It’s evening, and the sun is going down; whether you’re in the Deschutes River valley or up in the Cascades near Salmon La Sac, you will hear the chirps of crickets. If it is in the high desert near the Deschutes the beautiful chirping that you will hear will probably be made by true crickets -- field crickets to be precise. If you are not in the high desert, but up in the forested mountains of the Cascades, it will be a whole different picture. Instead of the lovely serenade of the field crickets that could lull anyone to sleep, a loud, obnoxious screech meets your ears. Eeeeeeeeeeee!

Once upon a time, there was a little mouse. And this little mouse, like all good mice, liked cheese. Unfortunately for this mouse, every time he ate cheese, he burst into flames. Now, this mouse didn’t like to burst into flames, so he went to visit the Wicked Witch of Wherever (having established that the other Wicked Witches were killed by Dorothy), but she told him that she wouldn’t help him, because, you see, she was evil, and she didn’t do those things. So the little mouse went to see Aragorn, and Aragorn said that if the little mouse would help him to help Frodo take the One Ring acros

**After watching the regular version of "The Two Towers" in I don't know how long, I decided to write down a few thoughts that came to me while I was watching.  You don't have to agree with all that is written, but if you can relate to at least some...well, then you're probably just as nuts as I am.  If you'd like, you can add some of your own in your comment. ;D**

~~

You know you are a Lord of the Rings freak if...

You can name all of Sam's kids

If Middle-Earth Entered the 21st Century…
· Frodo would sue the Counsel of Elrond for pain, suffering, and failure to disclose information.
· Tom Bombadil would be institutionalized or become a cult leader.
· Beorn the shape-changer would become a spokesman for human-ursine relations.
· Departed elves would replace “dead white males” as objects of blame.
· Eowyn would command the Rohyrrim, wile Eomer married Ghan-Bur-Ghan’s daughter.
· The Shire and the Elven kingdoms would receive carbon credits from Sauron and Saruman.

Shadows lay somber dismissing laughter
The hanging stars presently concealed
Though in eyes of the elf they still shine
He stands steady amid the field
Tireless, gazing along the path
Resting the eagerness of mind

The pale moon now comes forth
From under the blanket of dense cloud
Reflects on the bow between swift fingers
Glitters on the work of great endeavoring
Made fairly, the bow from Caras Galadhon
For use of the elves who in Lorien linger

Fred Hill stepped out of his car and breathed deeply. No matter where he’d been, coming here—to the Wisconsin Dells Retreat Center—always felt like arriving home.
“Hello, my boy.”
“Uncle Bill!” Fred ran forward and hugged his uncle. “How are you?”
“Good, good.” Bill pulled a pipe from his mouth and blew out a smoke ring. “Have you seen my blog recently?”
“No, you’ll have to show me. Is anyone else here yet?”
“Edward, Golda, Larry, Cyril and Gerald arrived a few days ago. Gary hasn’t come yet. I hope he can make it,”

The other day, I watched the ending of Return of the King for at least the third time. The movie carried me from the depths of despair to the heights of joy; from the struggle in Mount Doom to the coronation and wedding of Aragorn. But the final scene at the Grey Havens struck me as the most poignant part of the whole trilogy.
The final pages in the book contain this moving conversation between Sam and Frodo:

What are the foundations of a civilized society? Must it have a certain system of government? A predetermined level of technology? A written language? Advanced weapons?