Author Archives: Joel

Tobie is a virtuous dog, for the most part. Still a dog, though. So of course the one thing he does with superlative skill involves theft of food. Yesterday, like today, we swung by the freezer at Ian’s Cave to … Continue reading →

…but when you do need it, no expedient works half as well. And it’s unobtrusive and relatively cheap, and I wish I’d known of its existence 15 years ago. Last winter when I was blundering around trying to figure out … Continue reading →

So yesterday I got a reply from Holosun concerning the screws that came with my new optic. They asked me to describe the screws I required, which was a stumper: If I could technically describe the screws I have, I … Continue reading →

Completely different. I’m there to let him have some exercise and a poop. He’s there to smell the neighborhood. In careful, thorough, leisurely detail. Missing nothing. Every goddam bush. Occasionally making marginal notes. Sometimes indulging in a vociferous retort. Clearly … Continue reading →

Having decided that I do like the Arex as my new carry pistol after all, but really don’t like the optic it’s attached to, I did something extremely bourgeois… I purchased another, better optic. The optic of my dreams, actually, … Continue reading →

…is the big event for the day, and I have to go do that in a few minutes. I’ve just been sitting around most of this week, no special reason, just stocked up on dowanna, hence the sparse blogging. But … Continue reading →

After changing the bedding first thing this morning I had a bunch of laundry to wash. Brought it up to the washing machine at Ian’s Cave and this was going to take a while, so there was no point heading … Continue reading →

I expected to either hear the bedroom heater working during the night – or not. Instead I slept like a stone for nine hours and wouldn’t have noticed if the heater had played a Sousa march. But upon waking I … Continue reading →

Actually sat down and read the manual, which suggested that cleaning the pilot light’s supply pipe and orifice could be an annual requirement what with spiders and whatnot. That got my attention – I mean it was unlikely to be … Continue reading →

Monsoon hasn’t left us alone yet – Yesterday afternoon we got wind and quite a lot of rain, and this morning it’s gloomy and cool… So cool, in fact, that I just caught myself digging out a light hoodie. At … Continue reading →

In my various travails breaking in and getting used to this plastic striker 9mm I have of course had attacks of nostalgia for my very nice S&W m69 revolver. Why did I decide to take this painful journey to present-day … Continue reading →

Well, the first thing that went wrong was that the food processor stored at Ian’s place, which I dragged back to the Lair, flat didn’t work when plugged in. So I ended up dicing all those pear sections I’d previously … Continue reading →

Except for a few I picked just a couple of days ago, the pears have softened up nicely so this morning I quartered and cored them. Since there were many very small pears this took me like an hour and … Continue reading →

This afternoon will be sweaty, rumbly and possibly wet, if all the other afternoons this week are any guide. But it’s sunny, still and relatively cool this morning, and Big Brother sent me a package, so let’s go for a … Continue reading →

My complicated plan for getting a trailer-load of trash to the landfill went off without a hitch. Asked the guy at the gate where I should unload the panels – he said there was too much glass for the scrapyard, … Continue reading →

I do what I can to minimize trash buildup, but… …trash does build up, and sooner or later it has to go somewhere. Since I don’t (officially) drive, and I really don’t drive (on pavement) so much that the prospect … Continue reading →

What was left of my bread was getting a bit funky at breakfast this morning, and there was no Monday water run, so I decided to hit the baking early while it’s still cool. I learned to bake my own … Continue reading →

Our neighborhood cemetery started out as a family cemetery, mostly for pets, and grew from there. Since 2008 it only contained one human. But the Gulch has experienced a rash of deaths in the past few months, and… …now there … Continue reading →

Whacked back the weeds, pruned off a bunch of suckers and gave it a good mulching of old chicken shit and rotted straw. Judging from that 6 foot ladder the pear tree is roughly 12 feet tall now, certainly getting … Continue reading →

One of the signs of a quality firearm, long or short, is a nice neat pile of brass consistently thrown in the same place. Or at least that’s what I always thought. My new Arex doesn’t agree. Yesterday afternoon I … Continue reading →