Daily Bread for our weekly dinner.
Thursday 14 October In 1066, after ruling for twenty-three years, King Edward the Confessor died leaving no heir apparent. Harold Godwinson was Edward's advisor and seemed the logical successor to the local court. He became King of England the same day that Edward was buried. The trouble was that William the Bastard, Duke of Normandy, claimed a blood relationship and swore that Edward had already designated him. King of Norway Harald Hardrada, by a vague logic, also thought he had a claim to the throne. Both Hardrada and William laid plans for invasion. Hardrada's Viking army landed first on the northern coast and proceeded to sack the English countryside. Harold's army marched north and dealt the Norwegians a stunning defeat. Only twenty-four of the original 240 ships returned to Norway. William's fleet meanwhile had been unable to sail for weeks due to a northern wind, but he was finally able to cross the channel and put his army ashore. Harold was obliged to force march his battle weary troops south. On 14 October 1066 the two armies met to fight the Battle of Hastings. It lasted the entire day but towards evening the English lines broke, King Harold was killed with arrow to the eye, many of his noblemen dying with him. Now known as William the Conquerer, he was crowned on Christmas Day, ending Anglo-Saxon reign of England. The most important historical outcome was that the power of the individual Lords, which until that time were almost equal to the King's, were much reduced and political power was centralized. One of the most important surviving documents from the eleventh century is the so called Bayeux Tapestry. Actually it is not a tapestry at all, but rather an embroidery of colored wool on linen background. It is 20 inches wide and an incredible 230 feet long. The Tapestry contains scenes in a linear sequence---which tell the story of the conquest of England pictorially as well as with inscriptions in Latin. The work is believed to have been commissioned by Bishop Odo, a half-brother of William, and was probably produced in Winchester. It decorated the nave of Bayeux cathedral on feast days, but doesn't seem to have designed for that purpose since it is not actually long enough to reach completely around. During the French Revolution, it was hauled out to cover a wagon load of munitions being sent to the northern front. A young lawyer wisely pulled the tapestry from the wagon and replaced it with an oilcloth much better suited for that purpose. He lugged the Tapestry home, and hid it in his attic for the next thirty years. Eventually he turned it over to the bishop of Bayeux, who placed it in his palace. It has remained there ever since, except for the short time when the Nazis took it to Paris for scientific examination. The bishop's palace is now a museum and the tapestry is on permanent display, viewed by thousands of visitors a year. Americans form a large portion of the crowds---since the Normandy beaches and a large cemetery of American war dead lie only a couple of miles north of Bayeux. Excellent JPEGs of the Bayeux Tapestry can be viewed here.
Wednesday 13 October Arose early to another fine Autumn day---to meet Cindy Theiman out by the Highway 126 bridge over the Long Tom River for my part in the first round of water quality testing. As this is a new program she has steadily been refining the process in a set of detailed instructions. There is plenty to learn about using these scientific instruments, even though I will just be gathering data, and I'm on my own from here on out. The equipment will be dropped off here once a month after which I will do the testing and deliver back to the BLM office in town. This afternoon I changed oil and lubed the the tractor and went through all the trucks, starting them and adding fluids and air where appropriate. If I do this regularly throughout the winter it will be less aggravation to get them all up and running for the next Fair. The cool nights and dry sunny days are resulting in spectacular fall foliage around the site and around the state. A new green carpet of grass that stretches all the way down the East 13th Street path is also benefiting from the unseasonably mild weather. More of the same is predicted so there is no excuse not to come out and pitch in at the workparty this Saturday. You'll be plenty glad you did, I can assure you!
Tuesday 12 October Yesterday I spent the day getting my wood supply put in for the winter. Last year I didn't do it until too late and as a result was burning wet wood most of the time. Live and learn. This year I have an impressive palletized stack of dry split Oak---which will keep me keep me warm and toasty all winter. This morning I cleaned up the floatables in Main camp with the incentive of being able to use it as kindling. Steve and I took shifts on the tractor on the Far Side wetlands project, grading and dragging out the lumps and bumps left by the giant earthmoving scraper. With the sun setting behind the mountains on the way back home, I got to pretend I was a real farm boy---parking the tractor in front of Ray's Food Place while I shopped up a few vittles for this evening's grub.
