http://www.tallcloverfarm.com Homeward bound on Puget Sound. Putting in a good day on Vashon Island time. Wed, 16 May 2012 17:03:31 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.1.3 http://www.tallcloverfarm.com/5644/winter-left-the-door-ajar http://www.tallcloverfarm.com/5644/winter-left-the-door-ajar#comments Sat, 04 Feb 2012 17:05:19 +0000 Tom http://www.tallcloverfarm.com/?p=5644 #leftcontainerBox { float:left; position: fixed; top: 60%; left: 70px; } #leftcontainerBox .buttons { float:left; clear:both; margin:4px 4px 4px 4px; padding-bottom:2px; } #bottomcontainerBox { height: 30px; width:50%; padding-top:1px; } #bottomcontainerBox .buttons { float:left; height: 30px; margin:4px 4px 4px 4px; } Mount Rainier as a sundial (from Maury Island) Winter Left the Door Ajar Winter left the door ajar, enough to steal a peek, Perhaps to silence my discord, to quell my harsh critique. For winter breezes often fool, impostors of seasons to come, Sky belies the biting cold, Trompe L’Oeil for a willing sun. Feathered [...]

]]> http://www.tallcloverfarm.com/5644/winter-left-the-door-ajar/feed 16 http://www.tallcloverfarm.com/5583/snow-days-and-the-power-of-the-outage http://www.tallcloverfarm.com/5583/snow-days-and-the-power-of-the-outage#comments Sun, 22 Jan 2012 19:21:49 +0000 Tom http://www.tallcloverfarm.com/?p=5583 #leftcontainerBox { float:left; position: fixed; top: 60%; left: 70px; } #leftcontainerBox .buttons { float:left; clear:both; margin:4px 4px 4px 4px; padding-bottom:2px; } #bottomcontainerBox { height: 30px; width:50%; padding-top:1px; } #bottomcontainerBox .buttons { float:left; height: 30px; margin:4px 4px 4px 4px; } Every year I plan on being prepared for the torrent of Pacific winter storms that buffet coast, home and hearth with unapologetic bravado, but somehow between spring, summer, and autumn I fail to take action. Even this week when our local network anchors were practically convulsing over the opportunity to report on an approaching, and [...]

]]> http://www.tallcloverfarm.com/5583/snow-days-and-the-power-of-the-outage/feed 34 http://www.tallcloverfarm.com/5562/shaved-ice-boz-takes-a-bite-out-of-frosty http://www.tallcloverfarm.com/5562/shaved-ice-boz-takes-a-bite-out-of-frosty#comments Tue, 17 Jan 2012 18:00:07 +0000 Tom http://www.tallcloverfarm.com/?p=5562 #leftcontainerBox { float:left; position: fixed; top: 60%; left: 70px; } #leftcontainerBox .buttons { float:left; clear:both; margin:4px 4px 4px 4px; padding-bottom:2px; } #bottomcontainerBox { height: 30px; width:50%; padding-top:1px; } #bottomcontainerBox .buttons { float:left; height: 30px; margin:4px 4px 4px 4px; } Yesterday Vashon received a primer of snow, and my buddy Jon took advantage of its fine packing ability (and my inability to locate our fencing tools) to build an impromptu snowman. Boz busted through the dog door to inspect the trepasser. Let’s just say his reception was chilly. The forecast calls for more snow, serious [...]

]]> http://www.tallcloverfarm.com/5562/shaved-ice-boz-takes-a-bite-out-of-frosty/feed 17 http://www.tallcloverfarm.com/5526/beguiled-by-a-month-of-full-moons http://www.tallcloverfarm.com/5526/beguiled-by-a-month-of-full-moons#comments Thu, 12 Jan 2012 17:39:59 +0000 Tom http://www.tallcloverfarm.com/?p=5526 #leftcontainerBox { float:left; position: fixed; top: 60%; left: 70px; } #leftcontainerBox .buttons { float:left; clear:both; margin:4px 4px 4px 4px; padding-bottom:2px; } #bottomcontainerBox { height: 30px; width:50%; padding-top:1px; } #bottomcontainerBox .buttons { float:left; height: 30px; margin:4px 4px 4px 4px; } My friend Karen calls January “an honest month.” I agree; it is what it is. Mornings are reluctant, evenings jump the gun. The trees put on no pretense of leaves, flowers or fruit, and the sea doesn’t play nice. But this January, I fear the month of Janus (god of the doorway) is up to [...]

