Skunks and whippoorwills

About 8:30 this evening I set a “have a heart” trap to catch a squirrel that has been eating the sunflower seeds from our bird feeder.  I then walked to the garden to pull some weeds.  When I came back at 9 a skunk, almost pure white, was in the trap.  I got an old plastic table cloth, covered the trap and the skunk, and put him in the back of the truck.  Our daughter, visiting from California, and I then drove to the upper end of the Wild Creek Reservoir.  She stayed in the cab while I, speaking softly to the skunk, opened the tailgate and the door to the trap.  The plan was if the skunk sprayed me, I would ride in the back and Rachael would drive us home.  The skunk calmly walked out of the trap, hopped down, and ran into the woods.  No smell whatsoever.

And here was the best thing.  I don’t think I have heard a whippoorwill for 20 or 30 years.  Growing up I would hear them every night, but loss of habitat has reduced these shy birds to the point where they are now considered a threatened species, and soon may be endangered, if we still do that.  And there one was, calling and calling.  Rachael and I just sat there listening.  It is such a wonderful sound.

It was a good evening.

The Amish/Muslim connection

In Mohnton, PA, an Amish Halal Butcher caters to Muslims.  For a major Muslim holiday like Eid al-Adha, up to 500 Muslim families may visit the Amish farm to purchase halal meat.  The farm also caters to Hindus, primarily from Nepal, and some Africans and some Jews.  The farm employs two full-time Muslims, one from Syria and one from Ghana.  

Visitors from Philly and Harrisburg often picnic at the farm.  Ephraim Stoltzfus, the owner, has become quite knowledgeable about Muslim religious traditions.  

It makes me proud to be an American.

Info for this post is from Dan Sullivan, “Amish Halal Butchery Caters to Muslim Market,”  Lancaster Farming, (June 6, 2026), pp. A1, A7. 

Bread and circuses

We are imitating the last days of the Roman empire when the Roman citizens were given bread and circuses.  The circus was on Trump’s birthday when the “cage fighters” did an imitation of the gladiators in the arena.  I do not know if Trump, AKA Nero, gave thumbs up or down, or if anyone was actually put to the sword.  Probably not–we can’t do anything right.

My issue is this:  We have had the circus, but where the heck is the bread?  Or does that just go to the Emperor and his cronies? 

A letter to Pres. Trump on assigning blame

I've written to the President a number of times, although thus far he seems to have ignored my letters.  Nonetheless, I keep trying to help him out.  Here is the one that I'm mailing tomorrow:

President Donald J. Trump

The White House

Office of the President

1600 Pennsylvania Ave., N.W.

Washington, D.C. 20500

Dear President Trump:

There is an old rule in politics that after an office holder is sworn in, he or she can blame his or her predecessor for problems and miscues for a period of six months.  After that, the new office holder owns the problems.

I notice that you have been blaming President Obama for some of the problems and issues faced by our country.  Since President Obama left office in January of 2017, his tenure is well past the “blame date.”  Under the six months rule, even President Biden would be past the time where he can be blamed for problems.  

Your advisors should have told you this.  In any case, it is something for you to keep in mind.

All the best,

Roy Christman

Was the Klan an inspiration for Turning Point?

In the 1920s the Ku Klux Klan organized Klan Klubs in high schools.  Some yearbooks featured the Klubs along with Glee Clubs and Debate Societies.  The high school Klubs were big especially big in Indiana.  

Now Turning Point has proudly announced that it has over 1000 chapters in high schools around the nation.  Was the Klan the inspiration for this?  Inquiring minds want to know. 

Restoration has started

It will take years. maybe decades, to bring sanity and normality to the U.S., but it has already started.  Trump’s name has been removed from the Kennedy Center (and a rainbow decorated the sky while it was happening).  

A judge just ordered exhibits taken down by the Trump Administration in National Park sites to be restored.  U.S. District Judge Angel Kelley in Massachusetts wrote that the Trump efforts were meant “to rewrite the Nation’s history with a white-out pen.”

In Philadelphia an exhibit discussing the lives of nine slaves of George Washington that had earlier been removed from the Independence National Historical Park was reinstalled in February.  (By the way, is there anyone left on the U.S. who did not know Washington owned slaves?)  

Calls are starting to restore the White House to its configuration before Trump starting messing it up.  We will eventually cleanse this mess.

Jeff Corle's "Empty Barn"

According to an article in the June 13 edition of Lancaster Farming, when Jeff Corle’s dairy farm went under, he thought about his loaded shotgun but instead picked up his guitar and wrote the song “Empty Barn.”  Now he travels around singing it solo and raising money for mental health awareness among farmers.

It’s available on YouTube.  I don’t think it will make the top 40, but it isn’t terrible, and I liked the photos of the cows.