Author Archives: Joel

Looks like it’ll be headed back to the shop in town, in the fullness of time. I was so pleased with myself. I got the radiator replaced without much delay. New hoses, everything sorted out, no parts left over. With … Continue reading →

Regular readers know that Uncle Joel is an inveterate food hoarder. Canned meat in particular, with the exception of Spam which is a weekly staple, tends to get hoarded. Know what bad times feel like and you’ll likely hoard against … Continue reading →

My last laptop, on which I ran Linux, gradually became a paperweight because of my neurotic reluctance to update software. I say “I ran Linux” as if to suggest that I’m a spongy but proud computer expert capable of calmly … Continue reading →

…have a friend with a backhoe/loader. Neighbor D expressed a desire to come over this afternoon and help me with a new driveway apron onto the wash. Last summer’s flash flood exposed two big rocks in bad places. One wasn’t … Continue reading →

This is arguably in poor taste given that I’ve vaguely heard of a winterpocalype devastating basically all of the midwest. But I think of winter proper being composed of the months of December through February, even though it’s not practically … Continue reading →

All the time we were having that weather, all the deer and elk disappeared. Don’t know where they go to ride it out. But these game camera pics are dated eight days ago, and here’s a big gang of mule … Continue reading →

It’s common for some mail-order chicken breeders to throw a thirteenth chick in with every dozen order, and it tends to be something a bit oddball. In this case it was that one there, and for once it’s a hen. … Continue reading →

Maybe a week ago one of the Leghorns snuck out of the chicken house behind my back and got chased by Laddie. Yesterday it happened again, less dramatically. She ran around being annoying for a few minutes and then just … Continue reading →

Neighbor D traded his single action for a semiauto, and wouldn’t you know he just had to buy a cheap 1911. But it was an excuse to go shooting, and I think that problem it had with not wanting to … Continue reading →

This is the wash end of my driveway, as re-sculpted by last August’s flash flood… I should say the new wash end of the driveway, since the original wash end is now too steep and high for anything but a … Continue reading →

A while ago when I complained that the Leghorns don’t seem to understand what nesting boxes are for, commenter feralfae suggested leaving eggs in the boxes to give them the idea. A good idea in concept, but in practice the … Continue reading →

Check out the noble brow on my stunted ginger sidekick. “I’m a botanist! In your face, Neil Armstrong!”

I never actually decided to take a weekend away from the internet, it just sort of worked out that way. Truth is I’ve been mostly sitting around looking out the window, wishing it wasn’t winter anymore. I’m going through a … Continue reading →

Hilarity conspicuously fails to ensue. Beautiful morning here in Joel’s Gulch. Crystalline blue sky, hardly a breeze, a little cool but all in all a great day to get the hell out of the cabin and take your Corgi for … Continue reading →

I know a woman who got her hand mauled just handing a chicken carcass to an overeager Siberian tiger. I wouldn’t even have wanted to be holding the camera near this guy. He’s got a lot of faith in his … Continue reading →

…not to do what I have done. Of all the plumbing mistakes I have built into my infrastructure, this is the one I wish I could turn back time and fix. Because I can’t fix it any other way. What’s … Continue reading →

The leghorns are already laying enough eggs to be becoming a bit of a problem, and the size and shell quality are improving daily. I’m hoping to get out and around a bit more today… All that snow from 3 … Continue reading →

This is the sort of thing that would normally put me on defcon 1, but there are considerations: There have been no dog complaints from neighbors, one of those dogs is wearing a collar and none look or act like … Continue reading →