Yard Goats on the schedule for today, and yardwork and composting through the month and longer

Posted By: David Fortier May 21, 2023

By David Fortier

Come Sunday morning, we will have set out for Hartford and Dunkin Donuts Park and a Hartford Yard Goats game with the family—yup, grandkids in tow. One 1-year-old and two 3-year-olds, going to have to see how that goes. This will be my first Yard Goats game, but not the first time in the stadium. Our high school holds graduation ceremonies there.  

Unlike those events, this time around there will be food. I am setting aside a few dollars, because I am expecting some ballpark prices. I have studied the menu a few times. Still have not decided just what it’s going to be. I am guessing it will not be a simple hot dog and a beer.  

Friday night before the rains set in, Mary and I took turns mowing the lawn. She does the front and side yards. I mow the back yard. We figured it would be a good idea, since we’ve let the lawn go, and the grass was just going to grow exponentially with the rain. 

We have been contemplating joining with the “No Mow May” people. “No Mow May” asks people to let lawns grow to cultivate insect life and foster pollination. We got about have way there. Baby steps.  

Along with these efforts to try to make a difference, the kids (and Mary and I) have started composting. Along the Sound, one of the kids pays $450 a year to take away food waste—anything that can be composted.  

The other is contemplating paying $33 a month for a new service that means renting a “recycling” machine that transforms food waste into chicken feed. Part of the deal is to box the composted and dried food and mail it to a farm.  

Around here, we have two composters—one container that I dump stuff in and hope for the best, another that is a container on a spindle: dump the food in a sliding door and spin the container. We also have our green barrel from the city that we dump yard waste in and gets picked up on Monday.  

These don’t seem like much but get everyone on board and we make a difference. Baby steps. 

*** 

Reading and listening: I continue chipping away at Butler’s “Parable of the Talents,” and I have become enamored of Lex Fridman’s podcasts, which run three hours and sometimes more. The Butler novel is a tough read because it is so prescient—it forecasts what can happen to a democracy when it entertains a particular authoritarian bent. Some of the speeches might have been taken verbatim from a few of our contemporaries. 

As for the Fridman podcasts, they deal with A.I., mathematics and free speech and are on available on YouTube. Here are some links: A.I. (this one I may have mentioned last week), mathematics (pure genius) and free speech (a challenge). 

We are so fortunate to have all this wonderful conversation available in these formats.  

*** 

Have a good week! 

“Come Sunday morning” is intended to be a weekly review, a recounting of the past week and an anticipation of week to come. Among its features will be reviews of old and new books, sharing of favorite podcasts, some family news, Bristol events and happenings and issues surrounding education, work and community journalism. He can be reached at dfortier@bristoledition.org. 

All TBE readers, supporters and donors                

The Bristol Edition will be limiting the number of stories non-members and free readers may access each week. This decision is based on our financial projections and, most certainly, to remind people that TBE is serious about providing accurate, timely and thorough reporting for Bristol. To do this we have devised a financial support structure that makes unlimited access extremely affordable, beginning with a $6 monthly donation.                

  • Non-members will be able to access four (4) articles per week.                
  • Free readers and people who have subscribed by email will be able to access four (4) articles per week.                
  • Donors and financial supporters will have unlimited access as long as they log in.                

Note: Donors may have to contact TBE if they find they are being limited, since we will need to set up a membership account for you. Email editor@bristoledition.org for instructions. Sorry for any inconvenience. People with financial difficulties may write editor@bristoledition.org to be considered for free access.