Category Archives: Uncategorized

I spend every winter basically sitting around, which means that in spring I’m a superannuated sack of jello. Takes a while to get into some semblance of shape. Today I cut all that wood that’s been leaning against the cabin … Continue reading →

Don’t know why, though I can guess one of the past week’s windstorms might be to blame, but Phoebe decided to build a new nest. It’s bigger! It’s better! It’s…still on the windward side of the cabin, so WTF, Phoebe? … Continue reading →

…and need to pretty constantly be put back together. A lot of this is due to poor construction in the first place: I never claimed I knew what I was doing. Living here is the very model of learning on … Continue reading →

If you’ve ever raised your own laying hens you already know that very young and very old hens tend to produce problematic eggs. Like, eggs with shells so thin they don’t survive the visits of subsequent hens to the nesting … Continue reading →

It’s been eight years since a Generous Reader sent me my Slime tire inflation compressor. For such a cheesy-looking thing it has held up remarkably well and done me many services. It has gotten a tad beat up in the … Continue reading →

Maybe he’s just trying to lull me into a false sense of security, but I’m getting the notion that Tobie may be leaving his Obnoxious Puppy phase. The horrid chewing and wanton destruction of my property has ceased. I can … Continue reading →

Just shy of eighty bucks. Gas hasn’t been this high since the Obama administration. Of course back then I couldn’t afford to fill 3 and a half gas cans at a go. The good news (for me) is that, barring … Continue reading →

Wow, that was a good one. Started early yesterday morning – most big wind doesn’t really get started until noon or after – and blew so hard that when I actually went out in it for Tobie’s mid-day walkie the … Continue reading →

I picture craftsmen, somewhere near an arms bazaar in Peshawar, rolling on the ground howling with laughter. Nearby, a grizzled former mujahid drinks tea and ponders dark thoughts, wondering how Americans ever got such a fearsome rep. What I wonder…this … Continue reading →

What we have here is a clear case of goathead thorn. I mean I can see the thorn in the tire, surrounded by soapy bubbles. So I spent my one spare tube, which with 4-inch tires is not a difficult … Continue reading →

…on the ebike. This happened once before, in 2019 shortly after I got the bike. No explanation: I came into Ian’s to get it and the front tire was utterly flat. At the time I assumed I’d run over something … Continue reading →

Tobie and I were out doing chores this morning, specifically cleaning out the little tin storage shed behind the cabin. I have let it and the powershed get out of control, and one of the early season tasks is to … Continue reading →

Getting a good permanent seal – or any real seal – between a cement block wall and a wooden windowframe is probably a known art. We just don’t happen to know it. And after several years of weather drying out … Continue reading →

“You’re ready for your walkie, is what you’re saying.” “Tobie, it’s 6:30 in the morning. Just because it gets light earlier doesn’t mean we have to do everything earlier.”

It’s a super windy day, with temps unlikely to get out of the fifties. So I’m cocooning indoors today. A little discouraging to look out my bedroom window and watch the wind bounce tumbleweeds up my driveway from the wash, … Continue reading →

Nothing much going on around the Secret Lair over the past few days, just minor chores and getting myself into some sort of shape for summer. Since there’s still nothing really worth talking about but I’m aware of having neglected … Continue reading →

So several days ago I noticed that the concrete pier on one of Ian’s porch columns, not very deeply or well planted, was trying to escape. I’m a couple of days behind schedule on fixing this but Tuesday turned very … Continue reading →

Another beautiful spring morning. By far the coolest we’ve had in the past week, which was really kind of welcome… …because I laid a fire after the last one, as always, but that was like two weeks ago and I … Continue reading →

When I looked at the forecast a few days ago, I wrote off Tuesday for most outdoor activities. When the only thing the weatherman can think to say about a high desert day in April is “windy,” he probably means … Continue reading →