Category Archives: Uncategorized

The wash ran five days ago – actually it ran twice that day – and parts of it still haven’t dried out which really says something about how saturated the ground has gotten during this long soaky Monsoon which I … Continue reading →

…don’t act like food. It’s not just a good idea, it’s the law. Except of course in Massachusetts and similar places, where acting like food is pretty much the law. So how’s that coyote issue going? Swampscott police said they … Continue reading →

Getting into frosty mornings and ‘wait and see’ afternoons. The weatherman says that Sunday’s all-day rain was Monsoon’s last gasp. The weatherman said that on the previous weekend as well, so flip a coin. But sooner or later the rain … Continue reading →

The rain started slacking off a week ago. Sunday and Monday it only lightly rained. Tuesday through Friday were beautiful; hardly a cloud in the sky. Yesterday that changed. It threatened all day and rained hard after dark. This morning… … Continue reading →

This was anticipated to be a quite short session, because… …I only had three pallets in my possession and next to no old scrap lumber fit only for stovewood. So I broke up the pallets yesterday, and… …cut them to … Continue reading →

Exhibit A: It hasn’t rained at all since Monday. Sunday and Monday it didn’t rain much. But there’s still standing water in the wash. This never happens. I’ve never seen it in sixteen summers, except a couple of places far … Continue reading →

I’ve been gone from the cabin a lot this week, from Saturday morning. Morning and afternoon I take off for an hour and a half or two hours, up and across the plateau and then up T&S’s mesa to take … Continue reading →

On the road to T&S’s to take care of their dogs this morning, we passed 1000 miles on the odometer. What with the extended Monsoon and that little mud-related wreck we suffered mid-summer, I’d begun to fear I wouldn’t reach … Continue reading →

I got busy early this morning and have been away from the cabin from Morning Walkie until now, on dog- and laundry-related chores. Came back to a whole bunch of interesting comments concerning drainage. Alas, I didn’t make clear, for … Continue reading →

I have a problem over at Ian’s place. Regular readers might recall that last year’s Monsoon caused all sorts of problems there. Basically, there were water incursions where no water was supposed to have been able to incur, and I … Continue reading →

…if somebody offers you a cutrate deal on a steel water tank. When I was a kid we railed against “plastic this, plastic that.” I’ve reformed my opinion.

…twice a day for the whole week. I don’t anticipate any particular drama this time, though the extended Monsoon is causing an issue since the afternoon rain coincides with my afternoon visit and the Jeep ain’t got no windshield wipers. … Continue reading →

Time to light this thing up. Mind you, once the cold moves in permanently the bedroom heater is my bestest friend. But for the next six weeks or two months it’ll only get cold at night, and not every night, … Continue reading →

Nothing worth blogging about around here lately.

Some of you will remember this picture of some strange hunting partners at the end of my driveway early one morning… I thought that was outrageously weird, but it turns out it’s a thing coyotes and badgers do sometimes. Badgers … Continue reading →

It’s true, sort of. Coyotes are predators by preference, scavengers when the opportunity presents, but very adaptable in practice. During lean times in winter you’ll start seeing piles of undigested juniper berries that obviously came out of the south end … Continue reading →

Going out in the rain is something I never enjoyed, even in Michigan where it’s frequently necessary because life goes on whether it’s raining or not. Here at the Gulch, where rain (and lightning) comprise the only really destructive weather … Continue reading →

Sitting around all afternoon, and around 3 Tobie reminded me that it was time for Chicken chores – or anything else that didn’t involve just sitting around. He says hi. And now we’re off.

I’ve gone through long bouts of insomnia for decades. Sometimes in hindsight the reason is obvious – example, when I retired Sister Creaking Springs my sleep immediately improved – and sometimes, like lately, not. So a full night’s sleep is … Continue reading →