Monday 11 October Today is Columbus Day Observed. Established in 1971 to commemorate the discovery of America, it has also become a symbol for the oppression of the Native American People. Looked at from that point of view it is clear to see why they say that Columbus could not "discover" a hemisphere already inhabited by nearly 100 million people, and which was rather more like an invasion that displaced the native population. Upon arriving in Hispaniola owing huge debts to finance his four voyages, and having been welcomed with the utmost graciousness by the Taino---Columbus proceeded to seize hundreds of Indians and have them sent them to Spain where they were sold as slaves. Many died on the trip or jumped overboard into shark infested waters. Others he put to work in mines and plantations which he had created throughout the Caribbean. Within four years of Columbus' arrival on Hispaniola, his men had killed or enslaved a third of the original population of three hundred thousand. Men like Cortez and Pizzaro, and even the U.S. Government, continued this brutal slaughter for centuries. Even today, in places like the rain forests of Brazil, encroachment by a "higher" civilization upon the indigenous peoples endures. Ironically the United States now honors just two men with federal holidays bearing their names. In January we celebrate the birthday of Martin Luther King Jr., who died in the struggle to erase the remaining bonds of slavery in America---and here in October, we honor Christopher Columbus, who opened the Atlantic slave trade and launched the greatest wave of genocide in history. Honoring Columbus' legacy with a holiday and parades is an intolerable insult to the descendants of the survivors of this reign of terror.
Sunday 10 October It is my brother's birthday today---Happy Birthday Jack! Yesterday I did some mower maintenance to get ready for Howard and Randy to give the Fair a final mowing today. We also retrieved some compost and set up the sifter, had a Guidelines Group meeting, and afterwards bucked a couple truckloads of hay out of the lots. Watched the Ducks lose in true Duck fashion, on the one yard line with no time left. David Hoffman wonders why they just don't have two footballs, one for each team. That way they wouldn't have to fight over it. Spoken like a true non-sport fan. Today I spent more some time denailing with Randy Wilmart's help and did some other organizing around the Warehouse. Another beautiful day and hard to believe that they just keep coming---but we're not complaining.
Saturday 9 October As children we were taught in school that it 1492 Columbus discovered America. Actually, the first European to land in the New World was the Viking explorer Leif Ericson, the son of Erik the Red. America may have been first seen by Bjarni Herjolfsson when a Viking boat was blown off course en route to Greenland from Iceland in 985. The Viking ships, with their single sails, did not do well against hard winds though they rode the waves well. Bjarni did not go ashore but turned back to Greenland to tell his story to Erik. Leif later bought Bjarni's ship and with a crew of 35 set ashore in about the year1000 on a place described as a barren tableland of flat rocks backed by great ice mountains---which he named Helluland, now believed to be Baffin Island. Next they dropped anchor off a level, wooded land with broad stretches of white sand which they called Markland, "Land of Forests" and was likely Labrador. Again they sailed southward and arrived in a land that was green with fields of self-sown wheat, trees, and sweet wild grapes. On board ship was a German winemaker who became ecstatic at the sight. They named it Vinland the Good, built shelters and spent the winter. Historians believe that this was on the northernmost tip of what is now Newfoundland, on the Strait of Belle Isle. Lief returned to Greenland. His brother Thorvald returned to take up the task of colonizing the New World, but it was an auspicious beginning. First contact with the Native Americans resulted in bloodshed. Thorvald was among those killed and the rest fled in their boats, effectively ending the settlement of America for the next five hundred years. 1964 President Lyndon B. Johnson, backed by a unanimous Congress, proclaimed October 9th "Leif Ericson Day" in commemoration of the first arrival of a European on North American soil. President Clinton reaffirmed that in this proclamation.
Friday 8 October Set to work denailing some of the wood that is laying in piles and restocking Woodstock. Steve lent me his truck so I could take the scopes over to the Fern Ridge Library and install them into the Giant Kaleidoscope. The abandoned truck has finally been removed by the Sherriff's Department! When I returned we hauled the picnic tables and up and stored them. I took a run around the perimeter of the Fair in a light rain. Steve, Arrow and I went to Our Daily Bread as usual. It was dark before seven o'clock. Indian Summer is coming to an end and it is starting to feel a lot like Autumn now.
