Hops. Meadville. Manny.

I took some time out on Good Friday to plant my hop rhizomes in these buckets.  The three clustered together are all Chinook.  Chinook is a rather feisty high-alpha (bitter) hop used by some American brewers to make themselves feel manly.  However, it also has a rather pleasant flavor and aroma...and they are supposed to be fairly good growers.  Next to them is the Kent Goldings rhizome.  I am not sure I can still call it that.  The word "Kent" in this context is in reference to where it was grown originally (County Kent, England, UK).  It is the classic hop for many of the English-styled ales.  Perhaps it should be called "Parsonage Goldings" now.  Finally, in the big purple bucket, is the Brewer's Gold rhizome.   This one shares characteristics with both of the others.  I will be using it for aroma and flavor in my homebrewed beers.

I will blog more about the hops if they manage to survive.  A couple of the Chinooks were quite dry when I planted them and the others may just fail to thrive in their new homes.  They are in buckets for the simple reason that--as a parsonage dweller--I possess the renter's sense of impermanence.  Also there will be a great deal of work on the house this summer (paint and septic) so the hops need to be more mobile than other plants.

Since there isn't much more to say on this subject I have a few (unrelated) links...

The conversation continues around the Meadville/Lombard situation.  There have been additional comments made to the post by Scott Wells.  I am pleased to hear from current students, though the issues seem to have been muddied a bit and combined in a great big--slightly tense--ball.  For example, I really don't think there are too many people who doubt the need to sell property.  It had to be done.  It would be good to move on to more important viability, image, and culture issues.  That said, the background information on why the "TouchPoint" curriculum came into being was much appreciated.

Also, here is a thoughtful piece at Rev. Cyn (Reverend Cynthia Landrum) and some very thoughtful comments that coincide with much of my own experience with M/L.  Though she graduated only a year after me, I did not know her.  I was on a "six year plan" of my own devising.  Still, her impressions of the place ring true for me as well.

Finally, for those of you who follow baseball and are still able to read the New York Times.  Here is a link to a very good story about the brilliant and sometimes troubling Manny Ramirez.  Here also is a link about the attempts of some colleges to get around Title IX