Cliche

I've been trying to explain to various people my reaction to returning to Austin a mere 13 months after I left, and I believe tonight I have finally managed to capture the feeling in a cliche which we all do or should understand: You can never go home again.

I came to Austin first when I was a child and loved that this small town (as it was then) was the capital of the biggest state (Alaska can bite me.. :) ) in the US. I returned many years later to go to the biggest record (albums, LPs.. ) convention in the world, and once again fell in love with the great green hills, the laid back atmosphere, and the feeling of place, of real unique identity. I visited a few more times while in graduate school, and finally moved here, mostly by accident, in 2000. I stayed in no small part because of the people (ironically those people were not from Austin themselves!) but also because of all of the attributes I had enjoyed in the past visits.

None of that has changed, other than the fact that Austin is no longer a small town in anyone's imagination, except perhaps in comparison to any small city in China.. (though the Chinese cities retain more of their community flavor than US cities in my experience..). Still, Austin is not home anymore, even though no where is home at the moment.

This does not prevent me from enjoying the drive down Spicewood Springs road over to McNeil, or from savoring with childish glee the negative G's that you can get on a particular arroyo on Westlake Drive if you hit is just over the speed limit.. Nor does it take away from the heaven that is a well crafted Freebirds! or a night at Shady Grove enjoying the big man, Bruce Robison, and his wife Kelly Willis. I have very much enjoyed my visit here, from the place to the food, to the people, but still it is not home and does not have that magnetic draw to it that Austin once held for me.

Just as Austin changed me, largely for the better, so has this year plus traveling changed me such that Austin is a good friend, a great place to visit, but not a place to live for me anymore. I noticed in my short, although extemded beyond my intentions, time here that I fall into a particular rut that is not where I want to be. I have done the whole rabid business owner thing, and it was good for a while, but my priorities have shifted a bit to focusing on my own life directly rather than focusing on creating environments for others that will ultimately contribute a bit to my own life (through the checks they send).

Tomorrow is my last day in Austin, and I am ending it in the right way: a birthday party for a lovely woman who tolerates a very trying but equally wonderful man, both of whom I consider dear friends. The Wichita crowd is largely going to be present which will be a nice reunion of those folks, then Sunday morning I leave to go back to the hills for a bit..

While none of us can really go home again, it is good to be reminded that life is not stagnant, that we grow, change, and evolve such that at different times we really are different people enjoying a different life.

It is what it is..

The Best of Austin

Once in a while everything just comes together which is what happened last night. I called up my cousin's significant other to check on him, and along with his brother we went to Shady Grove (very cool south Austin spot) to catch the free show. This alone would have been cool, but to make it even better the show was Bruce Robison. Yet it still got better.. his wife Kelly Willis also got up on stage and sang a couple of songs..

He did everything I could have wanted to hear, and then some. The company was great, the music perfect, and the food always good.

The only possible problem came as the evening came to a close when a gal who had spent the entire evening loudly talking to others and generally being obnoxious, turned around and told us to shut up when finally, for the first time during the entire show, I asked Greg how his brother was dealing with the death of my cousin. We were talking relatively quietly, but she went on a rampage which was accompanied by her homeless (?) beau also screaming at us. We quickly figured out that they were drunk and needed to be ignored while we continued to enjoy the last song. They saw it differently. They ran to the management who came on strong at us, until we calmly explained that this couple was drunk as could be, obnoxious, and was feeding the management a line of crap. A short while later the same manager came back apologized profusely, and then apologized later as we were leaving as well. Obviously the Shady Grove manager saw through their charade and recognized that we were just enjoying the show.

We did not let this sad but amusing incident mar the night. A great time was had by all of us.

Meeting and talking to both Kelly Willis and Bruce was a nice little bonus.. great people, even if Bruce is freakishly tall! (we need more folks like that!)

Insult to Injury

E-Cycle Pro did finally respond to the email much to my surprise. They even feigned regret over the problems that they have caused and to make up for it they shipped the motherboard... to the WRONG ADDRESS!

They had been given the address no less than 5 times, with the address also included in the special instructions so as to avoid any possibility of such an error. Sadly they went out of their way to ship to the wrong address. They dredged up an old out of date address from the archive and chose to ship to it instead of the address that they were given and appeared in the paypal billing.

This is the state of customer service for many businesses, and a sad state it is.

The next hurdle will be to see if E-Cycle Pro will immediately refund the entire payment, or if they will create some further problem. I have no doubt that they will fail to compensate for the lost time and opportunity costs.. and now I am left without the time to get the computer repaired here before I have to leave once again.

Good to be Wrong, or at least not all right

Though I am still completely unimpressed by the efforts, or more accurately the lack of efforts of most companies including those already named, I am happily reminded that there are still a few, perhaps merely a handful, or people who recall what customer service is.

Unfortunately I had to send in my laptop for service under the suspicion that the motherboard was kaput. Systemax not only arranged for UPS to pick up the computer at no expense to me and without even a hint of argument, but called today to let me know that they replaced the memory and have shipped the computer back out after stress testing it for 36 hours. Here again Systemax has reminded me why I should and do recommend them to just about everyone I meet when the topic turns to computers.

Now if only I were going to be in the same place as that computer... but that is beyond Systemax's control..

Customer Service RIP

The last two orders I have placed online have been met with what is sadly the current trend in customer service: no service.

On July 24th I ordered a freezer online via an Amazon link, and not only have I not received the freezer, I have twice emailed the company and cannot even get a response. Needless to say I am not going to be promoting AJ Madison as a seller to trust...

This last week I ordered a motherboard, and even requested expedited shipping, paying the extra $40+ dollars to get it the next day.. two days later still not here and the tracking on the website does not even show the order as fully processed and shipped!! In fact there is a line hidden deep in the site that says that they try to get most orders shipped in 4-6 days. Now, if someone is explicitly requesting expedited shipping, telling you that they need it the next day, do you take their money and then simply ignore the order? Apparently that is what you do if you are E-Cycle Pro... I have snt in an email to them, but I am not so foolish as to expect a response.

What happened to taking pride in your personal integrity, in your work, and in keeping your word? Are we as customers so complacent that we do not demand good service?

Austin update

I am making some progress in Austin, some of which is unexpected. I believe that I have found a contractor who I feel comfortable recommeding to my clients on the basis of the quality of his work, and the nature of his character. A person with a respect for doing the job right, and the integrity to make sure that the job is done right is all too rare. One who recognizes that such referrals are worth a great deal to him, even more so. With luck I hope that he and I will be developing an ongoing relationship where my customers are satisfied and I am even able to get a bit of income out of the deal.

I am also fortunate to have my truck back in the shop. Strange thing to utter, but when you have a mechanic as good as mine here, you are thankful when he can do the routine maintenance and even grateful when he finds other problems which must be addressed. I do not like spending money, but at least with Paul I can rest assured that the money is well spent and the work necessary without any hint of doubt.

With my Freebirds! fix currently sated, I am able to consider the other culinary opportunities in Austin such as Shady Grove, or perhaps other forgotten spots.

Though it is quite hot, I will likely try to visit some of the trails I used to know to enjoy the rugged beauty of the Texas Hill Country. Speaking of which I have been able to pick up a couple of bottles of Becker Vineyards' Claret, perhaps the best wine in Texas. I look forward to sharing these at some later time with some dear friends who have also moved away from this area, though in the meantime I hope to enjoy a bottle with friends who still live here.

The two jobs I have here are on hold until Saturday, when I do one of the jobs, and then next week for the other, which will make my further travels longer and more rushed. Still, it will be good to get a couple of paychecks even if they are small ones which do not even come close to covering the bill from the mechanic..

I will be looking into perhaps picking up a water storage tank while in Austin in hopes of saving a great deal on transportation costs for a 3000 gallon water tank.

However today is simply a day of rest as I am without the truck. So I am catching up on some reading (Nozick's Examined Life), contemplating various aspects of life including one recently discussed with a friend, and keeping the sausage dog company.

Secret to Peace and Contentment

:


Regular on Spinach
Rice and Cheese (mix cheese)
Black Beans
Dark Meat Chicken
Hot Tomatillo sauce (or habanero or death sauce)
Tomatoes, pico, and salsa
Jalapenos
Red onion
Cilantro
Corn salsa
Poblano salsa
and just a bit of lettuce.

