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Nov 19, 2024: Finished listening to: The Mercy of Gods by James S. A. Corey 📚 🎧 4 stars. This is the first book in a new series. It’s well-written, and …
Nov 17, 2024: Finished reading: The Black Bird Oracle by Deborah Harkness 📚 3 stars. I have enjoyed reading this series including this latest book. However, I don’t …
Nov 16, 2024: Finished reading: The fragile threads of power by V. E. Schwab 📚4 stars. This is a long one, but an enjoyable read. Several plot lines are developed …
Oct 28, 2024: Replacing this old half-buried sidewalk has been on my todo list for years. Nice weather this month finally allowed me to finish it. Before: After:
Oct 25, 2024: Nice sunset tonight.
Oct 14, 2024: The Arkansas Black tree is going to have a nice harvest of apples this year. The Golden Delicious is no slacker this year either.
Oct 6, 2024: It was a nice day to turn the manure pile.
Oct 5, 2024: Currently reading: The Fragile Threads of Power by V. E. Schwab 📚
Sep 30, 2024: The temperature was down to 25° last night. The gardening season is done.
Sep 29, 2024: Mother Nature put on a sky show this morning while I was doing chores.
Sep 25, 2024: Dust storm imminent.
Sep 24, 2024: In today’s mail my wife received a letter from President Biden. I received a toy catalog from Walmart.
Sep 24, 2024: It occurred to me that I spend more time thinking about writing than I spend writing. I need to reverse that.
Sep 7, 2024: Finished reading: Still the Sun by Charlie N Holmberg 📚I really enjoyed this book. While the main character was solving the mystery that made up the …
Aug 17, 2024: I subscribed to Peacock to watch the Olympics. They did a fine job, and we enjoyed it. Now that the games are over I was able to cancel the …
Jul 31, 2024: Wild days in the inland northwest.
Jul 22, 2024: Voting My wife and I spent an enjoyable couple of hours sitting on our patio and discussing our choices for office on the Washington State primary ballot. …
Jun 29, 2024: We have alot of canola in bloom around us this year.
Apr 7, 2024: I spent the day installing new flooring in our house. I found the work left me with a sense of well being and satisfaction.
Apr 6, 2024: Taken on a windy day at beach
Apr 5, 2024: Our orchard looked serene after last night’s snowfall.
Apr 4, 2024: Hiding in the foliage
Apr 2, 2024: April Photoblogging Challenge Day 2: flower
Apr 1, 2024: April Photoblogging Challenge Day 1: toy This dog toy lost its stuffing long ago, but Kessie still gets it out of the toy basket every day.
Mar 19, 2024: I perused the MB Discover page today and picked up a half dozen new folks to follow.
Mar 16, 2024: Today was a good day for taking photos. Contrails cross in the sky over our farm. Hiking the rim of the Snake River Canyon in Washington State. Kessie …
Mar 10, 2024: Finished listening to: Pale Demon by Kim Harrison 📚🎧
Mar 7, 2024: Finished listening to: Black Magic Sanction (The Hollows, #8) by Kim Harrison 📚🎧
Mar 4, 2024: Finished reading: The Portable Door by Tom Holt 📚
Feb 28, 2024: Finished listening to: White Witch, Black Curse (The Hollows, #7) by Kim Harrison 📚🎧
Feb 21, 2024: Finished listening to: The Outlaw Demon Wails by Kim Harrison 📚🎧
Feb 17, 2024: Finished reading: This Time Tomorrow by Emma Straub 📚
Feb 15, 2024: Simple jig for hand sawing Yesterday, I was hand-sawing some plywood panels when I had an idea for stabilizing the task. I started the cut and then clamped a scrap of wood …
Feb 9, 2024: Finished listening to: For a Few Demons More (The Hollows, #5) by Kim Harrison 📚🎧. I’m enjoying this series. On to #6.
Feb 5, 2024: I received the vintage rabbet plane I purchased on eBay today. I just had to sharpen the iron. I spent the afternoon teaching myself how to use it.🪚🔨
Feb 4, 2024: Finished reading: Starter Villain by John Scalzi 📚. This is a fun read. John Scalzi writes the best dialog.
Jan 31, 2024: Finished reading: Just One Damned Thing After Another by Jodi Taylor 📚. I don’t normally like care for time travel stories, but this one is …
Jan 29, 2024: Finished listening to The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches by Sangu Mandanna 📚🔊 This is one of the coziest books I’ve happened upon in a …
Jan 27, 2024: Finished reading: The Lions of Fifth Avenue by Fiona Davis 📚 This is a nice piece of historical fiction about books and libraries.
