No More Leaders

The world is leaderless, at a critical time in its history.  I can not think of a single major free country that has a political leader worth the title.  There is no one to take initiative, no one worth listening to, and certainly no one worth following.  As the world teeters towards total meltdown, there is simply no one to step up to the plate and take things in hand.  It has always been up to the US to take such a role, but it will never happen that way again in my lifetime.  That country, like many others, is simply too divided on too many issues.  And it is about to get much worse.  As our little county burns through 80 degree days in early May, as India endures an unendurable early May heat wave, as the glaciers recede at an ever faster rate, etc. etc., nothing really is being done.  People are flying everywhere again (or trying to), driving more and more miles by car (despite gas now being more than $2 dollars a litre in Canada), and consuming "things" at a rate that increases month after month.  There are solutions, but the majority of people are just trying to live day by day, trying to survive.  But we are not going to survive.  At least not those of us without billions of dollars to help us escape to somewhere as things continue to bottom out.  At least it is a very interesting time to live, not boring at all.  It's a bit like reading the last chapter of a very good series of books.  You know the end is coming, and you can do nothing to stop it, and you are saddened that you will not be able to "live" in that fictional world any longer, or see new events transpire.  I will now officially become a doomsayer:  The end is near, and it won't be pretty.

In happier news, the new James Webb Space Telescope is acing its tests, and will soon be revealing some very stunning discoveries and images.  Not only is it one of the largest and most sophisticated telescopes ever built, but it's in space!  No humid air to see through, no clouds, no sudden temperature changes.  And the Mars rovers are still going great guns, American and Chinese.

Continuing along happy news lines, today we finally made it to our May 1st forest and wildflower walk, a Beltane tradition for many years here at the Homestead.  We returned to a favourite woodland path not too far from us, discovering about a dozen wildflower species on our half hour stroll.  It was a day of hazy sunshine and very warm temps--we are currently in a mini heat wave here, day 2, and it will continue through Sunday.  Here are a few photos from today's walk at Maidstone Woods....

 

Landscape on a stump, with cliff.

 

Fungus.

 

It has been a very slow and wet Spring.  Things are still nearly two weeks behind.  the trail was muddy in spots, but there are a few long elevated boardwalks.

 

 

Wild violets.

Buttercups, Spring Beauties, and more Violets. 

 

There was a profusion of Jack-In-the-Pulpits, and wild Ginger had really spread since our last visit.  The only common flower that doesn't seem to be at this location is the Trillium, though it can be found in nearly every woodlot within a hundred miles of us.  So we had a fun outing.  We then drove to Kingsville, where we ate lunch at Lakeside Park.  After lunch I dropped Deb off to visit with her mom, then returned to the park to read for a few hours.  It was a spectacular day to be outdoors, doing outdoorsy stuff.

There are a few weird movies to report.  Sun Ra's Space Is The Place, from 1974, had Deb wondering several times what type of drugs he was using at the time.  This is a very strange and convoluted movie about coming to Earth and taking Black people away to a planet where they can live without white oppression.  His mystical powers can also take any whiteness away from a Black person, thus making them more fit to be one of the colonists of this new world.  There are some very funky cars, and a scene where Ra and a partner are dressed in full Egyptian regalia, riding in the back seat of a pink Cadillac El Dorado convertible, driving down a busy road as bystanders gawk at their passage.  Most of the film is quite dreary, and parts of the plot are totally ridiculous.  I'm sure it meant more at the time.  Today, it stands as a milestone of 70s weirdness.

Now showing on Criterion. 

Next came an nearly equally bizarre film starring W C Fields, the 1932 Million Dollar Legs.  Fields is the leader of a small country known for its goats and nuts.  Tying in to the 1932 LA Olympics, the plot features the unbeatable athletes from Fields' country, including his daughter, who is a swimmer and diver.  Faster moving than some of Fields' other films, this one also gets lots of laughs and is worth checking out.

Showing on Criterion until May 31st. 

Lastly, for this report, comes a film from Morocco called Adam, from 2019.  Technically a picture for women, I quite enjoyed it.  A young and very pregnant woman comes to the city looking for work.  She is alone.  Eventually a stern, older woman, a widow with a young daughter, takes her in and lets her help run her small bakery business.  The main characters are these two women, and how they slowly grow closer, but the young daughter steals many of the scenes that feature her.  Even the baby, Adam himself, steals a few scenes.  The film is slowly paced and very charming.  The young woman realizes that she has to give up the baby for adoption, since without a father his life growing up with her only will be a torment.  Recommended.

Now showing on Criterion. 

And finally in Homestead news, the first of three major outdoor projects has been completed.  We now have brand new and much more efficient eaves troughs!  Isn't that exciting? Thank you to Authentic Eavestroughs.  These ones have leaf guards on them, so the drains won't get clogged with debris.  If you are driving by, make sure you stop to look at them.  Two big projects remain; the cement stairs and veranda, and a very tall popular tree that needs cutting.  Stay tuned for further updates.

Mapman Mike