beauty and the beast

Another warm overcast humid day, woke to bird song and leopard frogs, took an early morning walk through the yard…

the white althea on the east side suddenly in bloom (above), whistling ducks flew overhead and perched in a tree

love in a mist

found this little egg on the ground, a little larger than a wren egg, smaller than a dove egg, no trees above

the green beans

the first butternut squash to not rot

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I’ve refrained from writing about all the current disastrous things happening here in this country because, well, because it’s just too depressing. But I read this Monday morning…as of early 2026, 2,200,000 people in this country self-deported. At least 180,000 born and bred Americans left the country in 2025 and that number is increasing. This is on top of the 675,000 the Trump regime deported last year. For the first time since the Great Depression this country lost more people than it gained. American citizens and those who came hoping for a better life have decided that the MAGAt vision of America is not a place they want to be, opting for countries they feel are safer, countries that actually care about their citizens; some place where they aren’t trying to take your voting rights away because of the color of your skin, some place where your rights aren’t taken away because of your sex or sexual identity, some place where getting sick won’t bankrupt you, some place where their children aren’t subjected to active shooter drills in school, some place where housing is affordable, some place where getting stopped by the authorities won’t get you shot. Because that is what’s happening here. That and more. People want to live in a country that isn’t being run by spineless ass kissers, unqualified department heads appointed because they look good on tv and have bent the knee to a sociopath in the grip of dementia who’s only in it for the money and the unbridled power, a grievance baby using the justice department to punish every person who has ever slighted him and who doesn’t give a flying fuck about anyone who isn’t wealthy. What’s it say about this country when people who fled their home country out of fear and lack of opportunity are returning voluntarily.What does it say about this country when Americans are leaving for a better life elsewhere. It says Trump has turned this place into a shit hole third world country.

Meanwhile, as Trump rage posts his ‘truths’ about all the unfair injustices heaped upon him by the meanies of the world, those meanies were quietly meeting to rearrange the world order leaving the US in the dust. New alliances are being built, new trade agreements are being signed, new international monetary systems are being arranged, new critical mineral deals are being made, all excluding or bypassing the United States. Canada, the European Union, Australia, and Japan have had enough. They are done with the wannabe mob boss cosplaying as president who kicks them in the teeth and then demands tribute so he won’t do it again. They are done with the unreliable has been leader of the free world who complains they aren’t doing enough while he walks through the market kicking everyone’s carts over, they have no more patience for his childish tantrums, lies, untrustworthiness, and the incompetence he has surrounded himself with, they have had enough of the threats of ‘being dealt with’ if he doesn’t get his way. Even China sees the writing on the wall and is steadily selling off its US debt holdings.

How does that Chinese curse go…may you live in interesting times. The Trump regime will come to an end and hopefully sooner rather than later, hopefully we can wrest control of Congress from the hands of the enabling republicans by an overwhelming majority in November though I have no doubt they will not accept defeat and the next two months will be intense. The damage domestically and abroad caused by Trump and his sycophants will take decades to repair but the US will not regain its global authority, the other nations are not likely to trust the US again and with good reason, Trump has destroyed our credibility.