]]> http://www.tallcloverfarm.com/5526/beguiled-by-a-month-of-full-moons/feed 15 http://www.tallcloverfarm.com/5409/shining-light-on-winters-darkest-day http://www.tallcloverfarm.com/5409/shining-light-on-winters-darkest-day#comments Fri, 23 Dec 2011 18:45:26 +0000 Tom http://www.tallcloverfarm.com/?p=5409 #leftcontainerBox { float:left; position: fixed; top: 60%; left: 70px; } #leftcontainerBox .buttons { float:left; clear:both; margin:4px 4px 4px 4px; padding-bottom:2px; } #bottomcontainerBox { height: 30px; width:50%; padding-top:1px; } #bottomcontainerBox .buttons { float:left; height: 30px; margin:4px 4px 4px 4px; } Winter Solstice: Let there be light. (Photo: Frank Charron) In the Pacific Northwest, light is a cherish commodity, a gift where gray skies are the norm and drizzle our daily condiment. When winter solstice nears, Island pagans everywhere light up knowing the next day will bring a few more minutes of the good stuff, the [...]

]]> http://www.tallcloverfarm.com/5409/shining-light-on-winters-darkest-day/feed 15 http://www.tallcloverfarm.com/5399/when-christmas-came-to-vashon-island http://www.tallcloverfarm.com/5399/when-christmas-came-to-vashon-island#comments Tue, 20 Dec 2011 21:15:33 +0000 Tom http://www.tallcloverfarm.com/?p=5399 #leftcontainerBox { float:left; position: fixed; top: 60%; left: 70px; } #leftcontainerBox .buttons { float:left; clear:both; margin:4px 4px 4px 4px; padding-bottom:2px; } #bottomcontainerBox { height: 30px; width:50%; padding-top:1px; } #bottomcontainerBox .buttons { float:left; height: 30px; margin:4px 4px 4px 4px; } The old place bedazzled by swags of C-9s. I was revisiting some of my past Christmas posts, and stumbled upon the one that follows. While I do hate to repeat myself, I thought, heck I’ve seen A Charlie Brown Christmas a bazillion times and I can recite the entire script of How the Grinch Stole [...]

]]> http://www.tallcloverfarm.com/5399/when-christmas-came-to-vashon-island/feed 14 http://www.tallcloverfarm.com/5315/the-spirit-of-christmas-drove-a-pickup-truck http://www.tallcloverfarm.com/5315/the-spirit-of-christmas-drove-a-pickup-truck#comments Sat, 10 Dec 2011 18:04:30 +0000 Tom http://www.tallcloverfarm.com/?p=5315 #leftcontainerBox { float:left; position: fixed; top: 60%; left: 70px; } #leftcontainerBox .buttons { float:left; clear:both; margin:4px 4px 4px 4px; padding-bottom:2px; } #bottomcontainerBox { height: 30px; width:50%; padding-top:1px; } #bottomcontainerBox .buttons { float:left; height: 30px; margin:4px 4px 4px 4px; } As Christmas time nears, I like to retell this story, a simple post  about my new home (at the time), new friends, and the beginning of many fine old memories in this fine old house. Boz and Gracie prefer dry paws and wood heat. Each year I wonder if, when or where I’ll cross paths [...]

]]> http://www.tallcloverfarm.com/5315/the-spirit-of-christmas-drove-a-pickup-truck/feed 19 http://www.tallcloverfarm.com/3462/making-a-beeline-for-the-sun http://www.tallcloverfarm.com/3462/making-a-beeline-for-the-sun#comments Sat, 19 Mar 2011 17:18:43 +0000 Tom http://www.tallcloverfarm.com/?p=3462 #leftcontainerBox { float:left; position: fixed; top: 60%; left: 70px; } #leftcontainerBox .buttons { float:left; clear:both; margin:4px 4px 4px 4px; padding-bottom:2px; } #bottomcontainerBox { height: 30px; width:50%; padding-top:1px; } #bottomcontainerBox .buttons { float:left; height: 30px; margin:4px 4px 4px 4px; } Bees abuzz, enjoying the day’s first rays of sun. Look closely, see the bees in flight? The Pacific Ocean has been pitching storms to the West Coast like a rookie on a roll. As a self professed non-whiner of Washington State weather, even I have had to bite my tongue and hold on to the [...]

