Category Archives: Uncategorized

I sat down to write this magnificently significant and meaningful post last night which would have transformed your life in so many positive ways, it’s just tragic that I couldn’t connect and now I’ve forgotten what I wanted to say. … Continue reading →

I have a neighbor who’s going through a round of chemo. She started losing her (beautiful long) hair, and so decided to beat chemistry to the punch by buzzing it down to the scalp like I do. This had both … Continue reading →

…things can get awfully aggravating. I bake bread every five days or so, and my recipe makes two standard-sized loaves. I have no complaints with the taste and consistency of my recipe, which I’ve made so often that by now … Continue reading →

It’s grassfire season, as even a glance at the horizon would tell anybody. We in the Gulch aren’t in danger from wildfires, for fairly obvious reasons. You can’t throw a stone without hitting a lightning-struck juniper, and here and there … Continue reading →

If you’d asked me at the beginning of this week, “If it were all going to fall apart tomorrow, what panicked preparations would you take,” I would only have been able to think of one: I’d do something about all … Continue reading →

I mean he’s gone from panicked to resigned, which is pretty good progress in less than a month. He’ll get in on his own now – with sometimes quite a bit of prompting. He hasn’t tried to jump out lately. … Continue reading →

Sometimes the stars align to do something unseasonable. This is the Secret Lair’s current propane situation… In mid-June on possibly the hottest week of the year – by far the hottest to date – two full reserve bottles hardly constitutes … Continue reading →

Seriously. From appearances, it Kong-fued his ass halfway across the cabin and took his bed away from him. Slippery rug didn’t help…

Ian just sent me a funny…

Oh, brother. So on our afternoon walkie, Tobie got his first clean shot at a rabbit. He blasted off after it, and having no choice I let him run without making a fuss. Young as he is and in this … Continue reading →

Sometimes you gotta ask yourself: How much is too much? Because I think live steam is too much. And I don’t believe the plumbing, which is basically good-quality garden hose, is really going to keep putting up with it. But … Continue reading →

Tobie is a happy dog! He got a helluva lot of presents in this care package drop. A new big bed! Far too big for the original 200 sq. ft. cabin, but we’ll work that out. I was afraid this … Continue reading →

In the morning we usually go down the wash for our walkie, in a more-or-less straight line from the driveway. At that point it’s an interesting semantic question as to whether it’s a wash or a canyon. Tomato tomahto. In … Continue reading →

So I was at a neighbor’s house this morning, and he asked if I wouldn’t have a look at this old SKS he picked up cheap for his grandson, you know, make sure it works safely before passing it on. … Continue reading →

Hot water won’t make that leak. Corrosion might, in the fullness of time. But heat won’t. D&L have a regular Wednesday doctor visit in the big town about 50 miles away for the next two months or so. Which means … Continue reading →

Tobie has been doing really good with walkies. Today’s setback was due to poor route choice on my part. We took what I think of as the long circuit: overland directly to Landlady’s ridge to visit the chickens, then down … Continue reading →

…in hope of correcting last summer’s near-total failure. The poor-man’s solar water heater is made of a free fiberglass box and a whole bunch of black garden hose. That part seems to work fine. But – mostly for artistic purposes, … Continue reading →

Somebody knows suppertime is 5:00.

Little Bear had Magnus to teach him and keep him safe when he was a little puppy; Tobie, alas, only has me. And lacking a fenced safe yard to run and play in, and hampered by an overprotective Uncle Joel, … Continue reading →