Unwrap slowly and experience complete sensory satisfaction.

Freebirds! at last..

I have survived the death race which is Interstate 35 to Austin my reward for which was delicious Brazillian barbeque for lunch, and then Freebirds! for dinner. For those not familiar with Freebirds! imagine if Chipotle had flavor, character, and style and you will get an image which would be a mere shadow of Freebirds! World Burrito.

Though I would like to take today to rest from the travels and from the busy day here upon arrival, I have to hit the ground running by going to bid a couple of jobs and connect up with a new business connection which may well take over my old clients for me.

Then order computer parts and contact folks around here some of who knew I was coming.

Such is the day of this traveler..

Services today

Today is the service for Kim. I have been asked to be a pall bearer a grim task that I feel flattered to be asked to do.

Needless to say the day revolves around the issues of the service and Kim's life. The family is getting together again today, though we gathered yesterday at the "viewing." I refrained from viewing the body as I find the practice more than creepy and distasteful. However it was good to get together and to offer what support I could.

As my father commented last night, we can never find the time to get together and enjoy life with one another but always can make the time for a funeral. I suspect that this is true for most people, not merely our own family and as such a truly pathetic statement on what we value and our placing of death as more important than life an experience.

And on that sad I leave off... until Austin..

Computer outage

As I began to go through the morning routine of checking email, weather, and the like the new computer died on me. Near as I can tell the hard drive is shot.. so until I can get another computer or this one repaired I will be offline..

For Kim

Twenty-nine years ago or so this goofy looking socially awkward kid took it upon himself to stand up for a little girl who seemed to be getting the short end of the stick at a family gathering.. a couple of years later that ongoing role was captured on film.

This is a rare shared memory between Kim and I, and perhaps a beginning to something which led to where I am today. Regardless, I was made better for my interaction with that little girl, perhaps even when we reconnected as adults telling ribald stories and keeping the family traditions in liquid refreshment..

We both recalled the day of this photo, and I the Easter which started this role for me. For a person who lives very much in the moment, this shared memory stands as a landmark for me, reminding me that though I walk a solitary path usually blazing it as I go, there are times, or were times when that path crossed others and was better for it.

I took some heat in recent years for offering Kim a place to live while she sorted our her life, a time which some have demeaned by claiming mental illness on her part, chalking up the effort to learn and live to being bipolar, but I know better. Kim had her problems, including medical problems, but she was no more bipolar than the earth is a cube. Her memory deserves better.*

She and I often did not see eye to eye as adults, but we each saw that the other was walking a path with intention and some degree of strength. We each knew that the other has flaws, but respected one another nonetheless.

Kim grew into a woman I sometimes grudgingly liked, but always loved. She could annoy me at the same time that she made me laugh out loud. She expected great things of herself and of the world.

She expected me to be her protector, drinking buddy, sounding board, and honestly I probably don't know what else. I probably did not excel at any of these, but I did what I could when I could, and I will cherish the memories of the various times, from the little girl in her Easter dress to the woman ordering her own special concoction from the bartender who she had already worked into the palm of her hand..

Our time was far too short cousin.. my efforts too little.. my thanks always left unspoken. I am headed to Austin which you loved, and I will drink your silly girlie drink concoction in your memory.. It is too little and too late, but thank you for helping me to become who I am.



*no offense intended to anyone truly suffering from bipolar, the comments are directed at the falseness not the particular accusation.

More Travel

A trip to north Texas area, and then on to Austin may well be in the works. Due to the untimely passing of a family member, there is reason to head to north Texas. Once there the additional 3-4 hours to Austin make some sense provided that I can pick up some work there to cover the cost of traveling.

It would indeed be nice to see friends again down there, and I must admit a craving for the ever desirable, always delectable Freebirds!

More later as I learn more about the arrangements and timing.

Blog changes

As you may have noticed I have changed the name of the blog. With that name change comes a slight change in focus, from exclusively travel and the building of my off grid home, to include elements of philosophy, including a focus on the value of the individual.

As the title implies, I have no desire to rule any others, nor do I accept the claim that anyone has the right to rule me (or any other person for that matter). This is the pinnacle of peaceful coexistence and the necessary consequence of simply recognizing that others are also inherently valuable.

As this understanding and respect for others has been one of the major factors in the decision to lead the life I am living, including the off grid home I am building, I decided that I should not try to separate it out from the adventures of living.

I hope that you enjoy these changes..

Fresh food

Even though there are many difficulties right now, and I may well be at a crossroads, there is still much to enjoy. Fresh raspberries for breakfast, right off the cane. Blueberries for a mid morning snack, needing only a bent knee to harvest. Dinner tonight? Fresh mixed beans (Chinese long beans, Adzuki beans, haricot verde (green beans)), Chinese cucumbers, which in my experience are the most flavorful without any of the bitterness of regular cukes. in basalmic vinegar, mustard (real mustard not that neon yellow stuff) garlic, black pepper, a touch of cayenne, and salt marinated in the fridge. And fresh tomatoes sliced with salt for a appetizer.

If I were willing to heat up the house by cooking, I could have corn straight from the stalk as well, with a side of edamame.

This is a time of abundance, even in the small garden to which I have access so though my mind may be troubled by other considerations, my body is quite satisfied with the bounty of non-processed, fresh and flavorful produce at my doorstep.

"Title"

Anyone else notice the not too subtle return of generics in the food aisles? Mind you I am a fan of them, seeing no reason to pay for a name. Heck my own was given to me, why would I pay for another?

Anyway, on the shopping trip today I noticed again that white packaging was making a comeback. Sure it is still slicker than the quintessential six pack of cans labeled "beer" (my favorite example of generics) but I suspect that some marketing guru somewhere pointed out that the white packaging reminds folks of a certain generation at least, of discounted, inexpensive options, thus the comeback.

I have to admit that though I am a fan of scientific achievement and particularly space exploration, I am sick at heart of hearing about all of the advancements "due to" or which "would only have come from" the moon missions. The truth is that we either would have developed these technologies as they became necessary, else they were never necessary.

No government has ever or will ever create or otherwise be responsible for advancement of the species. This is self-evident but also easily proved once one considers the purpose and nature of government.

All government exists for the sole purpose of controlling others. Those in power assume that they are angels with no need of control, and many who are slaves to the powers that be agree with smiles on their faces. What this means for technology or for advancement is that the focus of these advances will always be in the form of control of others.

So when you look to the advancements of the space mission, look to the use of emotional appeals to increase taxation. Look to the increase in the use of cameras such that it is almost impossible to be in public but not on camera.. Look to the abuses of power for personal gain.

These are the legacy of the space mission, and every government endeavor.

As are 70 pound fancy calculators.. prohibited research into fuel cells and the infamous billion dollar pen which can write in space (the Russians were smart enough to use a pencil!!)

Microcomputers, modern fuel cells, and even fancy pens are the result of private individuals seeksing to make a living. Never forget this fundamental lesson of liberty..

Crossroads

I have been asked by a few folks if I am at a crossroads, and the truth is that as they mean the term, I am. But what I found interesting in the questions was my own reaction which is that we are always, or should always be, at a crossroads where we should seriously consider our next step which will begin a new path, a new direction, perhaps a new adventure.

James Bovard

One of the writers I enjoy reading for the clarity of thought, precision of language, and for the defense of the reasonable (aka "liberty") is James Bovard. I was turned onto him during a week long seminar at the Institute for Humane Studies more than a decade ago, and have enjoyed much of his writing since.

All of which is simply a brief introduction to a very humorous post from Bovard here: http://jimbovard.com/blog/2009/07/13/my-vindication-dammit/

While not central, nor even representative of his areas of focus, it is delightfully amusing, and to anyone who has ever worked on cars, houses, or other mechanical devices, completely unsurprising..

Read the article, then this anecdote will make more sense:

Many years ago, some friends were renting a room from me, and as a favor I did some work on the car of the girlfriend of one of these guys. (She was sharing a room with the guy.. ) At that time in my life, I swore very rarely. So rarely that most folks who knew me would have told you that I simply never swore. So while working on her car, I apparently let loose with a string of explicatives after some bolt slipped for the umpteenth time, or some part would not go into place.. She came out the door and to her credit asked if I was alright. Puzzled, I said, "yeah I am fine. Why do you ask?" It was then that she commented on my use of profanity, which she rightfully understood to be out of character.