Jan 25, 2024: Finished listening to: A Fistful of Charms (The Hollows, #4) by Kim Harrison 📚. I give up on most book series after two or three installments, but …
Jan 23, 2024: Red-winged blackbirds returned to our feeders today. I’d better stock up on sunflower seeds.
Jan 17, 2024: It took three separate parts orders and some creative modifications, but our thirty-year-old clothes dryer no longer sounds like an elementary school …
Jan 16, 2024: Finished reading: I Contain Multitudes by Ed Yong 📚 This is an excellent book by one of the best science journalists around. It concerns the closer …
Jan 15, 2024: Stories My wife and I had dinner this past week with a couple who we had met recently. This was something that we hadn’t done for several years. Why is …
Jan 14, 2024: It is one of those gray winter mornings where I can’t tell where the earth ends and the sky begins.
Jan 13, 2024: It’s -22° F at our place this morning. That’s the coldest we can remember.
Dec 10, 2023: We went to a production of “A Christmas Story” by the Lewiston (Idaho) Civic Theater. The music, choreography, and acting were excellent.
Dec 10, 2023: Finished listening to: Dead Witch Walking by Kim Harrison. This is a well-written and performed urban fantasy. 🔊📚
Dec 9, 2023: Finished reading: My Man Jeeves by P. G. Wodehouse. This is a classic collection of short stories. Every one of them made me smile. 📚
Nov 11, 2023: We received the holiday catalog from the Vermont Country Store. I don’t think there was anything in it that wouldn’t have been there 50 …
Oct 31, 2023: I rescued a young hawk that accidentally flew in the door of my workshop this afternoon and couldn’t figure out how to leave. Fortunately, I was …
Oct 29, 2023: As I was doing the morning chores I had the full moon setting in one direction, and sunrise in the opposite direction.
Oct 27, 2023: It looks like lawn mowing season is over.
Oct 22, 2023: A peaceful scene out our front window this morning.
Oct 21, 2023: A pair of nighttime plum aficionados in our orchard.
Oct 20, 2023: Nice sunset tonight.
Oct 20, 2023: Gopher vs. human. The eternal contest.
Oct 19, 2023: RSV and covid vaccines are in my arm. The covid vaccine effects were much milder than the previous 4 boosters. Now for the flu shot next week and …
Oct 9, 2023: A Farm Mystery We have a small flock of chickens, 15 hens and a rooster. The birds have a large fenced yard and a spacious coop. A month ago I noticed that one of …
Oct 6, 2023: A warm October evening brings out clouds of woolly aphids.
Oct 4, 2023: The Economist quote of the day: “There is no improving the future without disturbing the present." - Catherine Booth ( founder of the Salvation …
Oct 4, 2023: Good morning!
Oct 2, 2023: I ordered a trail camera and set it up in the orchard. We’re curious to see who has been munching on the fallen fruit at night.
Oct 1, 2023: I went 30 for 30 on the September Photoblogging Challenge. I hope it strengthened my daily posting muscle, which was pretty wimpy.
Sep 30, 2023: The prompt for day 30 of September Photoblogging Challenge is treasure.
Sep 29, 2023: The prompt for day 29 of September Photoblogging Challenge is contrast.
Sep 28, 2023: The prompt for day 28 of September Photoblogging Challenge is workout. After the workout.
Sep 27, 2023: The prompt for day 27 of the September Photoblogging Challenge is embrace. (rugby scrum)
Sep 26, 2023: The prompt for day 26 of the September Photoblogging Challenge is beverage. This is a current favorite.
Sep 25, 2023: The prompt for day 25 of the September Photoblogging Challenge is flare.
Sep 24, 2023: The prompt for day 24 of the September Photoblogging Challenge is belt sander.
Sep 23, 2023: The prompt for day 23 of the September Photoblogging Challenge is a day in the life.
Sep 22, 2023: The employees of Rodent Control Inc. taking a well deserved break.
Sep 22, 2023: The prompt for day 22 of the September Photoblogging Challenge is road.
Sep 21, 2023: The prompt for day 21 of the September Photoblogging Challenge is fall. A fall hike on the breaks above the Snake River.
