We’re doing a lot to the house right now. New deck, mostly because the last time I replaced the decking the pressure-treated wood I used was treated with the new formula (no formaldehyde, which is good, but 75-80% drop in useful life, not so good). Some new siding,...
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Evening Post #24
At the end of our driveway sits a green box. I built it a few years ago for deliveries from Amazon, UPS, FedEx, and other delivery companies. Our neighbors up the hill asked if they could have their packages delivered there as well, since their house is difficult if...
Evening Post #23
I’m still negotiating and renegotiating a more or less peaceful co-existence with the various critters that share this space with us. Since bringing a live trap back from the family farm, putting it in our garden, and baiting it with marshmallows (on the advice of my...
Evening Post #22
Today was a record breaking day. I got out of a building supply store having spent less than ten dollars (record number one - it’s usually hundreds for even a small project). I completed a plumbing repair after only one trip to the store (record number two - it...
Evening Post #21
I was reminded this week about the power of the media and how susceptible I am to it. I don’t watch the news, have no social media presence, and don’t discuss politics if I can help it. This stems from my experience of surviving an attack by a political...
Evening Post #20
Kintsugi, like sonder, is one of those words that has no direct equivalent in English. As a practice it stands in direct opposition to our society’s conventional wisdom. It’s a method of repair of items, like ceramic pots or dishes, that have been broken into several...
Evening Post #19
I’ve been watching the Olympics, as I usually do. It’s always interesting, if sometimes a little unsettling (breakdancing as an Olympic sport?), watching people who work for years honing and refining their natural abilities, culminating in one five minute or two...
Evening Post #18
Yesterday afternoon I was out in the garden when I heard a loud crack; the dogs ran over to the edge of the front yard and started barking and running back and forth. By the time I got over there it was clear that an old dead tree was the source of the noise, and...
Evening Post #17
The decking I installed a few years ago is deteriorating, and I’m already patching where the wood has broken or cracked. It’s still safe to walk on but becoming less so, and after talking to several folks I decided to replace the wood with composite boards....
Evening Post #16
Last night our dogs were frantic because of a visitor they couldn’t get to due to our invisible fence. What can be seen in the center of the photo is the business end of a skunk walking through our landscaping, protected from the dogs by the invisible fence. After...