In a rare moment of perfect clarity and timing, I responded that profanity is an essential tool in car repair..

While I may have loosened my tongue a bit when it comes to explicatives, I do still hold that the maxim is not merely true but absolute. Vehicle repair necessitates profanity!

That said, I will add one addendum: Or a damn fine mechanic!

To tell the truth, I prefer the latter to the former.

water

Reading: Epitaph for a Desert Anarchist
Gift from Earth


As you may know, much of the south is suffering under near record temps and unfortunately drought. These factors are not lost on me trying to build in what is at a stretch "the south" aka my current house site. I was recently informed that it may be likely that I will need to sink a well, something I have been avoiding not only because the cost and environmental damage, but also because the well water here is decidedly nasty. I am perhaps the biggest fan of well water, and still (pun intended) I will be the first to say that this well water tastes like an omelet of rusty nails and rotten eggs (iron and sulfur) with the appearance of weak tea..

The upshot is that I now must look even more closely into rain water collection and perhaps consider 5000 gallon tanks or the like to get me through the two to three months of possible drought times.. else drill a well.

Or perhaps better yet reconsider building here.. unfortunately I have invested a year prepping for this build, and that same year losing income so my options are more limited than I like. Still, other mountains do call out...

Reading

I am going to make an effort to note what I am reading with each post, or at least often enough so that anyone interested can follow what has risen to the top of the reading list.

Currently I am reading Epitaph for a Desert Anarchist: The Life and Legacy of Edward Abbey. If you are not familiar with Abbey, then become familiar. He is a character much worth reading.

I just finished Harry Harrison's One Step from Earth, a wonderful science fiction collection.

I managed to get a window ac unit installed today in the caravan, though it is struggling to keep the place tolerable. I am hoping that once the sun goes down that the unit will cool the caravan sufficiently to sleep.

Such is the state of affairs..

Back in the hills

I am back in the hills again after a successful trip. There is a great deal to think about, and perhaps blog about on the trip though none of it travel related, or location related, but instead life and liberty related. I have to decide if I want to explore the question of the celebrations of the 4th here or not, or address this and other topics in a separate blog such as bringing the Letters Not Sent blog back to life..

In the meantime, the long absence from blogging has ended. I will start to once again provide regular updates, and I sincerely hope very soon to have those include photos of the excavation starting..

Amongst the things that have happened during the silence, has been a changing of phone and numbers.. so if I've not given you the new number, and you had the old, then drop me an email. I have lost all of my numbers thanks to a cracked and thus unreadable phone screen and a very unhelpful AT&T "customer service" division..

Tomorrow will bring a better day...

Loyalty

I have been thinking for years about loyalty and just what it means.

Loyalty is often defined as devotion to a person or cause, faithfulness to either.

What does that tell us? Well loyalty to a person is mere a characteristic of friendship isn't it? So does "loyalty" in that context tell us anything other than you are a friend to that person? If you are not "loyal" it seems to me that you are not a friend at all, so nothing is added by phrases such as "loyal friend."

In the case of a cause, or perhaps even a bad friend, it seems to be a negative, not hte positive attribute we seem to assume that it is. Consider that if I am loyal to a cause, then I am to support it in the face of all others. On the surface this mindless devotion is what we celebrate in western cultures, but is this really something of value? What if my loyalty for instance is to the inappropriately named "pro-life" cause? To borrow from recent headlines, this would mean that I must call the intentional murder of a sincerely good man who happened to be one of only two doctors left who save the life of women who are pregnant but cannot carry to term safely, this I would have to call a good and noble act.

What does it mean for a claim to be false? It means that the claim fails to match reality. In this case there is nothing good much less noble about this act of murder, nor would any good person hold that there were. So when we see that "loyalty" to the cause means that we must accept a contrary to reality claim as being "true" we know that in fact it is the belief or command which is wrong, not reality.

This is far from the only example, but rather simply an extraordinarily clear one. Wherever "loyalty" puts us at odds with reality, especially as would be the case here, puts us at odds with that which is actually good and commendable, "Loyalty" not only cannot be laudable, rather it must be evil.

I may be "loyal" to a friend who commits an evil act, but in protecting and in practice supporting that evil act, I myself am not being good. So being loyal to a good friend simply means being a good friend, and being loyal to a friend who is acting evilly is to act evilly ourselves.

It appears that loyalty is only "good" where that to which it is already a part is itself something good. Since in those situations "loyalty" adds nothing to the description, I suggest that we simply drop "loyalty" as any sort of positive attribute and instead simply recognize the worthlessness, in fact the misleading nature of the word.

Kansas

Well I made it back to Kansas once again.

Spent the first evening here with a dear friend just catching up.

Coincidence brings another couple of friends down here today, so at least the beginning of this trip is starting out quite promising.

A new objective..

Is it wrong (whatever that means) to want to master the thousand yard stare?

Ever on the Road

.. or so it seems.

I am leaving again in a few days to travel back to Kansas, this time to work primarily upon the exterior of my mother's home, though there are other projects ranging from preserving a fence for my grandparents, to applying epoxy to the floor of a basement and the front porch of a home. With any luck at all, I will also manage to get some paying work in addition to the work for family, which any contractor/designer can tell you pays only in the rewards you find in the doing of the work itself.

Making this more difficult is that I am still trying to live out of 120 sq ft at best, with my tools and other "stuff" scattered from Atlanta, Georgia to Austin, Texas, to Wichita, Kansas to the back hills of the Oauchita Mountains.. I already know that I won't have all that I need, so this work will be less efficient than when I has the business in Texas, but it will get done with the same high regard to quality as always.

There is so much more positive to talk about, from the morning harvest of a few precious raspberries and a dewberry or two, to the views seen from 3500ft one afternoon spent navel gazing, but as you can tell tonight my mind is on this latest transition. While traveling is in my blood, I have been without a base, without a place of my own of any real sort for just shy of a year now, and so I grow weary of these transitions, holding patterns, and delays which are beyond my control.

To be honest, were my savings just a bit greater, I would simply keep on driving after this project and find some even more remote land farther out west, and farther away from the presumptions (of others) of obligations (on me).

Ah well, this too will pass.. I will find joy in the design and creation process, and perhaps my return will in this instance actually signal the real start to the build process..

I did spy one or two raspberries which ought to be ripe by morning.. and perhaps I will be able to find a couple of early dewberries..

Peas and Pods

Brief post tonight.. just a quick shot of my meal this evening:

This is English peas with daylily pods. After taking the pic, I added a chopped garlic flower then removed it from the heat and chowed down on this gourmet foraged meal. It was so flavorful that there was no need for salt or other seasoning. Simply a little butter.. Imagine asparagus with a lighter texture, crossed with a mild squash, with just an occassional hint of spice and you have the flavor of these particular daylilies.

This is why I live the life I am living! This is "roughing it" at its best..

The Other Addiction..

On the subject of entertainment, I adhere to Jefferson's quote: "I cannot live without books."

One of the very real joys of the path I am on currently, is that I am now finding that I have the time to start in reading the ever growing stack of books I have bought at one time or another. Some date back almost 15 years, to a mysterious but lovely little bookseller in St. Louis, where you had to knock on the door and if you looked acceptable to the owner, he would let you in to shop..

Still, much like a drug addiction, the books you have just aren't enough.

Today's order from betterworldbooks:

Survival with Style : Bradford Angier (1972)

Hayduke Lives! : Edward Abbey (Hardcover, 1990)

Epitaph for a Desert Anarchist : James Bishop (Hardcover, 1994)


Rational Choice and Moral Agency : David Schmidtz (Paperback, 1997)

On the Shortness of Life : C.D.N. Costa, Lucius Annaeus Seneca (Paperback, 2005)

I am always looking for good sources for cheap books so if you have any suggestions.. send them along!