Sep 20, 2023: The prompt for day 20 of the September Photoblogging Challenge is disruption. This friendly young buck caused a bit of disruption around our place a …
Sep 19, 2023: The prompt for day 19 of the September Photoblogging Challengeg is edge. Latest woodworking project.
Sep 18, 2023: The prompt for day 18 of the September Photoblogging Challengeg is fabric.
Sep 17, 2023: The prompt for day 17 of the September Photoblogging Challengeg is intense. The competition for the ball is intense.
Sep 16, 2023: The prompt for day 16 of the September Photoblogging Challenge is oof!. Saturday morning rugby.
Sep 15, 2023: The prompt for day 15 of the September Photoblogging Challenge is red. My favorite red object.
Sep 14, 2023: The prompt for day 14 of the September Photoblogging Challenge is statue.
Sep 13, 2023: The prompt for day 13 of the September Photoblogging Challenge is glowing.
Sep 12, 2023: The prompt for day 12 of the September Photoblogging Challenge is panic. Smoke!
Sep 11, 2023: The prompt for day 11 of the September Photoblogging Challenge is retrospect. The end of the pear harvest for this year.
Sep 10, 2023: The prompt for day 10 of the September Photoblogging Challenge is cycle. Old bikes accumulate in this corner of the barn.
Sep 9, 2023: The prompt for day 9 of the September Photoblogging Challenge is language. Hiking along an old railroad line in E. Washington the railroad mileage …
Sep 8, 2023: The prompt for day 8 of the September Photoblogging Challenge is yonder.
Sep 7, 2023: The prompt for day 7 of the September Photoblogging Challenge is panorama. The Palouse Prairie in SE Washington State.
Sep 6, 2023: The prompt for day 6 of the September Photoblogging Challenge is well. (This is an old water well on our farm.)
Sep 5, 2023: The prompt for day 5 of the September Photoblogging Challenge is forest.
Sep 4, 2023: The prompt for day 4 of the September Photoblogging Challenge is orange.
Sep 3, 2023: The prompt for day 3 of the September Photoblogging Challenge is precious.
Sep 2, 2023: The prompt for day 2 of the Photoblogging Challenge is buildup.
Sep 1, 2023: The prompt for day 1 of the September Photoblogging Challenge is abstract.
Aug 28, 2023: The red pear harvest is going well.
Aug 6, 2023: One of this past Spring’s new chicks has laid her first egg.
Jul 28, 2023: This is one of our favorite hikes along the Potlatch River.
Jun 8, 2023: Lots of lillies.
Jun 8, 2023: Kayaking with my wife and our dogs on Lake Winchester in northern Idaho.
Apr 27, 2023: Finished listening : Buried by Graham Masterton 📚 This book is part of a series.it is well-written with good character development. That kept me …
Mar 26, 2023: A nice instrument and piece of furniture.
Mar 25, 2023: The spice cabinet.
Mar 24, 2023: Our rooster and a few of his court.
Mar 23, 2023: There’s a good chance that it will start raining in a few minutes.
Mar 22, 2023: I filled out a 10 page PDF form on my iPad with an Apple Pencil. It looked great,so I saved and submitted it. Later I opened the document on my PC to …
Mar 22, 2023: I found this insect in the garden last summer, and took a photo for identification with iNaturalist. It’s a type of burying beetle.
Mar 21, 2023: One year during the holidays we put together this tiny model bookstore. We had fun, but it took a lot of time.
Mar 20, 2023: Finished reading: Freedom’s Fire Box Set (audio) by Bobby Adair 📚 I picked up the 5 audiobook box set on Chirp for $5. It’s standard military …
Mar 20, 2023: Our home has lots of houseplants.
Mar 19, 2023: This analog watch was given to me by my beloved wife back when she was my girlfriend - about 45 years ago.
Mar 18, 2023: It may not seem like much now, but once the weather warms this becomes the central location of our lives. It is where we eat and drink, and our days …
Mar 17, 2023: 📷 early March Photoblogging Challenge
Mar 16, 2023: 📷 road March Microblogging Challenge
Mar 15, 2023: 📷 Patience March Photoblogging Challenge
Mar 14, 2023: 📷 horizon March Photoblogging Challenge
Mar 13, 2023: 📷 Waiting for a connection. March Photoblogging Challenge
Mar 12, 2023: 📷 shiny This is a bowling trophy awarded to an ancestor in the 19th century. Years ago we would lend it to a local congregation to use in their …
Mar 11, 2023: 📷 I made several of these gimcrack yard lights five years ago from some wood scraps and cheap solar lights. About half of them still work. March …
Mar 10, 2023: 📷 My daily ritual. March Photoblogging Challenge
Mar 9, 2023: 📷 Together March Photoblogging Challenge
Mar 8, 2023: 📷 From a walk my wife and I did last summer along the Washington-Idaho border.
