http://www.tallcloverfarm.com Homeward bound on Puget Sound. Putting in a good day on Vashon Island time. Mon, 06 Feb 2012 18:31:55 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.1.3 http://www.tallcloverfarm.com/5684/free-sign-of-the-the-times http://www.tallcloverfarm.com/5684/free-sign-of-the-the-times#comments Mon, 06 Feb 2012 18:01:35 +0000 Tom http://www.tallcloverfarm.com/?p=5684 #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; } Fashioned from a paint sample drywall scrap, one of my best free signs was also one of my most quickly pinched. Vashon Islanders have many quirks. (Just ask someone from Seattle.) As a community of free spirits, our behavior and island traditions often beg for scrutiny from those unfamiliar with our island ways. Case in [...]

]]> http://www.tallcloverfarm.com/5684/free-sign-of-the-the-times/feed 6 http://www.tallcloverfarm.com/5486/a-place-between-too-little-and-too-much http://www.tallcloverfarm.com/5486/a-place-between-too-little-and-too-much#comments Tue, 03 Jan 2012 18:35:17 +0000 Tom http://www.tallcloverfarm.com/?p=5486 #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; } Recently my friend Erik shared some Finnish wisdom: Onnelisuus on se paikka puuttuvaisuuden ja yltäkylläisyyden välillä. What’s that, your Finno-Ugric language skills aren’t what they used to be? Roughly translated, that amazing string of chewy consonants and voluptuous vowels states: Happiness is a place between too little and too much. What a beautiful thought. And even [...]

]]> http://www.tallcloverfarm.com/5486/a-place-between-too-little-and-too-much/feed 15 http://www.tallcloverfarm.com/5439/jonny-awesome-and-his-truck-of-trees http://www.tallcloverfarm.com/5439/jonny-awesome-and-his-truck-of-trees#comments Wed, 28 Dec 2011 19:38:12 +0000 Tom http://www.tallcloverfarm.com/?p=5439 #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; } Jon can do anything, a pronouncement I believe wholeheartedly. During a recent house project requiring his help, Jon or Jonny Awesome as I liked to call him, became my home improvement superhero–able to add mixed fractions and board feet in a single bound, prizing perfection and a job well done above expediency and filling squares. [...]

]]> http://www.tallcloverfarm.com/5439/jonny-awesome-and-his-truck-of-trees/feed 17 http://www.tallcloverfarm.com/4814/wjs-sweater-a-gift-of-warmth http://www.tallcloverfarm.com/4814/wjs-sweater-a-gift-of-warmth#comments Tue, 13 Dec 2011 19:11:39 +0000 Tom http://www.tallcloverfarm.com/?p=4814 #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; } Not sure if Boz is cuddling up to me or the cashmere. Last September, summer’s extended stay gave notice to the night with a persistent chill insinuating itself on our outdoor gathering. While my friends Nancy and Scarlett had decorated their gazebo and garden table in floral and fabric finery, dinner guests came prepared, outfitted [...]

]]> http://www.tallcloverfarm.com/4814/wjs-sweater-a-gift-of-warmth/feed 22 http://www.tallcloverfarm.com/5196/travel-log-big-board-small-question http://www.tallcloverfarm.com/5196/travel-log-big-board-small-question#comments Mon, 14 Nov 2011 16:06:03 +0000 Tom http://www.tallcloverfarm.com/?p=5196 #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; } While searching for fir floor boards at Forest Stewards mill yard, I came across the most amazing rough-cut board, a fir behemoth about four inches thick, 18 feet long, and heavier than a middle-age man’s back should endure. Cole, the mill manager, said he’d give me a deal on it as the board thickness was [...]

]]> http://www.tallcloverfarm.com/5196/travel-log-big-board-small-question/feed 46 http://www.tallcloverfarm.com/5184/a-salute-to-my-favorite-veteran http://www.tallcloverfarm.com/5184/a-salute-to-my-favorite-veteran#comments Fri, 11 Nov 2011 13:32:19 +0000 Tom http://www.tallcloverfarm.com/?p=5184 #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; } Captain Dad and his trusty steed (F-100) on the flightline. I grew up loving a veteran: my Dad, a larger than life man who flew jets from the time I could finger paint until the time I could vote. His Air Force career spanned three decades and covered the globe (sometimes with us, and sometimes [...]

