Hog Haven 12140-970

Written to The College Dropout by Kanye West

Everything that is really great and inspiring is created by the individual who can labor in freedom.
- Albert Einstein

While the title's postal code might not carry as much panache as that of Beverly Hills 90210, for a hog there is no better place on earth: ridiculous room to roam and root...and new feeding troughs to boot. In a word, Hog Haven is dope!

The long-ago declared end of the rainy season remains little more than an abstraction. As a not-so-gentle reminder of this reality, on Thursday, April 16th, it rained in excess of 132 mm, the maximum capacity of Lone's precision, German Regenmesser -more even than the downpour of March 18th described in my blog post Let it rain. In the days after the cataclysm, the river banks were overrun with flotsam. As if to counterbalance the rain's untimeliness, the local produce manifested its positives!

In other news, Muninn appears to be on the mend. His metamorphosis over the past week was as radical as was his recent downslide.

Also, Alfheim hosted its first volunteer, Marina Carvalho, this week. In all, Marina will stay with us for two weeks and has fit right in since day 1...a very positive experience.

This week's flora and fauna.

Due to Tiradentes Day, this week's blog post is somewhat truncated.

Joaquim José da Silva Xavier, known as Tiradentes (August 16, 1746–-April 21, 1792), was a leading member of the Brazilian revolutionary movement known as the Inconfidência Mineira whose aim was full independence from the Portuguese colonial power and to create a Brazilian republic. When the plan was discovered, Tiradentes was arrested, tried and publicly hanged. Since the 19th century he has been considered a national hero of Brazil.

Finally, next week's blog post is up in the air as Lone and I will be in São Paulo all weekend to attend the wedding of a very good friend and former colleague of mine, Tatiana Yumi Vaccari.