Category Archives: Uncategorized

Should have named him Dozer. So this morning I finally took myself and a few tools and one very eager puppy back to finish repairing the paper target rack… …while Tobie went immediately back to his self-imposed chore. Points for … Continue reading →

Oh, boy. Here’s another thing to dislike about a wet monsoon – even though it hasn’t even been all that wet this week. Something that’s blooming or pollinating or whatever has my nose running like a river. Hard to get … Continue reading →

I wanted to work on that target stand this morning while it was cool, but further work required the Jeep and the Jeep hasn’t been in the wash for over a month. My driveway apron washed away early and there’s … Continue reading →

So during the big storms of a few weeks ago a piece of the rifle range backstop’s caprock… …came down to visit the paper target stand… …and knocked it pretty definitely out of plumb. I had other worries at the … Continue reading →

Happened to go to town yesterday morning, filled my empty kitchen propane bottle and one of the little ones that fuel the water heater at Ian’s place. L wanted a stop at the local drug store, and I went in … Continue reading →

There was nothing I enjoyed less, nothing I couldn’t so easily find reasons to put off or avoid. And of all the painting chores in the world, is there anything more tedious than… …railings? But during the Lair’s first paint … Continue reading →

If we get a wet monsoon, the cliffroses bloom again. And right now they’re going nuts. Cliffroses aren’t roses at all but they have a heavy sweet scent that reminds me of many years ago when I raised damask roses … Continue reading →

…but with the cheapest exterior paint available costing around $35/gallon, I really couldn’t afford to. Ian and I recently came to a sort of agreement about that, which freed me up to do more necessary maintenance. So I hit it … Continue reading →

Yesterday morning I drove to D&L’s to meet them for the Monday morning water run. Got up my hill, and then all of a sudden the throttle didn’t work. Didn’t freak out about it, this has happened before, I just … Continue reading →

The usual practice is to look out the kitchen window to the SE and you can see what the weather’s going to be this afternoon. A wet monsoon removes that bit of predictability; you never know what direction a storm … Continue reading →

This summer has presented me with the very unusual and unexpected question… …at what point do you harvest a pear tree? I brought this one inside to leave in a bowl for a week and see if it softens up … Continue reading →

Landlady came up last night with some unexpected packages! I was only expecting a couple of sacks of dog food, courtesy of Big Brother… This brand of dog food is an indulgence on my part: Longtime readers know that I’ve … Continue reading →

And this is why I live in the SW desert, and not in southern Florida. Normally it’s dry; very dry. I like very dry. Right now, not quite so much. 55% humidity indoors. All my twisted joints and broken bones … Continue reading →

I went with D&L to the Palace of Food yesterday morning and couldn’t help notice that… …the normally rather sere landscape is looking awfully green and growy this month. I recognize the need for wet seasons in dry country but … Continue reading →

…by method #NoneOfTheAbove. Sometimes I’m not the most … observant person. Exhibit A: a frost-free sillcock, slightly damaged, which attaches to its supply pipe with… …a female threaded fitting. And what does that tell us about the pipe it’s no … Continue reading →

The top of my toolbox is always a mess: I really don’t have enough storage space, and what space I do have is poorly maintained. But I wasn’t expecting the extra-added mess I found today when I went into the … Continue reading →

At quarter to eight in the morning I’ve wrenched my back, soaked my boots, worked up a muck sweat that keeps fogging my glasses, lost my temper at my dog, gotten a jackhammer chisel so wedged between concrete and rebar … Continue reading →

And in pursuit of that goal, this morning I took a reader’s advice and knocked together an a-frame to take the weight of the jackhammer. And that helped a lot: I got quite a bit done before I ran out … Continue reading →

…and I was going to celebrate by riding the ebike up there in the morning, but… …Tobie insisted that the job required a dog. I worked so hard to get him to accept the Jeep that now I seldom have … Continue reading →

Tobie and I were taking a nice long morning walkie in the wash downstream from the Lair, when an annoying buzzing began.