Defenders of the accused in the Salem Witch Trials 1692-10-18

The Salem Witch Trials took place all over Massachusetts colony. In Andover, almost everyone accused confessed, but, according to a petition mentioned in a TV show: “from the information we have had and the discourse some of us have had with the prisoners, we have reason to think that the extream urgency that was used with some of them by their friends and others who privately examined them, and the fear they were then under, hath been an inducement to them to own such things, as we cannott since find thay are conscious of;” I was familiar with that since some of my ancestors defended some of the accused, and more ancestors moved south after that nightmare.

[Petition and chart]
Petition and chart

Gretchen and I were watching Salem’s Lot, Season 9, Episode 2, of Finding Your Roots with Henry Louis Gates, Jr.

An ancestor of guest Jeff Daniels signed a peition on behalf of their wives and daughters who had been accused of being witches. This petition was Continue reading →

Trees, lightning, hurricane, chainsaw 2022-11-10

Some weeks ago, lightning struck a bunch of trees and killed them.

During Hurricane Nicole, two of them fell across the front driveway.

A little chainsaw work cleared the driveway.

[Lightning, Hurricane, Chainsaw]
Lightning, Hurricane, Chainsaw

Before

These two pictures are from November 5, 2022. Notice how the dead trees are in a line. Continue reading →

No turtle! 2022-11-01

Blondie brought me this box turtle. I repeated her lesson: no turtle!

[Box turtle, Blondie, Arrow, Honeybun]
Box turtle, Blondie, Arrow, Honeybun

Then I showed the Terrapene carolina to each other dog, with the same lesson. Finally, I put it down by the driveway and we continued on.

-jsq

Dog Bath 2022-10-21

Update 2022-12-15: Washing the dogs 2022-12-10.

The dogs got really muddy in a beaver pond just before dark, so Gretchen gave them baths.

[Blondie and bathtub]
Blondie and bathtub

After I unclogged the drain, this is what was left.

Honeybun also got a bath, but I wasn’t quick enough to get a picture. Continue reading →

Snake moved far away 2022-10-03

The dogs found this snake, and Gretchen didn’t like it.

[Canebrake rattlesnake, Crotalus horridus]
Canebrake rattlesnake, Crotalus horridus

Honeybun, Blondie, and Arrow led me straight to this Crotalus horridus. Unlike our previous dogs, they kept their distance.

Gretchen called them back, I got the hoe and a cardboard box, put the snake in the box, the box in the truck, and drove the truck miles away.

This rattler now has woods to catch mice with nobody living nearby.

-jsq

Dogs, dog fennel, longleaf, beggarticks, chiggers 2022-09-18

Ah, fall flowers, dogs frolicking in the dog fennel, and mysterious molds, all on a morning walk.

And chiggers. Most likely Trombicula alfreddugesi, aka Eutrombicula alfreddugesi, in the genus Trombicula, family Trombiculidae.

Whichever species of arachnids, cousins of ticks and spiders, these ones will make you itch for days. They can raise red welts and send you to the doctor seeking steroids. You don’t want to see pictures of that.

[Common sneezeweed, Helenium autumnale]
Common sneezeweed, Helenium autumnale

Continue reading →