Storm Clouds

Storm clouds from a small July storm.

Australia's Prime Fireman

A fun story out of Australia:

Former prime minister Tony Abbott has resumed his duties as a volunteer fire fighter, helping out his local brigade on a Sunday afternoon.

Mr Abbott took part in the training day with the Davidson Fire Brigade ahead of the the upcoming fire season and posted a photo to his Facebook page captioned "Glad to be back with the crew".

...

In October 2013, during his first month as Prime Minister, Mr Abbott worked a night shift with Davidson Brigade, helping with a back burning operation near Bilpin.

I have to appreciate him staying involved outside of the world of politics. He previously received a "a 10-year service award from the NSW Rural Fire Service."

Cornfield Sunset

An evening photo from just down the road.

No Solution for Syria?

A reasonable analysis of the Syrian conflict: there might not be a side to the conflict that we would want to win.

No solution seems more viable and durable than the status quo or a variant thereof. A national unity government, encompassing figures from both the present regime and moderate factions of the insurgency, would be too disparate, weak, and exposed to terrorist groups to last or to effectively rule.

Like it or not, the Syrian standoff is there to stay. The rivalries are too deeply entrenched, and the combat means at the disposal of belligerent factions are too exorbitant, for peace and stability to be an attainable objective in the months or years ahead.

Read the whole thing at RealClearWorld.

The one thing that seems most likely? Russia keeps its naval bases.

Dog and Cattle are Friends

Our farm dog spends quality time with the neighbors.

Seagulls on the Prairie

Seagulls were circling around the next field, which needless to say did not include a sea.

Our Home in Literature - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

"In the central portion of the great North American Continent there lies an arid and repulsive desert, which for many a long year served as a barrier against the advance of civilization. From the Sierra Nevada to Nebraska, and from the Yellowstone River in the north to the Colorado upon the south, is a region of desolation and silence." - A Study in Scarlet, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle