(Above: This is the cooked (Wagyu) picanha roast. Este es el asado de picaña (de Wagyu) cocido. … A great way to celebrate the semester’s end.)
5/4/2025: Today began in the high 60s (rainy) and warmed into the mid 80s (sunny).
The morning of May 4, 2025: A delivery man left a package on this staircase despite the sign saying not to. Rain soaked the box, but luckily it was only hot sauce. La mañana del 4 de mayo del 2025: Un repartidor dejó un paquete en esta escalera a pesar del hecho que el letrero dice no hacerlo. La lluvia mojó la caja pero afortunadamente solo era salsa picante. 
Lunch consisted of scrambled eggs covered in Cholula hot sauce. These were accompanied by a green salad topped in leftover coleslaw. El almuerzo consistía en huevos revueltos cubiertos con salsa picante Cholula. Estos estaban acompañados de una ensalada verde cubierta en sobras de ensalada de repollo. 
Padre gave this creature a name this week. His name is Bog. Esta semana, mi padre le dio un nombre a esta criatura. Su nombre es Bog. 
The blackberries continue to ripen at the top of the central hill. Las moras continúan madurando en la cima del cerro central. 
An afternoon activity: I cut the boards under the west roof to prepare them for a fascia board. Una actividad por la tarde: Corté las tablas bajo el techo oeste para prepararlas para una tabla de fascia. 
Dinner was Belgian Blue burger-steak encrusted with coffee and salt. This steak was covered in homemade butter and accompanied by a green salad made by my father. La cena consistía en un bistec de carne molida de azul belga incrustado con café y sal. Este bistec estaba cubierto en mantequilla casera y acompañado de una ensalada verde hecha por mi padre. 
This is a sliced red apple sprinkled with cinnamon and accompanied by a dollop of Greek yogurt. Esta es una manzana roja en rodajas espolvoreada con canela y acompañado de una cucharada de yogur griego.
5/5/2025: Today began in the mid 60s and warmed into the mid 80s. Sunny.
A tray of sushi and a bowl of miso soup we enjoyed for lunch on May 5, 2025. Una bandeja de sushi y un tazón de sopa de miso que disfrutamos en el almuerzo del 5 de mayo de 2025. 
A photo of my father checking the cows in the eastern herd on the afternoon of May 5, 2025. Una foto de mi padre chequeando las vacas de la manada oriental en la tarde del 5 de mayo de 2025. 
Today Victor dug some ditches to bring water to the ducks and sheep. Hoy Víctor cavó algunas zanjas para llevar agua a los patos y las ovejas. 
Now the pipes are ready to give water to the ducks and sheep. Ahora las tuberías están listas para dar agua a los patos y las ovejas. 
A photo of the exterior of the old milking parlor. I took it for a presentation in my agribusiness class. Una foto del exterior de la antigua sala de ordeño. La tomé para una presentación en mi clase de agroindustria. 
A photo of the old milking parlor. I took it for my class. Una foto de la antigua sala de ordeño. La tomé para mi clase. 
Dinner consisted of reverse-seared Belgian blue burger-steak topped with Swiss cheese. This steak was accompanied by a green salad and a bowl of homemade barbecue sauce. La cena consistía en un bistec de res molida de azul belga dorado al revés y cubierto con queso suizo. Este bistec estaba acompañada de una ensalada verde y un tazón de salsa barbacoa casera. 
This is a thinly sliced red apple sprinkled with cinnamon and accompanied by a dollop of Greek yogurt. Esta es una manzana roja en rodajas delgadas espolvoreada con canela y acompañada de una cucharada de yogur griego. 
A photo: The embodiment of bedtime. Una foto: La encarnación de hora de dormir.
5/6/2025: Today began in the mid 60s and warmed into the 80s. Mostly sunny.
This is lunch from May 6, 2025. It consisted of fried eggs with a green salad. One more note: There weren’t many photos today because I was finishing up the “Principles of Management in Agribusiness” class. Este es el almuerzo del 6 de mayo de 2025. Consistía en huevos fritos acompañados de una ensalada verde. Una nota más: No había muchas fotos hoy porque estaba terminando la clase de “Principios de gestión en agroindustria”. 
I prepared this beef and sweet potato mixture for dinner. The only seasonings were salt, black pepper, fresh rosemary, and olive oil. Preparé esta mezcla de carne de res y boniato para la cena. Los solos condimentos fueron sal, pimienta negra, romero fresco y aceite de oliva. 
Dinner consisted of the aforementioned beef and sweet potato mash, pan-seared and topped with avocado and Swiss cheese. There was also a green salad and a horn of red wine to drink. La cena consistía en la mezcla de carne de res y boniato ya mencionada, cocida en la sartén y cubierta de aguacate y queso suizo. Además, había una ensalada verde y un cuerno de vino tinto para beber 
This is a sliced red apple sprinkled with cinnamon and accompanied by a dollop of Greek yogurt. Esta es una manzana roja en rodajas espolvoreada con canela y acompañar de una cucharada de yogur griego.
5/7/2025: Today began in the low 70s and warmed into the 80s. Brief mid-afternoon rain.