If you have not yet discovered it, I recommend GoodReads.com. Wonderful site which for me at least provides a more than acceptable alternative to browsing in a book shop, which has always seemed to me to be lacking in online book sellers. You just don't get the random factor in online searches or even browsing without having to manually sort though more listings than you would have to see books in a shop. I've not found a better or more comfortable source of book inspiration online.

Plus for those who are more social than I tend to be, you can even meet interesting people who share your love of books, or particular genres. Heck, even I have met a few interesting people who share some of my more quirky or obscure interests.. check it out..

Today was a day for flowers. After many years of wanting to try daylilly pods, I finally harvested a few, prepared them in a dish of rice, squash, tomatoes, garlic, and topped off at the last minute with chopped garlic blossoms. Quite nice.. though I think that I can probably do better.

Most of the day was spent on a chainsaw clearing fence lines and the lower portions of the trees in the middle of the fields.

No snakes or other critters, except for the lone box turtle I helped across the road first thing this morning.

Adrenaline filled morning

I set out this morning to take care of Rancher Bob's cattle, feed the stock fish, then start in on trimming back trees from fence rows. Well I had gotten a fair amount done when I decided to head back to my place for gloves, a drink of water, and a few minutes rest. While there, I hear cries of "Get your gun! Snake!" from Rancher Bob's excitable wife.

I expected to find a curved branch, or maybe an oversized night crawler, but this time she wasn't just crying wolf! There as a 4 foot timber rattler, about two and a half inches in diameter sitting underneath some Crepe Myrtles curled up in almost the typical coil.

Now I really do not like killing anything, but some creatures in some places just have to go. This was one of those. With four dogs, and three humans who regularly walk around the yard there at Rancher Bob's, I just could not leave this venomous snake be.

I shot it several times, but never in the head, and this snake just keeps on moving, going from shrub to shrub, but never getting in the open where I can get a good shot at it. Rancher Bob's wife gets one of his handguns, and she proceeds to miss the snake by a mile from four feet away.. :) I reload, and shoot it again. Now it is really pissed. It finally moves into the yard proper, unfortunately right at me. I take a quick shot at it's open mouth, grazing its head before it lunges at me. It stops there in the yard, playing possum, so I grab a large rock to test its resolve as well as the law of gravity.. This rattler attacks the rock leaving venom trails across the face of the rock.

One more shot then it is clear from the shrubs enough to take the shovel to it. A couple of good whacks with the edge of the shovel, and the head is removed from the still writhing body.

This is one of those times where I wish I had a bit more knowledge of wild game, because this snake would have been good eating.. nice fat body.. maybe some rattlesnake cakes like those at Hudson's on the Bend in Austin... But I haven't had time to learn or previous experience at field dressing and preparing snake, so it is off to the national forest for the carcass, but not before I see how much abuse this snake took before giving up the ghost. I had hit it 5 times that I could see, though the snake never really slowed from the shots. I've got to respect the toughness of this particular predator..

So the deed is done, the snake disposed of, and slowly the adrenaline is working its way out of my system. The yard has once again been made safe for man, animal, and excitable wives...

Hopefully the rest of the day will be less eventful.

After Tuesday's post on entertainment in the back woods I was reminded that I deserved a bit more of that entertainment, aside from the "work" I have been doing on Rancher Bob's place. So after getting the daily chores done, I headed up into the "National" forest to get in a bit of peace, solitude, aesthetic inspiration, and exercise via an unplanned hike.




I took off on one of the better maintained logging roads, gradually finding less maintained offshoots until I came across one which led enticingly up a hill and disappeared.. well what could I do? I had to check it out..


The "road" turned into a grassy path the width of a vehicle, and ultimately led to an area which had the undergrowth burned off (to prevent uncontrollable forest fires). This led up to the top of a small unnamed mountain that provided some scenic views of the river valley beyond.

The Good Life

Usually I go on about my luddite interests, the more simple way of living, enjoying what is rather than seeking the pleasures of modern life.. and perhaps that is what I am doing with this post as well. Still, this is a bit at odds with the rustic life I have been describing and living in the last year (almost) since I left Austin for the Ouachita Mountains.

I am talking about the glass of wine you see.. This is not some California Chardonnay, it is my own wine made from the muscadine grapes which grow locally. The muscadine is a treat to any real southerner who grew up picking these thick skinned native grapes along the creek banks and fence rows. The only problem I can see with the few commercially available muscadine wines is that they are treated like other fruit wines and made so sweet as to be almost undrinkable.

Not so with this first run of our own home made muscadine wine. This is a nice dry wine which retains the muscadine flavor, but is also elegant and much more complex than one expects from native grapes. While I expect to tinker with the process in the future, this wine promises to be a wonderful addition to the larder..

Who says you cannot have elegance in the backwoods?

Entertainment in the backwoods

Perhaps the most common question I get is

"what about television?"

After I point out that I have never owned a television, the next question is always:


"what do you do for entertainment?"

The answer has always seemed so obvious to me, but when I look around me, even those folks who live nearby are trying to keep up with their city brethren by watching Idol, Survivor, or whatever they are told to watch..

So maybe the answer isn't so obvious.

First and foremost, I live. The single most important aspect of choosing the life I have chosen is so that I may focus upon living, instead of merely existing or working to exist. In this, as in so many things, I am following Thoreau, who suggested that we should not be working six days for that one day off, but rather should be living those six days, and perhaps working but one.

I know that some folks will dismiss that as fantasy or not possible any more, but I am living proof that it is possible, and I am far from the only one. But that is a discussion for another time.. today is about fun!

So why did I think that the answer is obvious? Because I choose to live in a way that I enjoy. This means that I do not stop living in order to have fun. When I am in the garden, I am enjoying myself, I am entertained. When I am hiking in the woods, I am enjoying where I am, but also looking for wild edibles which is a passion of mine.

Shouldn't where we live be the place we are most entertained, the most happy?

But of course there is more than that to my entertainment. I enjoy making wine and brewing beer, which lead to the obvious entertainment later when shared with friends, even when that friend is just a friendly thunderstorm, or showy sunset.

More than anything though, my entertainment is reading. No less than Thomas Jefferson was known for saying "I cannot imagine a life without books." I share this sentiment whole heartedly. So those days that the friendly thunderstorm keeps me inside, I turn to the large stack of books which has been patiently waiting for me for so many years. Some of these books I acquired before I went to graduate school, but somehow in the decade since, I have not found the time to read. Now is that time.

If I tire of reading, and this happens very seldom, I can always turn to writing, or once again to designing homes. Even last night as I was drifting off to sleep an idea hit me for a modification to the current design which might lead to even more interesting possibilities.. so I will explore it just to see where it leads.

Being a luddite with an internet addiction also provides entertainment.. I've already touched upon the luddite entertainments, but of course I do get online as well, when the stars are aligned, the gods appeased, and the lucky numbers from the horoscope are all in my favor so that the wireless connection actually works..

Online, I read. Surprise, huh? But I also look for books to read, and enjoy seeking more ways to be frugal and be self-sufficient.

For books, I use Goodreads.com, which combined with Half.com provides nearly all of the books and book suggestions I can use (though don't let that stop you from suggesting books!!) Goodreads.com is well worth checking out if you have a passion for books. Unlike social networking sites, this site focuses on something of value. You may connect with folks, but not over a trivial ad driven game, but rather over ideas, issues, and books.. Best of all you can see what others are reading and get suggestions as to what others who like what you have read, have themselves read.

I'll go into the frugal sites later..

As you can see, I am not lacking for entertainment. It is all around me. It is all around all of us, if we will stop entertaining our selves to death and just see it..

"But what do you do for fun?"

I live.

Long Shadows

Just more of the same today... but the shadows were longer when I started

...and longer when I finished...

Tractor Troubles, Hay Hassles and Rake Riding..

Well it was time to start bailing the hay today.. So I had the great fortune to be volunteered to rake the hay into windrows so that the bailer could pick it up. Sounds easy enough... except that I got almost no sleep last night..

...and then I could not figure out how to start Rob's tractor which I had never used before...

...and then the seat on the tractor came apart...

An hour and some later I managed to finally fix the seat...

...and the tractor would not start...

So I jumped it with the truck.. no joy..

Decided to wait for the battery to charge while still connected to the running truck, meanwhile I'd go get some lunch especially since I skipped breakfast..

