Trying to take care of my little piece of the planet

Croaker and Weakfish and Perch, Oh My!

Fishing is ALL about preparation, and you NEVER calculate the price per pound of any fish you might be lucky enough to catch. But at least we’ll get one dinner out of the hours I spent painting the trailer and putting in new hub bearings, or those spent tackle sorting, reel rigging, etc. Not to [...]

Portable ‘Pain’ for Under $100

Now that the work-a-thon has slowed to a more sustainable level, I’m a few weeks into my usual late summer attempt to get back into shape. Please understand: ’six pack abs’ has only one meaning in my reality, and it ain’t pretty. So, ‘in shape’ is a relative term, and my goal is to get [...]

Our State Fair is a Great State Fair!

Well, maybe not this great…..but we had fun.

We spent Saturday……watching the crowds. Perhaps in this case sharing tips on how to best manage the melting ice cream.

……avoiding the rides

……trying not to laugh

……enjoying all the animals

Well, almost all the animals…..

And just trying to enjoy all the hoopla, which is SO different from a normal Saturday in [...]

Old Dog: New Trick

In a “what were you thinking” moment a few months ago, I signed up for an evening class at the local community college. I told myself that the price was right, that it was a skill that I needed and that I wasn’t doing anything on Monday nights anyway. All true.
What I didn’t consider was [...]

Hey! That Was My Idea!

While perusing the headlines at lunch I came across this piece of video about a microbrewery in Atlanta that uses rainwater to make environmentally friendly (AKA “green” ) beer.
Hey! That was my idea!
I used to homebrew many years ago, until I realized that the minerals and microbial flora in my groundwater were combining to add [...]

Forgetting Globally; Enjoying Locally

Several of my recent posts have focused on national politics. This one is a break from all that, all about mingling with neighbors at an annual get together that celebrates ‘old fashioned farming’. There’s a particular emphasis on the role of steam power and tractor power to run sawmills, shingle makers, grist mills, etc. That’s [...]

Know Your Knots

Between my wife’s sailing, my work with trees for firewood and the rare opportunity to fish, I have a handful of knots committed to memory. But I realize that there are often better knots (stronger, easier to tie/untie, better suited to the task and material) than the ones I often fall back on. Case in [...]

The Jack-of-All-Thumbs Part

So we were away this past weekend, helping friends with a project of theirs and just goofing off, Super Bowl, etc.
From a couple of comments that I’ve received since starting this blog, it seems that it comes across as more pretentious than I intended. I tried to explain in “Why Read This Blog?” and in [...]