Mar 7, 2023: 📷 Whole March Photoblogging Challenge
Mar 6, 2023: The 2023 gardening season has begun with a tray of pepper varieties. 🌶️ 🫑
Mar 6, 2023: 📷 Old time domestic engineering March Photoblogging Challenge
Mar 5, 2023: 📷 Kitchen tile March Photoblogging challenge
Mar 4, 2023: 📷 Zip tie on a gate next to praying mantis eggs. March Photoblogging Challenge
Mar 3, 2023: 📷 Solitude. This is a favorite reading spot. March Photoblogging Challenge
Mar 2, 2023: 📷 Weather Micro.blog March Photoblogging Challenge
Mar 1, 2023: The chickens are secure. March Photoblogging Challenge🐓
Feb 28, 2023: Worth reading: Is it ethical to be on Twitter in the Musk era - A personal answer by John Scalzi
Feb 21, 2023: During the winter we have a food court for the birds. I’m glad I filled the feeders before the snow started.
Feb 17, 2023: Our 52 year old 3-door commercial fridge was acting up today. The farm family that installed it in 1970 had 10 kids, so a big fridge was nice. …
Feb 10, 2023: 2.5 years after I retired I still get occasional calls from my old university colleagues for tech support. It’s nice to be remembered I guess 🙄.
Feb 9, 2023: The farm cats like it when we park a warm car in the garage in winter.
Feb 9, 2023: We set out some of last season’s apples for the birds. Yesterday they were gone in several hours. House finches, starlings, and red-wing …
Feb 7, 2023: One of the many things I like about this platform is the mention of apps and services that folks use. I like reading about them even though I …
Feb 6, 2023: Ms. Bean will often come find me when I am working in my study upstairs. Sometimes my wife will send her up to get me for some chore, but often she …
Feb 5, 2023: I’m updating my web design knowledge, which dates back to the days when the <blink> tag was considered acceptable. I just watched the Hugo …
Feb 2, 2023: Is America Broken? I just finished listening to The Gray Area podcast titled “Is America Broken? “. Sean Illing speaks with Alana Newhouse about an essay she …
Jan 11, 2023: Finished reading: Liberation Day by George Saunders 📚 This is a book of ten short stories. I enjoyed all of them, although several had very unusual …
Jan 4, 2023: Finished reading: Year of Wonder: Classical Music to Enjoy Day by Day by Clemency Burton-Hill 📚 My wife and I used this book to guide our listening …
Jan 1, 2023: Happy New Year everyone! 🎉
Dec 23, 2022: I really dislike year end reviews of the news (or most anything else, actually). It seems to dampen the hopefulness of the holiday season by reminding …
Dec 22, 2022: The temperature this morning is -15°F. It reminds me of the year we lived in Duluth, MN.
Dec 21, 2022: Finished reading: The Bookstore Sisters 📚
Dec 21, 2022: Between the storms.
Dec 20, 2022: A huge willow after the ice fog lifted. If you look at the center of the tree you can see a major branch that split.
Dec 19, 2022: Roof Socks We have some heavy snow predicted for the next few days, so I decided it was time to refresh the “roof socks”. There are a couple of …
Dec 18, 2022: Finished reading (actually, finished listening to): The Diamond Eye by Kate Quinn
Dec 18, 2022: Three cheers for utility workers We had several days of thick ice fog this past week. The power was out for 11 hours on one of the foggy days. We were fine. We have an emergency …
Dec 18, 2022: Elderberry branches after a couple of days of ice fog.
Dec 5, 2022: This is the extent of my holiday decorating this year. I spent more time tracking down dead light bulbs than hanging the lights. Still, I enjoy seeing …
Nov 30, 2022: On a snowy day like today, it’s nice to be able to sink into the warmth and safety of a comfortable chair by the fire.
Nov 29, 2022: The official Washington State fish is the steelhead trout. However, our house favorite is the coho salmon.
Nov 29, 2022: Although the trend is towards a warmer climate, it has been a damn cold November.