..but Rob showed up... started the tractor, and I was off again on the rake.. (The rake rides behind the tractor gathering up the hay.. )

The seat came apart again.. a couple of times..

Finally we called it a day about 5 pm... and even now I sit here typing this instead of fixing something to eat, simply because now I am too damned tired...

Fellini moment

Sometimes the Is just smiles down on you..

Today while talking to the Infamous Rob, we discovered a shared interest in several things, all relating to living authentically and close to the world. I don't say to the land, because there is much more to it than merely forcing the land to do what you want, also known as gardening the exercise in joyous futility... We somehow got to discussing foraging, which is a passion of mine, but a passion in its infancy in the sense that I am desperately trying to learn all I can about any and all edible plants particularly those growing in my area.

Turns out that ol' Rob is an avid forager himself. He has 20 years of local experience, and I honestly do not know how many years greater experience in general, on me, so I am going to be leaning on him for advice and whatever pointers I can get. One of the high notes was discovering that staghorn sumac grows locally.. this is a wonderful plant, despite the terrible almost urban legend status as being poisonous.. (The white fruited easter "sumac" is poisonous, but so is the tomato plant!!) The fruit of the staghorn, bright red berry clusters, have been used for centuries by the first nations' peoples ("Indians") as a refreshing beverage and an ingredient in pemican. The beverage which is by far the most common usage, is like a wonderfully tart lemonade, which is also very good for you. So I hear.. this year however I WILL get to try it.. and I am certain fall in love with it. Better yet, ol' Rob turned me onto the idea of reducing down the berries to a syrup which then can be added to any water bottle, canteen, etc. with additional water to provide, in his words, an incredibly refreshing drink.

Over the end of his pick up (small to reduce his fuel costs.. ) we stumbled upon similarity after similarity, solved expense problems (he will now use a solar water heater instead of buying a new powered heater..), and found that we share more similar views about how to live day to day than either of us expected..

We differ on important things, but at least I know that he is a good guy, a friendly guide, and in at least some senses a kindred spirit..

Fellini was smiling down on me today..

Changes..and a call for ideas and opinions

Since I have left Texas behind me, except perhaps for a rare visit to dear friends still living there, I am considering changing the name of the blog..

I am leaning towards Living Intentionally, but have considered the following:

The Intentional Life
Adventures in Living
Living
Individual Peace
Anarchy in Practice*
The Natural Life
and others..

Ideas, opinions, etc. are all welcome... Thanks in advance..

*This one may become a separate blog, if I get motivated as there seems to be a great deal which can be said about living honestly in peace with your neighbors.. And then too, peaceful rational living is so often attacked and misunderstood so a positive response is needed..

Hovering

Well I am still just hovering in place.. there is nothing I can do to move forward until the land deal is settled, and I am still locked out of my timbers by the need to cut hay in the meadows. That said, the grass was cut today, with luck to be bailed in a couple of days.. Then at least I can get back out and start charring the end of the posts to help protect them from deteriorating once they are put in the ground.

I am still getting used to the new computer so bear with me if you will on the lack of photos.. I will post some soon..

A couple of more calves, one I have to admit is quite cute with a white tail, with a bit of the white extending up onto its back.

Discovered a new edible thanks to a great book: Free for the Eating by Bradford Angier. The new edible is May Apple, which grows in abundance locally.. Not sure of the taste yet since they are not yet ripe, but I am anxiously waiting..

The book is one which should be on any forager's shelf. This is easily one of the best books on foraging (and cooking the results!) I have ever read. It belongs right next to Euell's work..

Rain record

Not sure how much rain came before Rancher Bob left, though it was quite a bit, but since then I have been keeping track for him. Here is the totals so far, keeping in mind that we were just hit with a storm and more are on their way today..

May 4th: .04 inch
May 5th: .69
May 6th: .94
May 7th: drizzle, mist, and sprinkles
May 8th: Drizzle, mist, and sprinkles, heavy dews..
May 9th: .63
May 10th: 1.22
May 11th: .51
May 12th: .87


I will try to update this as I post..

Rain.. and more rain

The rain has continued for yet another day. "Only" half an inch today, but with the ground already completely saturated, this additional rain further eroded the road which is coming very close to being impassable by anything less than an off road vehicle. They have closed the bridge on the main route to the paved road because the footings/shorings are being exposed because of erosion. Other parts of the road are rutted both parallel and perpendicular to the road direction. Pot holes have become ponds, low areas are now flowing with water where they are normally dry, and all of the quartz veins re being exposed as all small stone and soil is removed from the road bed.

On the up side however Becca called this morning right on time, clarified one of my questions, then helped me place the order. She is a wonderful person, great customer service person (though her job is clearly a LOT more than just CSR), and genuine person. Systemax is lucky to have her, and I cannot recommend the company highly enough based upon the service I received and the price for the computer I am buying. If you are even remotely thinking of a new laptop or desktop check Systemax out.

My machine will hopefully be built and shipped by Wednesday, meaning that come next week I should be in the process of loading Ubuntu onto the machine. With luck in just over a week I will be back going full force. Until then.. well I am still fighting the addiction..

No progress on the house. This is the real update. Since I have returned my world here has been turned upside down. I was offered a new location on which to build, a location which would have better views, more privacy, and in general is much more appealing though it would require much more work. I was also told that the fellow who was to do the backhoe work is busy with his hay business and might not be able to get to my project now for three months.. To make matters worse the new location is now up in the air due to an old forgotten lien on the property, and the rains have stopped any and all possible progress on any aspect of building.

The last week plus have simply been an effort to keep afloat.. keep Rancher Bob's cattle safe, and watch the creek do ever more damage..

Not the best sort of update, but it is what it is.

Luddite facing his addiction..

Many of you have heard me describe myself as a luddite with an internet addiction, and certainly in many ways this is apt. For the next ten days or more I am going to be exploring the luddite life even more, perhaps not without the addiction but without a means to feed the addiction.

The addiction? Computers/internet access of course..

Yesterday morning I awoke and went to begin my usual routine of checking email, weather, and miscellany on the web but the computer was less than cooperative. I could not even get an indication that there was power to the computer, and though it had a full charge on the battery, nothing would work. The signs of life were as evident as they are in the crematorium, where the computer almost went as soon as I realized it was dead. I tried all sorts of remedies, most fueled by denial and wishful thinking, and unsurprisingly all to no avail.. I broke down and talked to some computer techs and received the answer I feared and suspected: the mother(board) was simply dead..

Ah well good you say, now I can get more into the luddite lifestyle.. I might agree, but the monkey on my back takes issue with that..

To further complicate matters, all building efforts on currently on hold for a variety of reasons. The individual who is supposed to dig the house out for me is otherwise occupied. Thunderstorms and torrential rains make that a moot point anyway. I cannot gain access to the site because the grass is near ready to be cut for hay so I cannot trample it down with vehicles. And perhaps the only possibly positive complication: I may be changing sites if a land deal (with its own complications) comes through.

The new site would allow for much more privacy, better terrain, much much better views, and more flexibility in the building design though I expect to make very few changes in my existing design.

Still I could gather up some of the felled timbers, or finish harvesting others that I have marked for harvest right? Nope.. they are on the far side of the creek which is currently (pun intended) impassable.

So with the luddite activities unavailable to me, the call of the net is ever more alluring.. I have turned to books even more than I have been lately, and obviously I have managed a bare minimum of access on Rancher Bob's computer while he is once again out of town.

The upshot? I have very limited connectivity, almost no email access. However I have chosen a new computer and expect to order it when Becca the representative from Systemax calls me back on Monday with the answers to a couple of questions I have about the machine. With luck a week to ten days later I will be back in the saddle..

Not the update I had planned but it is an update..

Felllini Day

I know I promised an update and I will get to that I promise.. but for now..

I made it back to Rancher Bob's on the first of May, so that I could attend a wedding on the second. Normally I do not go in for that sort of thing, but this was going to be held outdoors and across the road at the only real neighbor's house so I thought that I would be neighborly. It turned out to be a wonderful afternoon and evening of conversation, high spirits, and truly congenial people. The ceremony was short (good!) and the celebration long.. as it should be.

