Time, absent itself . . .

Monday, June 15, 2026. It's the Moon's day . . . as it begins waxing from its new state. Light Northerlies are forecasted to bring a mix of clouds and sun to Green Country today. There is the slightest chance for rain this afternoon in TulseyTown. Mid 80's.

The Magna Carta, a charter of English liberties was granted by King John on this day in 1215. He was acting under threat of civil war and the result provided the foundation for individual rights in Anglo-American law and jurisprudence theory.

Left out of yesterday's blog, on purpose; The truth about Trump's cage match. – Robert Reich, Sunday Thought, 6.14.26..

The week ahead. – Joyce Vance, in Civil Discourse

Today is the birthdate of Japanese poet Kobayashi Issa, born in 1763 Kashiwabara, Japan. He’s one of the masters of the Japanese form of poetry called haiku, which uses 17 syllables broken into three distinct units often of 5-7-5.

Norwegian composer Edvard Grieg was born in on this day in 1843, Bergen, Norway.

Blue

Blue heron, duck pond.

Rose sky dawn. Glass reflections.

Absent itself, time passing.

– James Allen Bethel, “Blue,” in 50 Haiku, Prolific Press. Vol.1, Issue 12. 2017

Beautiful mysteries . . .

Sunday, June 14, 2026’ It's Sol's day . . . an otherwise cloudy, cool day is in the forecast for Green Country. Moderate Northerlies bring upper 70's to TulseyTown during the afternoon. Sunshine returns tomorrow through Wednesday. Rain chances return Thursday. Tonight, the moon is new.

Blessed is the one who, having nothing to say, abstains from giving in words evidence of the fact. – George Eliot

Chinese piano vituoso Lang Lang is 44 today. He started lessons at age three, won first place at the Shenyang Piano Competition and performed his first public recital when he was five. Now an international soloist in demand from the world's foremost orchestras and concert halls.

It’s the birthdate of Che Guevara, born in 1928, Rosario, Argentina. A theoretician and tactician of guerrilla warfare, he was a prominent communist figure in the Cuban Revolution.

Harriet Beecher Stowe—whose novel Uncle Tom's Cabin fueled antislavery sentiment and was cited among the causes of the Civil War—was born on this day in 1811 Litchfield, Connecticut.

Does Nature have a “drive?” – Sophie Strand, “Lichenized Lovers,” in Make Me Good Soil. 6.13.26

Bioacoustics is the scientific study of sound produced by or affecting living organisms. The Elephant Listening Project is one of the most ambitious wildlife sound archives on the planet, facilitating forest elephant communication research, directly saving lives, both animal and human. Why whales matter.

You only have what you give. Why is that not obvious?

You get rich by giving yourself away – Isabel Allende

Whoever “Elise” was – still a mystery after 200+ years – she had three who clearly loved her: Beethoven, Steinway, and Lang, Lang.

Stand Up or Stare at the Table?

Saturday, June 13, 2026. It's the Satyr's day . . . Thunderstorms are in the forecasts for Green Country. Morning rains are to give way to some sun for most of the day with the storms returning overnight and into tomorrow morning. Strong Southerlies and a high in the low 90's are anticipated for TulseyTown.

. . . how surreal it is that we live in a time in which this is so routine — that the leader of the country uses the powers of his office to ensure his opponents are charged with crimes as punishment for having exercised their First Amendment rights — that such updates arrive almost casually. Like sports scores. – Miles Taylor, Stand Up or Stare at the Table? Defiance, 6.12.26

Standing up:

The Washington National Opera is suing for its endowment.

The artists noted for their large-scale, site-specific environmental installations, Christo and Jeanne-Claude, were both born on this day in 1935, in Bulgaria and Morocco, respectively.

Irish poet William Butler Yeats was born today in 1865, Sandymount, Dublin, Ireland. One of the greatest English-language poets of the 20th century as well as dramatist, and prose writer, he received the Nobel Prize for Literature.

One of the most influential British artists of the 20th and 21st centuries, David Hockney died Thursday, at the age of eighty-eight, after a seven-decade career that included painting, digital drawings, photography, theatre-staging, etchings, collage.

There’s no reason even to consider reducing Social Security benefits or raising the age of eligibility. The logical and necessary response is simply to raise the cap, Mike Johnson and other Republican shills for the oligarchs to the contrary notwithstanding. – Robert Reich, the REAL reason Social Security is in trouble, substack 6.12.26

Following up. – Joyce Vance, in Civil Discourse

Down By The Salley Gardens

Down by the salley gardens

my love and I did meet;

She passed the salley gardens

with little snow-white feet.

She bid me take love easy,

as the leaves grow on the tree;

But I, being young and foolish,

with her would not agree.

In a field by the river

my love and I did stand,

And on my leaning shoulder

she laid her snow-white hand.

She bid me take life easy,

as the grass grows on the weirs;

But I was young and foolish,

and now am full of tears.

– William Butler Yeats.