Tide got a tad high on the estuary this afternoon. This is where the parking lot of a seafood cannery meets the river. Doesn’t usually meet it quite this intimately. The dock on the left (below) is fixed and normally sits high above the water. The dock on the right floats. That bridge you see going UP between them usually goes DOWN, substantially so, when the world is as it should be. The waterfront businesses became much more waterfronty. That’s not a big puddle you see there. That’s the tide coming in. It was clear and dry when I took…
Category: Rural and small-town living
Life far from freeways, Starbucks, malls, and other benefits/distractions
BHM has a buy-one-get-one-free offer on any Backwoods Home anthology. Offer is good through Sunday at midnight. NFI on my part, except the usual undying gratitude to the Duffys and the wonderful staff of BHM for keeping me writing and keeping the pups in kibble.
For the first time in days it’s not drenching and flooding. Oh, there’s a little hail here and there. A few scattered thunder-boomers. The wetland across the road is extremely wet. And my waterfall (yes, I have my own personal waterfall, but only when the weather is like this) is merrily burbling away. Other than that, it’s lovely. Blue. Dry. Gave me a chance to put the dogs in the yard and go out and tape up a few more seams on Old Blue. Taping worked as a proof-of-concept but I apparently missed a few spots, first go-round. More weather…
In the wake of the foul jihadist murders in San Bernardino, we now have two new categories of weapons, according to politicians and the media. First comes “assault clothing” (H/T DB). Deadly outerwear is followed by “multi-automatic round weapons.” No word yet on what a M-ARW may be. Or on how clothing can kill. But be on the lookout for these new dangers. These are truly perilous times. “When ‘suspected’ is close enough.” Scott H. Greenfield is a little behind the curve in some of his information here. But his heart and head are certainly in the right place (Tip…
A bird in the brush
Yesterday was the first moment after … ohhhh, 40 days and 40 nights … that it wasn’t either raining or threatening to rain. Between that and the end of the year’s big hunting seasons, the dogs and I were finally able to return to long, leash-free walks in the woods instead of annoying, leashed walks around town (annoying because Ava likes to gallop and Robbie barely moseys these days; I end up walking sideways with my arms extended in two directions).
It was glorious. Chilly, but blue and still.
On our afternoon walk, though, we came across a lone crow feasting on an elk ribcage. Ava — she of the killer prey drive — alerted and paused. Figuring the crow would fly off, I gave her permission to run at it.
It didn’t fly off. It hobbled into the weeds, limping and vainly flapping its wings.
Saturday evening just as it was turning dark, a young man came to my gate. He was as clean cut as a Mormon missionary (about the only other people prone to show up hereabouts at such an hour) and traveling on foot as they do. But he was solo. I had the vague feeling I’d seen him somewhere before. “I was here with Mike the other day,” he said by way of introduction. He gave no name. Mike — meaning Handyman Mike — has gone through a steady stream of minions or minion wannabes, all pretty much interchangable to me.…
The most important item in the house is now installed and plumbed and has hot water to fill it. Yum! The wainscoting behind it is beadboard from the old ceiling of the enclosed porch. The doorway you see on the left will eventually become a wall and the wainscotting will continue around three sides of the tub. (That’s Bathroom: Phase Two after the finances have recovered.) Scrounging and garage saling worked for everything else in the room, but I was determined to have a fabulous faucet, complete with shower attachment. So I found what I wanted online then searched for…
Funny; “job stress” never caused me to get drunk and bite anybody’s you-know-whats. A bad day at work ever had that effect on you? A bad year? (H/T jed in comments) Speaking of the you-know-whats: Nicki gives a “gun owner who favors gun control” a kick in his. Medical costs going up-up-up? Well, we all know they have been. But more recently, if these stats are correct, medical costs have stabilized. Medical insurance costs, OTOH … Be sure to register that drone you get for Christmas. Did Congress pass a law about this? Article fails to mention such. ADDED: Some…
Sorry to disappoint my Christian friends who might hope I’ve had a conversion, but by that I mean only that God-the-Plumber has arrived. On the appointed day. At the appointed hour.
He is now (terrifyingly) drilling holes in my brand-new bathroom floor.
Since Handyman Mike wrapped up his part of the work on Friday, I’ve been hustling like crazy: drywalling, mudding, painting, moving shelving, the vanity, and plumbing parts into the room. No way am I finished, but by working late every evening, I got everything plumber-ready. Last night after finishing my to-do list I spent an extra two hours inspecting and asking myself, “What have I forgotten? What do I still need to discuss with the plumber and the electricians? What else is likely to go wrong?” I scribbled notes on the walls for the electricians (due tomorrow). I got up early today to fix a couple of things.
Now I can sit on my arse for a whole day. Well, other than helping to move the tub into place and starting to clean the living room, which is full of ladders, drywall squares, utility knives, levels, measuring tapes, and suchlike.
But now … to catch up with some overdue emails, blogging, TZP polls and whatever else I can think of.
One thing about drywalling and painting: they’re mindless enough to allow random thoughts. Here are a couple of those.
A reader emailed about this encounter: Just had a hair raising close call here. One of my neighbors has two very large German Shepherd dogs. He lets them run loose when he is with them and they never seemed to be a problem until today. I carried my 9mm carbine down to the fence along the road today because those two dogs were chasing one of the horses just across the road from me. He was kicking at the dogs, and darn near nailed one too. The dogs didn’t seem to be trying to bring the pony down, but they…