Author Archives: Joel

So how come I’m so cold this morning? Maybe it’s just a subconscious reaction to the date. Winter isn’t the physical ordeal it used to be, what with incremental improvements in the Lair finally achieving real-house-like standards. But I still … Continue reading →

Just sayin’… …and also I need to wash it with vinegar again.

Okay: as of just after noon today, the water tank is absolutely as full as it can be*. One more molecule would fall right out the overflow pipe. I just took this picture: The pressure is higher first thing in … Continue reading →

“What the hell is wrong with all the people standing around photographing this?” Insert chest-thumping drivel about what would happen if anybody behaved this way (bravely facing down a little old lady with a walker!) around here…

…Uncle Murphy wouldn’t be on it. Had a few move-it-around chores to knock out this morning. First I had to move the cutting table from the Lair to the woodlot so I can chop up some knocked-down pallets for firewood… … Continue reading →

Another reason I don’t get as much use out of the bike as I should, given the changing season… …I’m a soft touch.

I took a trip to the dollar store with D&L this morning, and before I even went home to put the groceries away I took the bike out for the specific purpose of taking this picture… We’ve crossed a hundred … Continue reading →

I have a bridge over the drainage ditch for the gully behind the Lair. It used to be for the burning barrels, and now it’s for the woodshed. Since I traditionally knock them together out of whatever’s lying around, they … Continue reading →

The Lair is down to just a couple of die-hard hummingbird freeloaders, everybody else presumably having headed south for the winter. And after they’ve sucked this last feeder-load dry I’m going to take it in, clean it up and store … Continue reading →

If it seems as though I’m not posting very much or with any real enthusiasm lately, it’s not because of any loss of interest in the blog. It’s just that nothing really happens here most of the time, most of … Continue reading →

So now I’m sitting in D&L’s pickup outside the surprisingly well- attended physical therapy joint in the little town nearest where we live, waiting for Neighbor D to finish up, and it’s likely to be quite a wait because I … Continue reading →

…it rained. Although several gullies ran into the wash, there weren’t any cloudbursts up on the plateau so the wash proper never ran. Would have been surprising, given how dry it’s been overall. Lots of mud on the road but … Continue reading →

The monsoon season, which is normally over by now, almost entirely gave us a miss this year. But it has rained all day today. Never especially hard and sometimes only a drip; the gully to the east of the Lair … Continue reading →

…for the first time in years, I think. The very first thing most mornings, Torso Boy waits politely for me to signal that I’m officially awake before presenting his list of demands. This morning he pounced the moment I stirred, … Continue reading →

A big deck. It covers half the side of the house twelve feet deep… …and the whole front eight feet deep. Plans for how we’ll build a ramp/stairs to get on the thing are still pending. Landlady and Neighbor S … Continue reading →

I just spent over an hour on a bummed ride to the big town about 50 miles away for an appointment that lasted less than 15 minutes, because the doctor isn’t here and hasn’t been in all week. So I … Continue reading →

I tried transporting the new ebike on the Jeep’s trailer one time and it was a disaster. The trailer is so light it spends half its time airborne, and the banging and bouncing scratched up my nice new bike. I … Continue reading →

Because even I know the Babylon Bee is a parody site, and I don’t even read it much. Exhibit A: Liberty University Criticized After Unveiling Stained Glass Window Depicting Donald Trump The window is featured prominently in the chapel, allowing … Continue reading →

I have often mused that when powerful elements in government make serious threats about banning certain firearms, and sales of those firearms immediately skyrocket, it probably isn’t because the new purchasers simply wish to have something they can righteously surrender … Continue reading →