Window on the World

This morning, Michelle and I shared a particularly interesting discussion. She observed, “I have learned more about the world since we moved to this tiny cabin in the forest on the edge of the ocean, than I learned in my previous 40 years.”

I thought about it, we talked it over, but as soon as she said it, it seemed obvious to me. Perhaps not so obvious was why this might be so.

Coast Range Detail, Alaska

Our real window on the world can sometimes get a little hazy, but we’ve broadened our horizons in other ways (Photo: Mark A. Zeiger).

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Noses (Or Beaks) to the Grindstone

On a recent morning, we listened to Bird Note on our local radio station. The narrator drew an analogy for how hard birds actually work to survive with the phrase “. . . putting their beaks to the grindstone . . .” prompting a look and a grimace between Aly and me. It sounded horrible, much worse, apparently, than the more common phrase, “putting one’s nose to the grindstone.” Really? I’d never thought how awful that phrase was, either.

Awful or not, it’s a phrase well ensconced in our cultural lexicon, and it fits. For better or worse, we are definitely applying our noses to the grindstone around here.

Root Cellar

The “second” root cellar (Photo: Mark A. Zeiger).

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