It seemed that despite all difficulties, such as torrential rains, the wedding came off perfectly. The food was excellent, perhaps the best smoked chicken I have ever had. The people as I said were wonderful.

I even met a very talented musician who was playing the violin for the ceremony. Turns out that we know some of the same folks from back in my grad school days. As I promised an update to come, this post is not really an update, but rather an opportunity to pass along this musician's site so that others can also enjoy his music. His name is Bill Thurman and this is his site:

http://www.billthurmanmusic.com/home.html

Check out the samples of his music.. well worth your time.

Sometimes you get great experiences and meet just the right folks by simply trying to do the neighborly thing.. Just have to love the Fellini days..

Long Overdue

I know that I am long overdue for a post, and offer up as my lone excuse that I spent the last month in the land of no science: aka Kansas.

On the subject of which, I want to caution everyone to avoid AT&T's Uverse at all costs. The house I was staying at and remodeling (well this time doing exterior work) tried this UVerse tv and internet back in October, and from the very first day of installation on it was nothing but trouble at all levels. The salesman lied, the installers damaged the home (and turns out stole the DSL modem from the previous DSL installation!!), customer service was anything but service. There is NOTHING good to be said about this company. They never did honor ANY of their promises, would not offer any compensation for the time spent trying to get it sorted out, nor even pay for the damages to the home. One of the customer service reps, who claimed to be the head of billing, said that I should feel lucky to get the empty promise of a $15 dollar credit for spending over 19 hours on the phone trying to resolve the issues. She went further in saying that was pretty good pay for my time, though she tried to deny it when I called her on it and made it clear I was writing down everything she was saying.

I dislike being negative, especially when resuming the blog, but please everyone save yourself the hassle and avoid Uverse! Even the guy at the UPS Store where you have to go to send Uverse the equipment (yeah they threaten to charge you if you do not ship them back the equipment!!) said that he was getting dozens of the Uverse returns every day. Obviously no one is happy with this program.

I will do a further update as to the goings on soon..

Hitting the ground running..

I hit the ground running upon arriving in Kansas. I no more arrived and showered before I headed out to a philosophy seminar I'd been invited to attend. Wonderful to once again feel as though I might well be the least knowledgeable person in the room. (I later discovered others in the room enjoyed the same feeling.. ) Still the subject, rationality in explanations, touched upon some work I am doing on the subject of rationality, so an afternoon well spent!

From there I rushed over to see a dear friend and his family for dinner and talked into the wee hours of the night. The next day I returned to help prepare his house for the new owners, as there is an impending move come this weekend.. All day spent doing this, until the evening which was taken up by a reception for the speaker of the seminar, which included many of the folks from my days in the philosophy department here. Wonderful gathering between catching up with old friends, discussing interesting topics, meeting new friends, and simply enjoying the welcoming atmosphere in which ideas are respected, enjoyed, and encouraged. Truly a great group of people. This too lasted well into the night..

The next day, yesterday, was once again a day of prep work. Late afternoon I begged off, having completed what we needed to complete, so that I could meet another obligation also involving prep work. I had to begin the process of planning the remodeling and landscaping at my mother's house. With a tentative plan in place, today I can begin determining what supplies are necessary, and begin work on some inside projects as the weather is not conducive to my being outside yet. From the snow yesterday, and cold today we will move to the mid 70's later in the week. Much better time then to be outside.

Basically this has been a wonderful welcome back to a place I once called home. Not the house I am staying in, but the area in general and the people more specifically. It has been far too long away from many of these folks.

Rain and traveling

Well another day of rain..

Still this has not really delayed the efforts to get packed and prepped for leaving for Kansas tomorrow. I have some renovations, remodeling, landscaping, and design to take care of there for the next month.

Sun Day

Well after several days of clouds, cold, even some snow flurries, today was clear skies, warmer weather, and a feeling of life in the land.

The laundry turned out well. This second run of the Wonder Wash did much better this time around. Is it perfect? Nope.. but it will work well for me, especially for mildly dirty clothes. For the normal clothes which get quite dirty for those of us who are living life, creating our own homes and food, well it means a couple of washes most likely.. still given only 2-3 minutes a wash, this really is not a hardship..

The day was spent doing "cleaning" to appease Rancher Bob's wife who along with Bob will return in a couple of days..

Along with the cleaning I have been taking upon other tasks which are easily done, though very rewarding for others. I have repainting the door where dogs have scratched it, touching up poly on cabinets, other paint issues.. Might as well make the lives of others easier..

No more calves today.. just dogs lounging about taking advantage of the good will of anyone around..

Laundry

Give the cold front that came in with the rain last night, and the snow flurries this morning, I opted for remaining inside as much as is possible today. Granted, a cow and calf had different notions as I had to walk a calf to meet up with mama in the new pasture..

So after a couple of hours out in the cold this morning, I returned to the big house to once again make use of my little laundry machine. The first go around was less than impressive, but I did have a few complications which may have resulted in a less than stellar performance.

So I have begun round two. I have done three loads in the little washer, essentially the last two weeks of clothes. So far what I have learned is that adding more water than they recommend helps, and has no impact on the ease of turning the crank. The next lesson is to add close to double that amount of water for a rinse cycle. I am still using far less water than a conventional machine.

Because it is cold and wet, and I do not have a rocket mass heater in the big house, like I will in my own underground home, I am using Rancher Bob's high efficiency dryer for the final obvious step :drying..

I will know more in an hour or so..

Storms again

More storms tonight.. After changing the creek crossing today because of concerns over the depth of the creek, I can pretty well rule out getting across the creek to harvest any trees up in the grove tomorrow..

I finished most of the projects around the big house for Rancher Bob and his wife, so I am at a loss as to what I will be doing tomorrow, but as always I will find something to do. If nothing else I need to pack for the trip to Kansas to work on my mother's house and with luck a new house for a dear friend of mind.

This will mean a month gone from the home site, though this might not be all bad since I am getting to the point where I need the backhoe in to dig out the house, and that seems to be ever in delay mode.. Hopefully when I return we can get that done..

Rain is passing for now, but with a 70% chance for rain tomorrow I expect to take the day to run a couple of errands, including picking up my boots from the really cool bootmaker who has them right now..

More progress today.. Brought down a good sized cedar snag today that turned into one great post and one good post. Managed to get these and four other posts up to the stacks, leaving two posts a the the bottom of the hill and of course more timbers to harvest in the cedar grove part duex. Though I should say that there are probably between four and six left to harvest up there, clearing the way for wildlife, and other plant life to flourish in the newly opened space. It is surprising, even after clearing one such grove of snags, just how much light dead trees can prevent from reaching the forest floor.

My companions on this excursion were the morons.. my own nickname for Rancher Bob's two small dogs.. Mind you when I say small, I mean that they are under say 50-60 pounds.. most folks would probably call these medium sized dogs, but when you have examples of truly great dogs, ranging from 125 to probably 140 lbs on the property, 50-60 lbs is small..

These two, one a white boxer the other a mutt (with a likely fabricated backstory including wolf heritage.. ) are the sorts of beasts to get into trouble wherever they go. If you go near water, they get into it (especially the mutt), if a car goes by they will chase it, etc.. you get the idea..

Well the mutt in particular has an afinity for dead or otherwise attrocious things. I do not have the stomach to relate some of his more gourmet dishes.. On this trip these two wannabe great killers managed to find a small skunk.. Care to guess how this ended? They got their prey (from the smell the mutt is the killer in this case) but paid a heavy price in aroma. Of course they were very proud and left the carcass right in my pathway so that I too could revel in their prowness.. Sadly I do not share their love of the aromatic, nor their thrill of the kill..

Worse yet the mutt has a detestable habit of running just in front of the equipement which normally is merely dangerous for him, but today also served to treat me to hours of unbroken skunk stench..

And he is now whining about being "punished" by being left alone in the mud room cum laundry room and not allowed into the house proper....

Still, some progress made, much enjoyment had by these dogs, and with it done, I retired to the big house to check on the beef broth/bones specially cooked for all of the dogs. Broth is coming along fine and met the approval of these discriminating tastes.. All of this as the somewhat unexpected rains came in.

As I am typing this I am enjoying a bit of fortified lemonade sitting on the 95 foot long porch (I call it the big house for a reason...) listening to and watching the rain fall..

