John Keyes

  1. sky giants

    Go up, go up, go up somemore.
    Go up, go up, go up and soar.
    Higher than you’ve ever been,
    To see some things you’ve never seen.

    Look down, look down, right there you see!
    A grey white giant floating fancy-free.
    It twists-wisps-curls, as it changes shape
    Now it’s an elephant, mouth agape.

    A great big ship with a huge main sail,
    A flock of geese, and a big blue whale,
    A chimney stack spewing thick grey smoke,
    But no sign of any fire to stoke,
    A prancing horse, a rocket ship,
    A parachute with a great big rip!
    You think “That’s it, there’ll be no more”
    Wow! “Look a massive dinosaur”.

    Come back, come back, come back to home,
    Look up at the sky, and see them all roam.
    These fluffy wonders of white and grey,
    The sky giants coming out to play.

    November 14, 2020

  2. ella wheeler wilcox

    I came across Ella Wheeler Wilcox today. I love her Solitude I find it’s in time with my natural rhythm. I feel like she wrote it for me.

    Laugh, and the world laughs with you;
    Weep, and you weep alone;
    For the sad old earth must borrow its mirth,
    But has trouble enough of its own.

    Solitude – Ella Wheeler Wilcox

    Then in No Classes she hits the nail on the head again. Particulary apt given the homeless crisis in Ireland. Where our land-owners, landlords, and developer beaus sneer at the have nots. Not by voice alone, but also by action. Are these the importuning mendicants she refers to?

    No classes here! Why, that is idle talk.
    The village beau sneers at the country boor;
    The importuning mendicants who walk
    Our cites’ streets despise the parish poor.

    No Classes – Ella Wheeler Wilcox

    November 8, 2020

  3. no till

    I just wanted to share a good example of no till planting (also known as direct drilling). Even at the most basic visual level, it’s so less destructive than ploughing. The fact that it benefits soil health confirms what the eyes see.

    November 8, 2020

  4. healthy soil

    Photo of a gridded page with Good doodled in ink.

    Photo by Good Free Photos on Unsplash

    I came across this article in the Irish Independent on Andrew Bergin a tillage farmer in Co. Kildare. In it he discusses healthy soil and changing farming practices to be kinder to nature.

    “Our soils are degrading and we think we have to start knitting our own muesli to change things. A lot of conventional advice is very conservative and maybe too science-based. To change the soils you need to open your mind.

    “Direct drilling is good as I don’t disturb the ground too much, which means I don’t lost moisture and nutrients, so there’s steadier growth and less weeds.

    I’ve been reading about these practices recently, and two good sources I’ve found are Base Ireland and Base UK.

    November 7, 2020

  5. how to become white & why the blue swoosh

    I found this thread by Michael Harriot fascinating.

    There is the strongest reason for believing that the first movement toward amalgamation in this country will take place between Irish and Negroes.

    Does any of this sound familiar?

    So how did they become white?

    Well, basically, it was because of Gangs.

    And this thread by Latif Nasser was equally fascinating, where geological movements and social movements intertwine.

    Jackson’s death galvanized the Civil Rights Movement, inspiring the legendary Selma to Montgomery Marches the next month. The ground they marched on contains what geologists call Selma Chalk, which also dates back to the Cretaceous.

    November 6, 2020