Beautiful new dorms

Wake Forest is building new undergraduate dorms. We think that these facsimiles of Soviet-era construction are actually the elevator shafts, although they could be those Moscow University plans we saw for sale real cheap on eBay.

The master griller

Jon has dedicated part of his summer to learning how to grill everything. This includes green beans. Mmm...(from dinner on the deck with Maurice and Nate on Tuesday evening).

We missed it!

I know that it's hard to believe, but down here in Winston-Salem we missed NATIONAL DAIQUIRI DAY.(It was July 19, 2012.)

Nate says farewell to Falling Creek Camp, 2012 edition

Susan drove across the Blue Ridge on Friday to bring Nate back to reality. As per his plan, he spent more nights way from camp backpacking than he spent in his cabin. But he earned a new nickname.

Sun worshipper

Susan's chair, on Jon's deck about 8 AM this morning.

Invasion of the beekeepers

A scene from Jon's backyard earlier this month.

A famous, short, oft-quoted poem about Chicago by Carl Sandburg, which a cat in the goat dairy immediately brought to mind

THE FOG comes
on little cat feet.
It sits looking
over harbor and city
on silent haunches
and then moves on.

Carl Sandburg in North Carolina

After dropping Nate off at Falling Creek Camp we drove the short distance to Flat Rock, North Carolina. The poet Carl Sandburg is always associated with Chicago ("Hog Butcher for the World"), but in 1945 he moved to North Carolina and spent the last 22 years of his life in this peaceful cottage in Flat Rock. His wife, Paula Steichen Sandburg, was a famous goat breeder. Here is a virtual museum that tells the tale: http://www.nps.gov/history/museum/exhibits/carl/. The present goats are the descendants of Mrs. Sandburg's flock...

Jon is contemplative

Jon pauses on a summer's day to contemplate. He is sitting in the poet Carl Sandburg's favorite spot. And that, dear blog readers, is a clue to the mystery of the goats. More tomorrow.

Nate and his friends overachieve

Summer began with Nate's ninth grade graduation from Summit School. After the ceremony, Nate and his friends happily displayed their medals and certificates of achievement. Sadly, not a SCIENTIST among them! From left to right, the top achievers in the graduating class in studio art, foreign language, vocal arts, history (that's our Nate!); and technical theatre. The leis came all the way from Hawaii in honor of the big day.

Meanwhile, back in Winston-Salem...

...a gargoyle awakes.

The scene is an alcove on Jon's back deck. The kitty-gargoyle is Jon's Boguey, who generally enhances his surroundings.

The blog took the young people to the ball park...

It was a pleasant early summer evening.

Maurice was very happy

Fortunately, he has since retreated from his position that he now be addressed only by his Latin title of Magister.

Back in May...

The blog went to see Maurice receive his degree from the School of Foreign Service at Georgetown. Somewhat surprisingly, he is still lurking in D.C.

The blog is back!

Yes, the blog is back. But what has it been up to? 

The excuse, of course, is that the blog was indulging a long-held, highly irrational desire to write a textbook. Now that the manuscript is at the publisher, life resumes. Don't worry, all will be explained in a subsequent post. The blog has definitely NOT traded bees for goats, although the idea is tempting.