All in all a damn fine day..

"Eco-friendly" homes

A guilty pleasure to which I have referred before, is watching the shows about "green: building, constreuction, design, etc. So this evening after enjoying the rain that came through, and then enjoying the very clear night sky for a while, I came inside the big house, and turned on the idiot box to Planet Green (discovery). The show on is called "World's Greenest Homes" and you can guess that it highlights homes which are supposed to have less impact on the planet. (Strange how this is measured.. but that is another topic..)

One thing I continue to notice and I am certain will visit again here on this blog, is that all shows like this avoid, seemingly as if it were the plague, reduced consumption unless combined with increased consumption on new gadgets, gizmos, or garbage. They seem to celebrate using solar to power the private movie theater, but ignore the foregoing of a theater system. Building a huge home with a couple of solar panels to heat water is seemingly considered superior to building only what you need, and living without such a large physical footprint.

Don't get me wrong, I am not suggesting that everyone ought to live in 500 ft sq or the extreme of Tumbleweed Tiny Homes, which can be as small as 75 ft sq.. though anyone who can live like this I certainly respect.. But surely we can look at homes of say 700 f sq to maybe 1400 for two or more people, and recognize that these can be wonderfully comfortable and livable homes, as well as almost inherenetly "green"

Must we have the lastest gizmos, gadgets, and tech to be "green?" No.. I have no plans for artificial air conditioning in my own home, instead allowing the naturally cool temperature of the earth at 10 feet down to regulate the temperature of the house, using windows for further adjustment of temps. Rather than trying to force the world to please me, I am more than willing to work with the world to be comfortable..

Likewise, never have I heard even once any mention of logging snags or fallen timbers, such as I am doing. We hear nothing about reducing the loads needed, instead we are shown vast solar arrays like those of Larry Hagman (to his great credit he is powering his entire large home, as well as giving power to some needy families nearby) . Don't get me wrong, what Hagman for instance is doing is wonderful, but for those of us who do not have that much money, our easiest path lay in reducing our needs, and finding free alternatives rather than investing in the latest gadgets and gizmos.

It seems that there is little difference between the consumerist approaches whether they be fully wasteful approaches condemned by the "eco" shows, and the ways celebrated by those same shows which encourage us to spend willy nilly on the latest solar panels, water reclamation, or whatnot..

We can do it different and better by examining what we need, and not buying, reusing, or using something else entirely.

Rain day

Well all outdoor activity was put on hold today due to rain.

This allowed me to get caught up on some housekeeping, do a bit of reading, and sit out on the generous porch enjoying the rain coming down..

Ordered a couple more books, on frugal gardening and basic electric wiring, the one area of building in which my knowledge is lacking.

Call this my weekend, since I gave up the workaday life, and let nature determine when there will be time off, such days are much more appreciated..

Slaying another dragon..

This is today's project


This was a snag at the end of one of the pastures in the bottoms. It is an oak or other hardwood which was at least 125 years old when it died. Given the amount of decay of soft wood, I would guess that it died about 10 years ago. I took this particular segment which is just over 30 feet long for another wonderful girder which will span the entire width of my home..


You can see from this end, this is almost all hardwood. You can see a little of the soft wood left on the right side of the timber for contrast.

By taking this timber down I was able to open up a section of Rancher Bob's pasture that was under utilized. Also as it was leaning and beginning to decay, it was a threat to the cattle and anyone who went near it. Still it took me close to half an hour to get it cut down. The hardwood had cured completely in the last decade in which it was drying. The wood is so hard that though the chainsaw was sharp and running well, the chain and bar got so hot that they were smoking. It looked like bad exhaust.. I had to be careful of where I set it down for concern of starting a fire from mere contact with the chain.

In the end I did maneuver this monster up to the piles..

The morning started with feeding the two herds, and rescuing a stranded calf which was on the other side of the creek from mama, and since this is her first calf she was not as attentive as one might like.. Fortunately this little gal let me get close enough to pick her up and carry her across the creek. Unfortunately one of Rancher Bob's dogs decided that being a complete ahole would be a good idea.. he ran up as I was setting her down and bit her head before I could stop him..

The calf was not hurt, and the dog lost all privileges.. which given the pampering that these dogs get, this is significant.. At this moment he is sulking in another room because I have withheld attention. Not my normal style, as I am inclined to treat non-human animals better than humans, but he needs to learn not to act like an ahole..

Doubt it will work..

Wonderfully comfortable evening for sitting out reading and enjoying a nice beer or glass of wine..

Creating a positive imbalance

Ideally I live for balance in the sense that I wish to do no harm, and avoid harm by trying to cause as little impact as possible. My last post is not sitting well with me, not because it is wrong, but because of the unfortunate circumstance of dealing with unfortunate issues and individuals.

But as I stepped outside to relax, and appreciate the life which is all around us while the politicos are trying to keep us down, I noticed the large oak next to the big house.. it must be between 150 and 200 years old, if not older.. (I suspect much older!)

How is this relevant? Well it made me think of a few timbers I have harvested for my own home. I know that I have two timbers which started their lives at least 125 years ago, probably more since I harvested these timbers long after they died..

Still, how does this relate.. well I know that given the methods I am using, this house should stand for more than a century with most likely no maintenance, and hopefully longer than that so that I can get at least the same usage out of these timbers as they enjoyed life.. While I "owe"nothing back to these trees in that I have not harvested live trees, still if I can make them last, that is be useful and live again essentially, for another two centuries., can you imagine how friendly this is to our neighbors, our utilities (though I am on none) and our planet this is?

Compare this to your own ranch style home or the McMansion.. these are built for maybe 30 years if you are lucky and that with constant maintenance.. these waste energy, waste effort, and provide little comfort in comparison.

So the balance I am seeking to find for myself here and perhaps as an example for others, is to live a life without coercion, a life in which I do not make others provide for me, or take advantage of any theft from others. I seek to create what power I need myself, or through voluntary association, with little or no harm to anything else, and most likely with an abundance of power created by solar, wind and personal energy..

Soft hearted but not soft headed

While I am in charge of the ranch I have a guilty pleasure which I indulge from time to time, that being watching Planet Green (one of the discovery channels..) The problem is that I have a love/hate relationship with it.

Let me explain in some detail what I mean.. Like Thoreau, Edward Abbey and others, I am a huge fan of taking care of "the environment." I pick up litter, I reduce my impact to the bare minimum, and I try to encourage others to restrain their own wasteful activities. I appreciate even the rugged harsh areas of our planet, those hard to love areas that only a few see as beautiful. I am amazed by the world, by the beauty of all of those accidents of nature which have resulted in forms which we find attractive, or at least amazing..

I am building a house which can easily compete with virtually every other home on the planet for "earth friendliness."

At the same time, I scoff at all of this political non-sense about "climate change." How can I do so when "all of the science is behind it?" Well I can do so because science is NOT in fact behind this political movement of algore and nader. In virtually every single instance, the top most scientists have fled the IOCC (gore's personal UN promotion machine) protesting the demand of the IOCC and algore to simply alter the results to match the political rhetoric.

A fine example of this is the use of what is known as the hockey stick graph, one of the major pillars of the algore "climate change*" nonsense. The preeminent statistics researcher in the US examined the methodology of the er.. "scientist" (read "political activist) who came up with the hockey stick graph. Turns out that if you put ANY numbers into the equations used by this political activist masquerading as a scientist, you get the very same graph!!

Every other pillar upon which the algores of the world base these political claims of "climate change*" falls just as easily to critical SCIENTIFIC examination. Carbon dioxide has increased? Well turns out that this claim is based upon measuring carbon dioxide in ancient ice.. but what these political activists pretending to be scientists intentionally overlook is that it has been proved repeatedly that under the pressure of ice carbon dioxide LEAVES THE ICE!!!

I go through this admitted very short refutation of the political nonsense masquerading as science only to highlight my love hate relationship with Planet Green.. I love solar energy, wind energy, and other alternative energies.. I love advancement and true science.. I love living frugally and with as little impact on others and the world as possible.. but I loathe the dishonesty and wolf in sheep's clothing which is this whole "climate change*" political agenda..

