Blog

I’ve been putting off getting my Real ID, the replacement for the standard Tennessee driver’s license that allows access to federal buildings, international flights, and so on. The deadline has been changed several times and is now March of 2025 (I think). I decided...

Suzanne bought a chair for my study today, a birthday/Father’s Day present. The one I’ve been using has a shredded back (courtesy of one of our cats), peeling vinyl in various places, and requires a cushion in the seat to be at all comfortable. The new one is from the...

This past weekend my wife and I went to a presentation at Ijams Nature Center that included an introduction to some of the Animal Ambassadors used by the center for visits to schools, etc. The naturalist, a very knowledgable young woman, brought out a grey rat snake,...

July is a difficult month for me. Fortunately, I have a good therapist, and I’m in the habit of reconnecting with him for a few sessions during this month. He knows how to listen and is very insightful, an important combination for his profession. He usually gives me...

I’m finished with my once-a-decade southern invasion. Three days of prep for a half-hour procedure.  I found out when I checked in at the hospital that there is a pill option (instead of drinking a gallon of fluid) and was starting to get excited until I found...

I have a Ninja now, a birthday present from my children. This particular Ninja is a teapot; more specifically, a device for heating water to pour over tea. There are settings for green tea, white tea, black tea, coffee, and for boiling water.  I like Irish...

I am becoming disillusioned with competition (political contests being a particularly nasty example of it) and suspicious of the notion that it’s the best way to progress as an individual or a society. There’s always a stronger opponent, a younger, more attractive...

Clearing the meadow in front of my old house and the area around the two barns with the bush hog went pretty well, considering my skill level.    I’m starting to remember things, like the fact that the rear wheels have separate brake pedals, making very...

If the weather’s good and I can get my early morning stuff taken care of, I’m heading down to the farm tomorrow to do some bush-hogging.  Owning property that needs care and upkeep is not new to me, but this is going to be different than building the house we’re...