Thursday 7 October Wednesday night it rained .4 of an inch, much needed here on site and elsewhere. Yesterday I worked with Dennis Todd on installing ground moisture test equipment in the test plot. I also checked in on the road project out by relocated Maple Gate entrance. That project there is now well underway with no mud to speak of, in fact the rain softened the soil up to a perfect working consistancy. Not so on the Far Side where the drip irrigation has been on for twelve hours a day for well over a month. Wet, sticky clay was the order of the day there. It was a beautiful Autumn day today but I forced myself to stay inside and clean the Yurt since my folks were coming for a brief visit. They arrived ahead of schedule however, before I could get the vacuuming and such done, and the illusion was shattered.
Wednesday 6 October If recent atrocities in the Balkans seem like anything new consider this. Over a thousand years ago the Byzantine Empire and the state of Bulgaria were locked in a cruel half century war of attrition. We pick up the story in 971 AD, the Bulgarian troops beaten back, the eastern half of the country seceded to the Orthodox Christians, Tsar Boris II captured and imprisoned in Constantinople. Exhausted by the battles, the Byzantine army returned to their capital without formally establishing Emperor Basil II's power in the western lands of Bulgaria, expecting they would soon be annexed to and ruled by the scepter of Holy Roman Empire. The district governors in western Bulgaria refused to submit however, and raised the standard of revolt against the Byzantium Empire. Samuil, the governor of Sredets (modern Sofia) emerged as a superb commander and was eventually successful in freeing the occupied territories in 976. Two years later Boris II somehow managed to escape from captivity, and with his brother Romanus made his way back to the border---only to be accidentally shot dead with an arrow by a Bulgarian sentry. As Romanus had been castrated by the Byzantines and could not therefore ascend to the throne, it left Samuil, who was not of royal lineage, as the the new tsar. In 986 Basil II undertook a fresh campaign against Bulgaria, but on August 17th was routed by Samuel in a brilliant victory. Escorted by a small contingent, the emperor made a harrowing narrow escape back to Constantinople. Until the beginning of the second millennium, the Bulgarians enjoyed supreme mastery of the Balkans, raining severe blows on the Byzantium Empire and her allies. Thereafter the pendulum swung back and again the eastern half of Bulgaria was under Byzantium control. Even so, the bloody fighting in the western Bulgarian territories continued and in 1014 Basil II captured part of the Bulgarian army. On the 6th of October 1014 the Emperor ordered fifteen thousand captured Bulgarian soldiers blinded, with one in every hundred left with one eye to lead the rest back to Samuel. Since that horrible event Basil has been referred to as Bulgarochtone---"The Bulgar-Killer". At the terrible sight of his blind warriors' procession the old Bulgarian tsar died of a heart attack. It marked the beginning of the end. Samuil's son became tsar only to be murdered by his cousin a year later, who in turn was killed in a final battle during hand to hand fighting in 1018. Shortly thereafter Bulgaria was annexed by The Eastern Roman Empire until its irretrievable collapse in 1071.
Tuesday 5 October Steve and I were out early and tore a hole in the fence on the southern boundary of Trotter's Field, where the new Maple(less) Gate is going to go and where the ramp has already been relocated to. ODOT spares no expense it seems, when it comes to filling postholes with concrete, but we managed to get the honking post and braces out using the tractor. Robert DeSpain and Staton Construction are going to begin to put in the new section of road on our property and started moving their equipment in today. As Bucket came in with me to spend last night on site, he rode back with me on my way to my dentist appointment. I saw THREE KINGS while in town, and it had some very interesting cimemagraphic techniques, especially involving the trajectories of bullets. Very much an anti-war film I would say. I also saw THE 13TH WARRIOR the other day, and although it didn't get great reviews, I liked it a lot. An original story based on Micheal Crichton's "Eaters of the Dead" (which is a fictional continuation of a real tenth century Arab's diary) and the ancient epic "Beowulf". If you are attentive during this movie you will notice lots of bits of interesting mental substance lurking just below the suface of this unusual action-adventure film.
