equinox

orion, taurus and the pleides in the sky tonight as i came home late from work.

hello, old friends.

1941

this was the last time we saw yields on 3-month treasury bills as low as we saw them today. how low? how does .02% sound?

so why are t-bills so low? supply and demand, baby. everyone is afraid to put their money anywhere that isn't "safe" and what is considered "safe" has shrunk to precious little -- so everyone piles into t-bills and the yield drops like a rock.

remember investments we used to think were safe? blue chip stocks, money market funds, and even fdic-insured savings accounts? people are in a panic and the next thing (which we need to avoid at all costs) is a run on the banks to withdraw funds and hide them in mattresses, flower pots, cookie jars, whatever.

markets move with herd psychology and the herd is pretty damn spooked. this is the time to stop -- think -- and NOT do what everyone else is doing.

in 1941 things looked pretty bleak too. the next few years will be tough, incredibly tough for some -- but we will get through it.

wwjpmd

those who do not understand history are doomed to repeat it -- and how many have heard of the panic of 1907? last night i watched the news unfold on bloomberg, ft and other sites as lehman was left to fail. the surprise move by lewis at bofa to acquire merrill lynch immediately reminded me of j.p. morgan's famous maneuvers in the panic of 1907.

when faced with cascading bank failures and asked to prop up the house in greatest danger, he resisted the pressure to fund what he considered a doomed enterprise. instead, he sought out the next bank in the line of fire that could actually be saved. in creating such a firewall the panic of 1907 burned itself out in a matter of weeks.

2008 -- in a crisis that has already lasted more than a year, and seems to continually plumb new depths, its hard to see this move as the point where things begin to turn back. but that is the way of markets, it is always easier in hindsight to spot the turning points.

as tens of thousands of lehman and merrill employees rapidly flood the market with resumes -- it puts the security of our small home and our decision to simplify life into sharp perspective. i think i'll turn off the computer now and play outside with the kids.

tuesday

on the way
to our csa farm
we saw a kingfisher
on the wire
a pair of cranes
stalking through a field
a mother turkey
with three little ones

and our two little ones
slept in the backseat
and i enjoyed the drive
in the country
with my wife
what a day

becket

canis familiaris quiesco

so still and quiet
he sleeps at my feet
and i'll sleep the better
because he is there

corn chowder

the weakened remains of gustav caused an abrubt shift from the heat of summer -- cooler and wetter, it looks and feels like fall is here -- morning coffee with slippers and a robe to keep off the chill.

chowder season.

last night i picked two ears of heirloom corn, bloody butcher, from the 12 foot stalks in our garden. adding a couple of garden green bells and a few hungarian wax peppers made a superb corn chowder.

growing my own food -- even in part, i'm more in touch with the change of seasons, the weather, the local climate and the soil. living on a drumlin, my garden dirt was shaped by glaciers that retreated only 10,000 years ago.

soil pressed by glaciers -- and plants watered by the remains of a hurricane -- create a history of time and space in a simple chowder.

i am what i eat.

september crickets

outside my window the crickets are singing.

i count 20 chirps in 15 seconds.

add 37 and the cricket says its 57 degrees fahrenheit.

noaa says its 61.

not bad for a cricket.

life is compromise

in each opportunity we pursue there are doors we close behind us. some of those doors, once closed, may never be opened again.

we are told we can do anything, and have everything. we are taught to reach for it all and madison avenue banks on our misguided beliefs.

but if life is compromise it follows that life is choice. and choice is powerful.

in 2004 my wife and i chose to move from madison, wisconsin to the small town of beaver dam. we picked our home for several reasons. it was near my job. it was priced well within our means. and the town was pleasant and near horicon marsh national wildlife refuge.

we live a simple life. we hike, we garden, we read, we spend lots of time with each other and with our two small children.

living simply is challenging but rewarding.

these are our everyday adventures from the little house on the drumlin.