The morning of May 7, 2025: I enjoyed a swim at Salt Springs. La mañana del 7 de mayo de 2025: Disfruté nadando en Salt Springs. 
After swimming at Salt Springs, I went home and wrote. Después de nadar en los manantiales de sal volví a casa y escribí. 
Lunch consisted of fried eggs accompanied by a green salad made by Padre. El almuerzo consistía en huevos fritos acompañados de una ensalada verde hecha por mi padre. 
This is a sliced red apple sprinkled with cinnamon and accompanied by a dollop of Greek yogurt that I enjoyed after lunch. Esta es una manzana roja en rodajas espolvoreada con canela y acompañada de una cucharada de yogur griego que disfruté después del almuerzo. 
Cheese to be grated on the afternoon of May 7, 2025. Queso para rallar en la tarde del 7 de mayo de 2025. 
Blackberries I picked on the afternoon of May 7, 2025. Moras que coseché en la tarde del 7 de mayo de 2025. 
This afternoon I made pizza puff pastry. In this photo, I rolled out the dough and topped it with homemade tomato sauce and cheese. Esta tarde hice hojaldre de pizza. En esta foto extendí la masa y la cubrí con salsa de tomate casera y queso. 
Raw pizza puff pastry rolls. Rollos de hojaldre de pizza crudos. 
This afternoon, I made keto pizza. The first step was to spread ground beef on a baking sheet dressed with olive oil. Esta tarde, hice pizza ketogénica. El primer paso fue extender carne de res molida en una bandeja de horno aliñada con aceite de oliva. 
Then I added the homemade tomato sauce. Luego agregué la salsa de tomate casera. 
After the sauce, I added the cheese. Después de la salsa, agregué el queso. 
Next, I added green bell pepper and red onion. I drizzled the entire pizza with olive oil and sprinkled it with black pepper and salt. Luego, agregué pimiento verde y cebolla roja. Rocié toda la pizza con aceite de oliva y la espolvoreé con pimienta negra y sal. 
The cooked ketogenic pizza. (525 F for 20 minutes) La pizza ketogénica cocida. (525 F por 20 minutos) 
Dinner consisted of keto pizza with a pizza puff pastry and a green salad drizzled with balsamic vinaigrette. La cena consistía en pizza ketogénica acompañada de un hojaldre de pizza y una ensalada verde rociada con vinagreta balsámica. 
This is a sliced red apple sprinkled with cinnamon and accompanied by a dollop of Greek yogurt. Esta es una manzana roja en rodajas espolvoreada con canela y acompañada de una cucharada de yogur griego.
5/8/2025: Today began in the low 70s and warmed into the 80s. Partly Cloudy.
A morning activity: I made a tray of peanut butter cookies to enjoy with Padre and Wag. Una actividad matutina: Hice una bandeja de galletas de mantequilla de maní para disfrutar con mi padre y mi tío. 
Lunch consisted of an egg-crusted pizza, accompanied by a colorful salad made by Padre. El almuerzo consistía en una pizza con corteza de huevo. Esta estaba acompañada de una ensalada colorida hecha por mi padre. 
A sliced red apple sprinkled with cinnamon and accompanied by a dollop of Greek yogurt. Una manzana roja en rodajas espolvoreada con canela y acompañada de una cucharada de yogur griego. 
These are very marbled Wagyu short ribs that I got on the morning of May 8, 2025. Estas son costillas muy marmoladas de Wagyu que conseguí en la mañana del 8 de mayo de 2025. 
Este es el lado frontal de un chuletón de Wagyu. 
The back of a Wagyu ribeye. El reverso de un chuletón de Wagyu. 
This afternoon, I trimmed the battens of the Guesthouse roof. Esta tarde, recorté los listones del techo de Guesthouse. 
Dinner consisted of a Belgian Blue burger-steak encrusted with coffee and salt. This steak was reverse-seared, crowned with cheese, and accompanied by a green salad topped with avocado slices. La cena consistía en un bistec de carne molida de azul belga incrustado con café y sal. Este bistec estaba dorado al revés, coronodo en queso y acompañado de una ensalada verde cubierta con rodajas de aguacate. 
A sliced red apple sprinkled with cinnamon and accompanied by a dollop of Greek yogurt. Una manzana roja en rodajas espolvoreada con canela y acompañada de una cucharada de yogur griego. 
An additional dessert: A hibiscus petal in a teaspoon of honey. Un postre adicional: Un pétalo de Jamaica en una cucharadita de miel. 
Miss Esmeralda looks very big in this photo. La señorita Esmeralda parece muy grande en esta foto.
5/9/2025: Today began in the high 60s and warmed into the 80s. Partly sunny.
The dawn of May 9, 2025. El amanecer del 9 de mayo de 2025. 
This is the mix I enjoyed for lunch. It consisted of a carnivore mix of ground beef, beef liver and heart, and eggs. This mix was accompanied by a green salad. Esta es la mezcla que disfruté en el almuerzo. Consistía en mezcla carnívora de res molida, hígado y corazón de res con huevos. Esta mezcla estaba acompañada de una ensalada verde. 