Monday 4 October I got up early to supervise the grading of the Wetlands Consolidation Project for Dennis Todd. As it turned out this was the last dry day and we were lucky to get the work done before the rain turned it all to mud. I ran the laser level and, surprisingly, a large bulldozer for several hours. I used to run one for the Army over twenty years ago and I was a little rusty---but it was just like getting on a bike again, you never forget how. After operating it for several hours on the flat, Dennis asked me to pile up some of the sod up with a Southwest facing slope as a habitate for Western Pond Turtles. Unfortunatly, just as I was finishing that off, the dozer threw a track. The mechanics fro, Durbin Construction were out immediatly, made short work out of what looked like a potentially ugly job, and assured me that it had happened a few times before and was not therefore not my fault. I felt better after that. After returning the level to United Rental I attended the Executive and Board Meetings in town.
Sunday 3 October VegManEC Sunday. Still with the straw and hay removal which has dragged on all summer and basically reached an end, in more ways than one. Frankly, the VegManECs are tired of being the janitors for everybody's mess and I doubt they are going to be willing to do it again. The only real solution is to ban the use of spread hay and straw Fair-wide. The part I lament the most is not all the energy that is squandered on this task, but the fact that all this hard work could have been put to a much more productive use. There are some good things that are left undone because of it. At the end of their day here, I asked the crew to help me remove the flood pounded remains of the old Security shower, which amounted to about a truckload of dimensional lumber, something that would have been extremely hard to do with only a few bodies. It was very difficult to access it as the road that led in to it no longer exists, having been eroded away by the river over the past five years. It took three human chains, using about a dozen people each time, to pass the debris up to the Old Security Tower, back down to the mouth of Indian creek, and then back up to Strawberry Lane. Again this is another crew's responsiblity taken on by the VegManECs. I thank them for their Labors of Love. Here is a picture of the pair of Burning Man inspired mutant bikes. There will be more. In the evening I answered an ad in the Register-Guard about a tandem and a three wheeled bike to add to the collection but by the time I got there they both had sold. I ended up with a red 1977 Schwinn Typhoon crusier in excellent original condition however! If anyone knows about where I could get a used tandem bicycle I would definitely be most interested.
Saturday 2 October This morning I hauled a load of sand over to Chela Mela and Steve spread, coreplugged, and seeded the area---pronouncing our new implement a success. David Hoffman was out here as he is every Saturday and he and I termited a campsite in the middle of the upper eight loop. This site took the dubious distinction of first place for the worst ethic award of this year. Left behind were beer bottles, a styrofoam cooler, a large tent, pier blocks, copious amounts of hay, firewood, platforms, wire, rope, etc, etc. I will make a special effort to visit the (ab)users of this space during the next Fair and hopefully reeducate them on proper cleanup procedure. Dennis Todd and David Liberty have staked out some features to be graded in on the Far Side Wetlands Project and met with them as I will be operating the laser level and supervising the belly scraper on Monday as it finishes that phase of the work. Towards evening I started my Winter workout routine with a quick three mile run around the property. It's a good way to do my security rounds and get fit at the same time. Once the rains start in ernest I will be back at the gym.
Friday 1 October October is got its name from the Roman word octo (which means eight obviously) as it was the eighth month back when March used to be the first. The Romans tried to change the name four seperate times; after Germanicus, Antonius, Faustina and Herculeus. Unlike July and August however (which were renamed after the powerful Ceasars Julius and his nephew Augustus respectively), none of the new October names stuck. So October, which is now the tenth month, goes by the name for the eighth. During the first four days of this month there are no less than three presidential birthdays, a glut not to be found anywhere else on the calendar. Chester Arthur was born on October 5, 1830, in Fairfield, Vermont. He came into office as James Garfield's Vice-President and became President upon his assassination four months later. Arthur accomplished nothing, and wasn't nominated for a second term.Rutherford Hayes was born on October 4, 1822, in Delaware, Ohio. Hayes came into office by one electoral vote, accomplished next to nothing, and did not run for a second term. James Earl Carter Jr.was born on October 1, 1924, in Plains, Georgia. He lost his bid for reelection in 1980 to Ronald Reagan because of his failure to secure the release of the hostages and serious economic problems. Jimmy Carter had only 49 electorial votes to Reagan's 489. The Republicans gained thirty House seats and a majority in the Senate for the first time in 26 years.