Author Archives: Joel

Seriously. I found this email in my box this morning… Yeah, I bought a bunch of stump socks over several months last year and now they won’t leave me alone. I’m glad they’re there – for over 40 years I … Continue reading →

Last Monday the dollar store was completely out of it.

Not unexpected – it was a quite wet winter by our standards, and soon there should be grass. Unlike last year, when the cattleman who holds the lease released cattle but then had to round them all up and take … Continue reading →

Ah, it’s election season. And unlike last time, when the early field of hopeless hopefuls consisted mostly of stodgy undistinguished and indistinguishable repubs, this time we have a herd of whacky commies trying to out 5-year-plan one another. There’s amusement … Continue reading →

Just this minute, out the front window. The feeder is open for business. I’d take a picture, but the phone’s connected to the laptop.

Torso Boy and I didn’t roll out until after six, so I started the morning behind the curve and trying to catch up. Got halfway coffied up, then cooked breakfast for me and the boy which meant that halfway through … Continue reading →

I was going to take the day off entirely – in fact I considered spending the afternoon in bed – because I raised some pressure sores on my stump from all the walking I’ve been doing and they need to … Continue reading →

Ever since the suggestion was made I’ve been kicking myself for not thinking of bolting a wider shelf up there. Never really occurred to me that she’d come back to that spot, to be honest. Too late now, but I … Continue reading →

🙂 Just saw her. She’s working on a nest in the same spot as last year. I’ll post a picture when I can.

…if you zoom in and squint, it’s right above Ian’s solar panels. Yeah, it was pretty faint and I didn’t have a lot of hope for the photo. We had some very light rain yesterday and the clouds seem to … Continue reading →

And this is the prettiest I’ve ever seen the pear tree… It’s five years old, planted in deeply amended soil from back when the backhoe worked. I pruned it back a bit a couple of days ago. It grows a … Continue reading →

I spent much of the morning up in the pantry loft doing something I’ve been putting off for weeks now: Sorting out canned goods. Because I know how to have fun, and also I suspect “best by” dates on cans … Continue reading →

Betcha can’t guess where the trailer tire was leaking. Yeah, of course you can. Same thing: The valve stem is rotten. Who mounts a tire, replacing an obviously years-in-the-sun bald tire, and doesn’t at least check the valve stem?

There’s something I frequently forget/neglect to do when cleaning the Tracker… The Tracker is chambered for .44 Magnum but it’s a lightweight gun more intended for a lot of carrying than for a lot of shooting so believe me you … Continue reading →

In early winter I replaced both trailer tires – the shop that mounted them failed to replace the valve stems which were long since rotted from the sun, and one of the new tires promptly went flat. I haven’t used … Continue reading →

The first hummingbird has been sighted. Not here at the Lair, but nearby. So I rummaged around under the kitchen counter and set up the feeder. And it is now officially Spring. 🙂

A perfect day for the range! Nobody around at all, light breeze, mid-sixties, not too much sun. I can blaze away to my heart’s content with nobody to be annoyed with me… Except for .22lr I didn’t even lose any … Continue reading →

I’m a poor man and ammo costs money. The sight of a case of rifle ammo makes me positively Scroogelike – If I fire one round, I no longer possess a whole case of ammo. There’s also the small matter … Continue reading →

We had a very little frost last night and I worried for the fruit tree since it’s flowering so nice… But it seems fine. Honestly I don’t ever recall this thing flowering as prodigiously as it is doing this Spring. … Continue reading →