Author Archives: Joel

So yesterday and the day before I glued TB’s marker to its pedestal, caulked and painted it… …and this morning it was ready to put in the ground. I couldn’t finish the grave properly, it seems, until I went into … Continue reading →

For the fifth straight year. Set right to work building her nest in the usual place. I keep thinking of deepening that ledge for her, but then I figure if she didn’t like it the way it is she wouldn’t … Continue reading →

So you might recall that five months ago there was a teeny problem with Torso Boy’s grave marker. It took a while, but Landlady stayed with it and voilà! I have everything I need to get this one attached to … Continue reading →

A very long drive for a very brief visit. Brought back some goodies, but that’ll have to wait till tomorrow because I’m going to go collapse into a chair. But first: I must share with you the funniest and most … Continue reading →

And oh what a beautiful morning. I lay around until almost 6:30, then took my first cup out to the workbench. The woodstove is put to bed for the season – I even turned off the propane to the bedroom … Continue reading →

I still get a kick out of this place… My neighbors D&L have formed the habit of going to the Palace of Food in the biggish town about 35 miles away on the first Wednesday of the month, that being … Continue reading →

This stuff has grown in the wash since before I came, and for most of that time I never knew what it was called. It greened up pretty in the spring if the winter had been wet, and spread like … Continue reading →

And that’s how you end up a frickin’ hermit in the frickin’ desert.

Neighbor L had her hummingbird feeders out 2 or 3 weeks ago and said she already had a few customers, but I hadn’t seen any until this morning. I just got back from my morning walkie when I got buzzed … Continue reading →

May at last! My favorite month. Took a nice cool walky the long way around for morning chicken chores. Came back by way of Ian’s powershed where I store some big sheets of cardboard… …which I thought I would need … Continue reading →

So I mentioned that it rained yesterday and is forecast to rain off and on today. Knew that. So I wrapped the woodstove in a tarp and strapped the tarp down to protect the stove from blown water. I’ve had … Continue reading →

…I’d have done it three days ago. So last Tuesday I put down the new floor in the main cabin, right? And I thought it went quite well but it definitely went slowly. I started at seven in the morning … Continue reading →

…confirmation bias can lead you to error. So I’m coming home from the Monday morning water run, right? And I get to the wash… …and tap the brake, which causes the bottle of drinking water on the shotgun seat to … Continue reading →

So in a comment on the last post, Ben said,… This seems like a job for a length of inexpensive chain. Even the strap will wear out from abrasion. …and I was more than a full sentence into a rather … Continue reading →

No surprise here, but cheap hardware rope has limited applications. Dragging heavy logs out of the boonies is not among them. I do have a lovely length of 1/2″ nylon, kept safe in the Jeep kit… In terms of getting … Continue reading →

I just happened upon this quick old Forgotten Weapons video, which was shot in my yard during the autumn of 2013 right after the wettest Monsoon in memory. These tall flowery bushes popped up everywhere, reseeded like crazy and grew … Continue reading →

They stay a lot cleaner. Over the past couple of years I finally shook the last of my chimney fire phobia and let my woodstove’s freak flag fly – ironically much reducing the probability of another chimney fire due to … Continue reading →

So yesterday I dragged the woodstove and the big chair out to the porch, then hooked up the trailer and brought the cutting table, saw, and pieces of floor to the Lair. Got the generator out of mothballs – started … Continue reading →

That’s my story and I’m sticking to it. You can’t be too careful at my age and social stratum, even with all that white privilege. Actually it turns out BB and SIL picked a perfect time to visit, as April … Continue reading →

Monday I had guests at the Secret Lair, which is not a common thing. Big Brother and New SIL stopped over on a long road trip west. This meant that part of Sunday got spent cleaning the Lair – also … Continue reading →