Blog

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...

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....

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...

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...