]]> http://www.tallcloverfarm.com/3462/making-a-beeline-for-the-sun/feed 12 http://www.tallcloverfarm.com/3314/you-cant-judge-a-man-by-his-topper http://www.tallcloverfarm.com/3314/you-cant-judge-a-man-by-his-topper#comments Sat, 12 Mar 2011 18:16:42 +0000 Tom http://www.tallcloverfarm.com/?p=3314 #leftcontainerBox { float:left; position: fixed; top: 60%; left: 70px; } #leftcontainerBox .buttons { float:left; clear:both; margin:4px 4px 4px 4px; padding-bottom:2px; } #bottomcontainerBox { height: 30px; width:50%; padding-top:1px; } #bottomcontainerBox .buttons { float:left; height: 30px; margin:4px 4px 4px 4px; } After a fine evening in West Seattle with friends, I found myself on the Fauntleroy dock awaiting the 10:20 p.m. ferry to Vashon. Wind howling, sea spray biting, it really was a dark and stormy night, a Deadliest Catch flashback kind of night. On the earlier crossing, I actually paid attention to the safety announcements [...]

]]> http://www.tallcloverfarm.com/3314/you-cant-judge-a-man-by-his-topper/feed 18 http://www.tallcloverfarm.com/3335/being-followed-by-more-than-a-moon-shadow http://www.tallcloverfarm.com/3335/being-followed-by-more-than-a-moon-shadow#comments Fri, 04 Mar 2011 17:43:55 +0000 Tom http://www.tallcloverfarm.com/?p=3335 #leftcontainerBox { float:left; position: fixed; top: 60%; left: 70px; } #leftcontainerBox .buttons { float:left; clear:both; margin:4px 4px 4px 4px; padding-bottom:2px; } #bottomcontainerBox { height: 30px; width:50%; padding-top:1px; } #bottomcontainerBox .buttons { float:left; height: 30px; margin:4px 4px 4px 4px; } I’m not sure if it’s the snoring bulldogs (who share a combined decibel level of an idling chainsaw) or the sump pump activation two floors below or the play of light casting shadows on my bedroom wall or even the several cups of high-octane coffee the day before, but insomnia has become my late night [...]

]]> http://www.tallcloverfarm.com/3335/being-followed-by-more-than-a-moon-shadow/feed 21 http://www.tallcloverfarm.com/3230/one-green-world-nursery-delivers-the-goods http://www.tallcloverfarm.com/3230/one-green-world-nursery-delivers-the-goods#comments Sat, 19 Feb 2011 20:58:51 +0000 Tom http://www.tallcloverfarm.com/?p=3230 #leftcontainerBox { float:left; position: fixed; top: 60%; left: 70px; } #leftcontainerBox .buttons { float:left; clear:both; margin:4px 4px 4px 4px; padding-bottom:2px; } #bottomcontainerBox { height: 30px; width:50%; padding-top:1px; } #bottomcontainerBox .buttons { float:left; height: 30px; margin:4px 4px 4px 4px; } I read seed and nursery catalogs like dime-store novels. Will the characters within the dog-eared pages deliver on their promises. Will their potential be realized, or will some find their end in a wheelbarrow ride to the compost heap? Will their shortcomings haunt me every time I come across a wilted leaf or withered branch? [...]

]]> http://www.tallcloverfarm.com/3230/one-green-world-nursery-delivers-the-goods/feed 20 http://www.tallcloverfarm.com/3039/resolution-one-err-on-the-side-of-kindness http://www.tallcloverfarm.com/3039/resolution-one-err-on-the-side-of-kindness#comments Sat, 01 Jan 2011 17:47:54 +0000 Tom http://www.tallcloverfarm.com/?p=3039 #leftcontainerBox { float:left; position: fixed; top: 60%; left: 70px; } #leftcontainerBox .buttons { float:left; clear:both; margin:4px 4px 4px 4px; padding-bottom:2px; } #bottomcontainerBox { height: 30px; width:50%; padding-top:1px; } #bottomcontainerBox .buttons { float:left; height: 30px; margin:4px 4px 4px 4px; } My alter ego, as captured by Iris Taboh I’m not perfect, never will be, but the first day of each new year arrives at my door with a fresh coat of potential–potential to be a better man. (Be assured, it’s more of a journey than a destination.) This morning I’m on my front porch, warmed [...]

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