Nov 28, 2022: On the topic of backyard birds, I finally identified a little brown bird that has been scratching under the thistle feeder. It’s a juvenile …
Nov 27, 2022: My motivation was tested today on a difficult jigsaw puzzle.
Nov 27, 2022: I missed yesterday’s mbnov challenge word. I guess that shows a lack of commitment.
Nov 25, 2022: Largely because of this month’s challenge, participating on Mb has become a daily ritual.
Nov 24, 2022: Even though I am retired, I retain my professional interest in maps and the data that go into them.
Nov 23, 2022: I find that reading and participating in conversations on Mb have lead me to adjust my whole approach to social media. It has nothing to do with the …
Nov 22, 2022: Farm animals out for a graze.
Nov 21, 2022: On these unusually cold November mornings I have to break up the ice on the chickens' water bucket. (Although I see that they didn’t wait around …
Nov 20, 2022: Something I’ve noticed about my use of MB. I check the Timeline, read some of the conversations, participate if I have something to say. Then I …
Nov 20, 2022: Every morning I repeat the same farm chores, but I also take notice of the beauty of the early morning.
Nov 19, 2022: I think I can walk into any room in our house and find a novel I haven’t finished.
Nov 18, 2022: This mystery tire showed up at our place several years ago. I assumed it belonged to our son-in-law, who was storing some things at our place as they …
Nov 17, 2022: We use lots of rain barrels for watering the gardens on our farm.
Nov 16, 2022: As we were waiting at the pharmacy for our fifth covid shot, I told my wife that a mobile immunization service could make a good franchise …
Nov 15, 2022: I admit to being an anglophile, and I’ve always liked hearing the British pronunciation of aluminium.
Nov 14, 2022: My pondering over my mbnov post for leave has me thinking that English would make more sense if the plural for leaf was leafs instead of leaves.
Nov 13, 2022: Although I tried to adjust my technique, I still haven’t found the best method for extracting walnuts from their shells.
Nov 12, 2022: It is important to remember when looking at maps of election results for the US that land doesn’t vote, people do.
Nov 12, 2022: My suspicion is that by the end of the day I will be following 20 more Micro.bloggers.
Nov 11, 2022: The display of avian gluttony at our bird feeders is impressive.
Nov 10, 2022: A cup of hot Irish breakfast tea will minister to my sense of well-being.
Nov 10, 2022: It is a beautiful morning for a stroll across the Palouse prairie in southeastern Washington state.
Nov 9, 2022: I’m certain that I have never spent this much effort trying to use a particular word in a post.
Nov 9, 2022: I’m certain I could be more productive, but I’m going to have another cup of coffee and read through the MB Discovery feed.
Nov 8, 2022: For a long time non-profit organizations have included address labels in their solicitation mailings. Any single mailing would provide a lifetime …
Nov 7, 2022: We have a green ash tree out our window that attracts a wide variety of bird species. Today I snapped a photo of a female downy woodpecker on the …
Nov 7, 2022: As I establish a habit of making regular blog posts, the insight from my fellow microbloggers will be valuable.
Nov 5, 2022: Finished reading: Uprooted by Naomi Novik 📚
Nov 5, 2022: Our favorite plum tree took a hard hit in last night’s wind storm.
Nov 3, 2022: This year our autumn lasted less than two weeks.
Jun 9, 2022: I replaced a picket fence I built years ago with a rail fence. The rails are 100+ year old siding boards from a farm shed I dismantled. I trimmed the …
Jun 9, 2022: This thunderstorm barely missed us.
Jun 2, 2022: The trellises for the beans are up. 🌱
Jun 2, 2022: Columbine from the garden.🌱
May 26, 2022: Finished reading: [The Guernsey Literary And Potato Peel Pie Society] This is a book that would not normally be one that I picked up, but I thoroughly …
May 26, 2022: I received my second Covid booster yesterday. I’m wiped out today, but it is nice to have some downtime.
May 25, 2022: Our hiking companions are tired of having their pictures taken. 🐕
May 25, 2022: This is a view from our hike yesterday in McCroskey State Park, along the Washington-Idaho border. 🥾
May 20, 2022: My wife read about someone who keeps deer out of the garden by running a single strand of fishing line around the perimeter 30 inches high. I already …
May 19, 2022: I found this 15 cm painted turtle in the middle of the road while on a walk along the wheat fields near our home. I helped it continue its journey …