]]> http://www.tallcloverfarm.com/5184/a-salute-to-my-favorite-veteran/feed 15 http://www.tallcloverfarm.com/5131/postcards-from-the-edge-of-autumn http://www.tallcloverfarm.com/5131/postcards-from-the-edge-of-autumn#comments Sat, 29 Oct 2011 16:34:52 +0000 Tom http://www.tallcloverfarm.com/?p=5131 #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; } Fall colors fade fast in the Pacific Northwest, but I can always count on my Glenora grape leaves to stick around. (The grapes are another story.) With Autumn storms come fallen branches, a sure sign that my madrona branch fence will grow in the weeks to come. (Boz caught in the act of eating baby [...]

]]> http://www.tallcloverfarm.com/5131/postcards-from-the-edge-of-autumn/feed 22 http://www.tallcloverfarm.com/4774/a-couple-more-lessons-from-summer http://www.tallcloverfarm.com/4774/a-couple-more-lessons-from-summer#comments Sat, 01 Oct 2011 18:03:15 +0000 Tom http://www.tallcloverfarm.com/?p=4774 #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; } A followup to my post: 10 Things I Learned This Summer Summer is too generous a season to limit my learning curve to a wee bunny slope. A mere 10 lessons to be learned, I think not. As I sit at my kitchen table ignoring autumn’s various and persistent calling cards, I ponder a few [...]

]]> http://www.tallcloverfarm.com/4774/a-couple-more-lessons-from-summer/feed 19 http://www.tallcloverfarm.com/4761/10-things-i-learned-this-summer http://www.tallcloverfarm.com/4761/10-things-i-learned-this-summer#comments Tue, 13 Sep 2011 18:16:26 +0000 Tom http://www.tallcloverfarm.com/?p=4761 #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; } Lesson for all seasons: take time to enjoy the view (Mt. Rainier from Vashon Island). Every season holds class for those who wish to attend, the hours in the day become pragmatic little teachers of simple truths and homegrown examples. This summer I tried to be a good student, and pay attention in class. Here’s [...]

]]> http://www.tallcloverfarm.com/4761/10-things-i-learned-this-summer/feed 32 http://www.tallcloverfarm.com/4714/recalling-a-labor-day-of-love http://www.tallcloverfarm.com/4714/recalling-a-labor-day-of-love#comments Mon, 05 Sep 2011 17:39:20 +0000 Tom http://www.tallcloverfarm.com/?p=4714 #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; } Cleaning out the barn with a little help from my friends. Sometimes my to-do list stops me dead in my tracks. Like an overloaded freight train, the boxcars of chores sit idle,  progress stifled by whining, denial and procrastination. Hoping to inch along in the right direction, I assuage my guilt by adding ridiculously effortless [...]

]]> http://www.tallcloverfarm.com/4714/recalling-a-labor-day-of-love/feed 17 http://www.tallcloverfarm.com/4578/when-silence-was-and-beets-werent-golden http://www.tallcloverfarm.com/4578/when-silence-was-and-beets-werent-golden#comments Wed, 24 Aug 2011 17:34:15 +0000 Tom http://www.tallcloverfarm.com/?p=4578 #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; } Boz: “Treats? Uh, I don’t think so.” I don’t deny as a kid  I was a little different (I’ll keep adulthood out of this debate), but in my trek to avoid the beaten path I also knew there were situations warranting a walk down the straight and narrow. Such detour awareness usually involved the presence [...]

]]> http://www.tallcloverfarm.com/4578/when-silence-was-and-beets-werent-golden/feed 33 http://www.tallcloverfarm.com/4452/cyrano-de-raspbergerac http://www.tallcloverfarm.com/4452/cyrano-de-raspbergerac#comments Sat, 20 Aug 2011 15:36:02 +0000 Tom http://www.tallcloverfarm.com/?p=4452 #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; } In-house tableau: homegrown homage to Cyrano I just can’t finish off the week without one more nod to a produce proboscis. With the last of my Tulameen raspberries gracing but a few stems, I felt the need to have one also grace the end of my nose; and thus Cyrano de Raspbergerac was born. Balancing [...]

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