This is the picanha I seasoned with salt and freshly ground black pepper for dinner. Esta es la picaña que sazoné con sal y pimienta negra recién molida para la cena. 
The sunny afternoon of May 9, 2025 in the central field: The cows were trying to graze. La tarde soleada del 9 de mayo de 2025 en el campo central: Las vacas intentaban pastar. 
This is the cooked (Wagyu) picanha roast. Este es el asado de picaña (de Wagyu) cocido. 
The plated dinner: Wagyu picanha, cheese bread, and a green salad, all accompanied by a horn of red wine. Fabulous. La cena emplatada: Picaña de Wagyu, pan de queso y una ensalada verde, todo acompañado de un cuerno de vino tinto. Fabuloso. 
This is a sliced red apple sprinkled with cinnamon and accompanied by a dollop of Greek yogurt. Esta es una manzana roja en rodajas espolvoreada con canela y acompañada de una cucharada de yogur griego.
5/10/2025: Today began in the low 70s and warmed into the 80s. Cloudy morning, then rainy.
On the morning of May 10, 2025, I made loquat puff pastries. They turned out very well. En la mañana de 10 de mayo de 2025 hice hojaldres de níspero. Quedaron muy bien. 
Lunch consisted of a green salad with beef sausage and bacon. Delicious. El almuerzo consistía en una ensalada verde acompañada de salchichas de res y tocino. Delicioso. 
Dessert: a sliced red apple sprinkled with cinnamon and accompanied by a dollop of Greek yogurt. El postre: una manzana roja en rodajas espolvoreada con canela y acompañada de una cucharada de yogur griego. 
While Padre and I were checking the cows, I found more blackberries. They were sweeter than before. Mientras mi padre yo chequeábamos las vacas, encontré más moras. Eran más dulce que antes. 
This is the sourdough bread I made on the afternoon of May 10, 2025. Esta es el pan de masa madre que hice en la tarde del 10 de mayo de 2025. 
Dinner consisted of leftover picanha from the night before, accompanied by a green salad topped with a piece of toasted cheese bread. La cena consistía en sobras de picaña de la noche anterior. Estas estaban acompañadas de una ensalada verde coronada con un trozo de pan de queso tostado. 
A sliced red apple sprinkled with cinnamon. Una manzana roja en rodajas espolvoreada con canela.
Final Note: Epigraph for Grimorzak’s Chapter 12 in To Lands Beyond.
“The biologs’ sense of touch is not like our own. Rakshanah receive tactile perception as instantaneous information. We know the temperature, the hardness, the weight, and the like as a matter of course, attributed to our Original Conscious Essence coming into direct contact with the object in question. The biologs do not have this ability. Their touch is imperfect – vague – and demonstrates the marvel of a mind that operates on context.
“Take for example, the biolog sense of temperature. Their nerves do not tell them how cold or warm an object is; they merely tell the rate of heat transfer between the sensory organ and the medium it is in contact with. It is why a highly conductive bar of silver at 295 degrees Absolute feels colder to a biolog than a poorly conductive paperback book of the same temperature. Conversely, if book and bar were 316 Absolute, the bar would feel far warmer. The only time the two feel equal in temperature is when that temperature is imperceptible, that is, when it is identical to the temperature of the biolog’s sensory organ: about 309 Absolute in most cases.
“This is but one of many examples of how disparity is necessary for our subjects to ‘feel’ the existential sphere, and really, one could argue that all of their senses require such difference to generate perception-through-context.
“That brings us back to context. Context is to the Biolog Mind what Disparity is to the Biolog Sense. It is the means by which a biolog comprehends its situation, perceiving it favorable or unfavorable. Understandably, our subjects remain in the favorable environment while endeavoring to move away from the unfavorable. There is a fault in this system, though. Once a biolog has remained in a favorable system for too long, it begins to acclimate, losing context and consequent ability to assure itself of that situation’s favorability. It is at this point that we see our derivative cousins match our own fine ability to create problems where there are none.
“Ah, but do not fret; I have a point and I am nearly there. The biolog situation of continuous acclimation has granted me an insight that may help us in our own situation of terminal ennui. Simply put: traction requires friction. More broadly put: A mind must encounter resistance to not only discern but, too, achieve direction.
“We must intentionally challenge ourselves. We must do this, lest our fate – our subliminal thoughts and those conditioned whims resulting of billions of years of experience – will gladly do so. Take the biologs as role-models in this regard. Look at their finest works. Whether novel or play or sculpture or invention or even children in a few rare cases; when those works are great, they have inevitably been preceded by purpose. And what is purpose other than a consciously created and consciously appreciated challenge?”
- taken from High Physic Pliok’s “Dissertation on the Derivative Mind”
Bonus Photo: En este momento (11 de mayo de 2025) espero nuestro cuarto en el lobby de Impressive. Es un buen lugar para pararse y trabajar un poco en la escritura.
Mi oficina en el lobby de Impressive.
That was a tremendous week and that closing line “And what is purpose other than a consciously created and consciously appreciated challenge” …. fantastic.