I came across a meme the other day that rings true for us, “If the house is clean the garden must be dead.”

“X” marks the spot over our farm.

A contrail forms an X shape in a clear blue sky over a rural landscape with a house and open field.

Finished reading: So Far Gone by Jess Walter 📚Second chances, dysfunctional families, good humor. It was an enjoyable read. I recommend it.

My granddaughter asked me to show her how to use a slide rule. I still remember 50+ years later. Old guy stuff.

An old slide rule

We got up early this morning and paddled our kayaks across the Snake River to pick blackberries. We picked a couple of gallons, paddled back, and were home by noon.

Two blue kayaks are resting on the shore of a calm body of water, with a dog wearing an orange life vest nearby and a scenic background of trees and hills.

Finished reading: The Notebook by Roland Allen 📚. I very much enjoyed this survey of all kinds of note keeping throughout western history. It is one I will be going back to.

I was digging out an old concrete border around a tree in the yard. The cement was probably poured about a century ago. The farm cat who lived here then left their footprints in the cement.

Cat footprint in old cement sidewalk

Spouse: Did we get any mail today?

Me: Do you want to buy a Ford or go to the circus?

Spouse: Uh, no.

Me: Then we didn’t get any mail.

There was a beautiful complete double rainbow late this afternoon.

I put some of our abundant supply of rocks to good use today.

Another bed has received its Spring cleaning.

Finished listening to : Three Kinds of Lucky by Kim Harrison 📚🎧. It was okay. This is a new series starter from the author of The Hollows series, which I enjoy. The protagonist kept making bad choices and the pacing was uneven.

Finished reading: CABIN by Patrick Hutchison 📚. This is a funny memoir about a guy who buys a remote dilapidated cabin that enriched his life. I enjoyed it.

It took 7 trips to the farm store, but I finally acquired this year’s additions to our flock. The demand for chicks this year is huge.

Young chicks under a red heat lamp.

Winter is not quite over yet.

A snowy garden scene shows birds gathered around feeders with bare tree branches and a tree stump in the foreground.

I’m tempted to leave our first generation Echo connected. Training an AI on nothing besides “Alexa, play NPR” should be a good thing.

Finished listening to: Battle Bond by Lindsay Buroker 📚🎧. This is from the Death Before Dragons series. It’s a guilty pleasure.

Finished reading: Still Life by Louise Penny 📚. This is the first book in the Chief Inspector Gamache series. It’s a terrific story, but there is so much more here. I recommend it.

Currently reading: Still Life by Louise Penny 📚 Favorite quote so far: “He knew it was there, that opiate of the Anglos. And his hand clutched the box just as the kettle whistled. Violent death demanded Earl Grey.”

Finished reading: A Trail Through Time by Jodi Taylor 📚This is the 4th book in the Chronicles of St. Mary’s series. I am enjoying these books, and this one is the best so far.