Author Archives: Joel

First propane purchase. It’s down almost fifty cents a gallon from last winter, making it only too much rather than far too much. Guess I can save the difference to buy holiday ammo for good girls and boys…

Took a long truck ride for nothing. Nobody there, nobody answering the phone. Try again next week sometime. I did get to help Neighbor S load drywall, but that’s the only useful thing I’ve accomplished so far today and a … Continue reading →

Sometimes I think I take this ‘hermit’ thing too far. If I’m remembering correctly it has literally been years since I last visited the big town about 50 miles away. But today’s the day. I’m so excited my stomach is … Continue reading →

The vital coffee-brewing portion of the waking-up procedure was unimpeded this morning.

Somebody in the previous post suggested that there was probably water in the kitchen regulator, freezing overnight. I had already come to the same conclusion and so was not surprised when… …I removed it and water poured out. Somehow it … Continue reading →

Or at least I always try to. When I get caught without a Plan B or when I reach for Plan B and it lets me down, I give serious thought to fixing that for next time. Because! That’s why. … Continue reading →

I haven’t been paying attention to the weather forecast so this came as a surprise. So far we hadn’t had so much as a little sleet with our rain – except for one brief cold snap it’s been very mild. … Continue reading →

Neighbor L is going through horse withdrawal. It’s been a week now since they went away and she says she’s down to checking on them through the windows no more than six or eight times a day now. And they’re … Continue reading →

I woke up at around 3:30 as normal, took care of some physical impediments to further sleep and laid back down. At some point I dozed off and found myself in the Gulch driving to Ian’s place. There I found … Continue reading →

Pretty morning here at the Gulch… Tobie and I had a nice frosty walkie, then Neighbor L wanted to go to town. Now, I always schedule 15 minutes to get from here to D&L’s place through the wash, takes longer … Continue reading →

Yeah, I know – I took this pic right after most of the kindling had burned down and before I stoked the stove for actual heat. It’s a process. The process is kind of a pain in the ass, but … Continue reading →

Texting is an unalloyed blessing to introverts, I think we can all agree. Basically everyone who lives in the Gulch meets that description or they’d live somewhere else, so most remote communication involves texting. It was such a comforting alternative … Continue reading →

The day dawned almost completely clear, after all the rain of yesterday and last night… …and when I came ’round Ian’s place I found my frozen meat pretty much all thawed. Cold, not yet ruined, but very not frozen. There’s … Continue reading →

It’s been such a dry autumn that actual rain came as a shock. Seems unnatural to have water falling from the sky. What’s with that? Also… A shoutout to Generous Readers who are the reason I possess rain gear. Don’t … Continue reading →

Four elderly batteries turn out not to be enough to run Ian’s system. It would boot up but not stay running for more than a short time, and this morning I finally figured out how to display the error message… … Continue reading →

Sorry. Life kind of came at me from all sides this week but I think I have a good grip on it now. Could be wrong.

Woodcutting season is officially closed. I have put away the power tools, raked up my mess and hauled it to the burn barrel. I’m not entirely comfortable with what I’ve put up, but winters in the high desert are episodic: … Continue reading →

From day one, Tobie decided that my bedroom made him very uncomfortable. Little Bear liked it. Torso Boy liked it – and in fact insisted on sleeping in the bed. Tobie finds it repellent. I expected him to get over … Continue reading →

Our window of September-like weather may be ending. But if so it’s doing it in a rather polite manner. Woke up to high 20’s. Got a lovely view of the late crescent moon and (Venus, I think) while accompanying Tobie … Continue reading →