*remeber last decade when it was global cooling? And then was "global warming" until it was proved conclusively that the temps have DROPPED almost two degrees in the last decade? So they finally settled on "Climate Change" which describes everything from wind, to rain, to daylight to nighttime to the seasons themselves... how much more dishonest can you be?

I will keep on celebraing the REAL scientists who are pursuing truth, including innovative ways to use "free" power from the sun, geothermal, wind, or whatever. I will keep on suggesting that we all save more, reuse more, and waste less.. all of this is simply good on life, primarily our own which is and must be the most important to us. After all we are each the only one living our own life..

But I will also oppose these efforts to seize ever more control over our lives, take away our liberty, and try to convince us that the emporer is wearing new clothes..

To end on an up note, I harvested five more dead trees for timbers for my home which makes Al Gore's home look like dumping toxic waste in a nature preserve.. oh wait.. dumping toxic waste in a nature preserve would do less damage than that particular politicians jet setting, wasteful living, and garbage collection..

Damn.. still need an up note.. Being off grid, I looked up to the night sky and appreciated the incredible night sky which would be denied to us all under the plans for us by our self appointed masters..

Timber and travel..

Got three of the timbers down to the bottom of the hill, out of Cedar Grove II, and dropped the two cedars which were held up only by vines and another cedar snag. After a few hours of logging, I came down to go check on the cows, discovered a new calf and a cow in the pasture from two days ago.. No idea where she hid to have this calf, as I circled that pasture (which is bounded on three sides by woods) twice trying to find what I thought was a missing calf.. still good to discover her and the new calf. Helped him out of a tangle of dead wood on the little island in the creek on which he had stranded himself. He strangely came right up to me without any concern. Got him directed to mama and they wandered off to eventually be guided to join three other sets of cow and calf who were reluctant to move on into the new pasture today.

Spent the morning in town and swung over east to pick up my boots from the really cool repair guy, but sadly he was closed, so no boots.. Still picked up some groceries, realizing that I have not gone in for grub in weeks.. that should help with the ol' budget..

Read a bit more in one of the latest round of books.. this one is Dependent upon DC.. Should be interesting..

A little logging

Well finally I was able to get back up into Cedar Grove II where I was able to get three timbers ready to haul out, and two more cut but have to be pulled down but are cut free from the stumps, though they still stand because of other trees or vines.

Here is a fine example of how many of the timbers I have harvested begin their new life as part of my home. This particular timber is a cedar on the edge of this grove of dead cedars.



Here you can tell that I have removed the limbs from the lower, thickest portion of the timber. What is a little less obvious is that I have also cut this to length to be a fine post to support the heavy roofing system. The length? Not sure.. I did not have a tape measure on me, so as I do in such instances I found where the timber naturally jumped down to a smaller size, and cut that off so that I could get a timber as long as I could get, plus have a thicker top end to a post so as to be able to support larger beams.
Though spring is here now, not all trees are leafed out, but in this shot that is not the problem. What looks like winter barren trees is actually several cedars which are simply snags, that is they are dead standing trees.


I had to move the cows this morning but this little guy, born yesterday, could not figure out how to get around to the gate. I had to urge him gently, but in the end he panicked and went through some barbed wire. Fortunately it was not tightly strung so he did not hurt himself. Happily back with mama, who you can see on the other side of the fence, he contentedly walked beside her to back near the rest of the herd..

Photo update

I've been dropping the ball on photos, so I am going to post several here at once..




This was about 11 am.. I could not get a photo earlier because the fog was as thick as I have ever seen it. Ten feet away was a fuzzy shadow at best when I got up..


The first shot of these two was shot going against the rules a talented photographer friend had given me, the second is more in line with what he suggested though still violating at least one rule about lighting, but you tell me, which is more interesting? I myself really like the shimmering evident of the first..


This was the first calf of the season.. he came prematurely and had to be fed vitamins and minerals for three days.. now he is usually up playing with the others.. For now mama had him laying down on the soft hay bed..

This little guy was on the other side of the tree when I started getting shots of him.. guess I spooked him somewhat, since he made for the comfort of mama..



mm.. the moss on the base of the tree is tasty.. (apparently.. )



Down in what Jerry calls "The Rockyard" where the rocks outnumber everything, I have to admire the tenacity of these lovely little blue flowers..



This one is of what I am told are wild pear or plum which seem to just shine against the rest of the forest. In the foreground is the retired bull who still manages to father a calf every now and again, but for the most part just enjoys the life of luxury thanks to the compassion of Rancher Bob.. No slaughter of this old guy just because he is getting too old to be a reliable stud..


Don't we all want to be that lucky?


This is a close up of one of those wild pear or plums..

New calf.. some progress

Went down to feed the cows, and look into getting them into a new pasture per Rancher Bob's instruction and discovered a new calf had been born, probably within an hour of my discovering them.. Up to 9 new members to the herd..

While unrolling the hay, the rains began.. so the ride back up to the big house was rather damp..

Made progress yesterday on clearing a path along the fence line to and then into the woods to the cedar grove. Was lucky with the placement of trees, so that I was able to create a loop that will make keeping the fence line clear of briars and fallen timbers, as well as making getting the dead cedars out with minimal annoyance..

Harvested one fallen cedar in the process and got it top side to the stacks.

I had planned on getting going on the last of the harvesting today, but the rains changed those plans.. With any luck the skies will be clear tomorrow so I can make progress on getting these last timbers out before the snakes start to move about..

Unexpected inspiration

Though I have not gone into it, I am always working on various philosophical notions. I mention this only because this morning talking to Rancher Bob, he unintentionally gave me the necessary examples to balance the idea I have been working on. He was reviewing some seeds that he wanted to order for the new garden which this year we are going to share this one year, but had to recheck everything he marked, this treating himself as untrustworthy (at least his past self..) which is something we all do..

At this point I cannot go into the philosophical points, as I am trying to develop these ideas.. but the point of this post is to point out that the realizations which move us forward may well be somewhat random and inspired by things not at all themselves philosophical.

For years I have argued that there is too wide a chasm between academic philosophers and the intelligent layperson. By listening to everyday people, of which I count myself, though I have much training in philosophy..

But I will cut this short for now..

8 new calves this year, two today alone!! I will try to get photos tomorrow...

Barn

Barn is finally finished!

I picked up the metal for Rancher Bob over three weeks ago, and since that time there has not been one day where we could get it installed to finish up the repair on the barn roof.

Until today.. So we put up the last 12+ sheets of metal, and now he decided to shift all of the others at some point so that the overhang is less, but that won't happen for a while as he leaves this week to go to Paris and then on to Italy. While of course I am left here to care for the hungry multitudes..

Since Bob lets me use his equipment, I really will not complain, plus he always offers to pay me but I just call it square for letting me use the equip and for letting me gather in the unwanted dead trees from his land.

It was a long day, after a very long night of being unable to sleep so tonight I am worn out.. My shoulder still is not healed from the strain of grabbing the tree when the limb did its battering ram impression, as I can feel it quite a bit tonight. Still it is slowly getting better so hopefully in a couple of days, assuming the pastures have dried a bit from four days of rain, I will be able to get back out and harvest several more timbers before our slithery friends decide that it is time to play.

Computer Issues and Weather Woes

The long delay in posting came about because of being unable to power up the computer. An internal connection had broken, necessitating another parts purchase. I am coming to know pretty well how to take apart this machine now thanks to power issues..

The last several days have been largely spent in books. I have delved into several I have had on the shelf for a long while, and several more that I have ordered since being here. They range from a book purportedly about composting human manure (very little useful info there, I will likely post a review of that book soon) to mid-century science fiction, to political writings..

The reason these last few days have been spent in books is that after a few wonderfully warm and sunny days, we got another blast of cold, and long with that ice and rain. Certainly nothing conducive to working outside.

I strongly suspect that tomorrow Rancher Bob is going to want help finishing up the barn roof project. Since I cannot get down to the timbers I have cut without rutting up the fields anyway, due to the 3 inches of rain we've received, I might as well help him get that project done.

Bob and his wife are leaving for two weeks, so I will once again take on caring for the cattle, and the herd of dogs they have. Then I too will once again take to the road to work on some remodeling projects in Kansas..

Hopefully I can get a bit of work done on the house before I have to leave..