Search:

I’ve been checking on a Red-tailed Hawk nest over the past couple months. The two fledglings flew the nest yesterday or early today. I can hear them out in the woods not far from the nest but when I...

Winged things

114056

114057

Received an update on one of the pups.

From this – the black one in the middle:

113952

To this, today -- seven months old now:

113953

Donkey milk for infant human orphans.

Wild things for dinner.

I noticed a nice flush of oyster shrooms on a standing dead cottonwood tree at my place, so I picked a few.
I smokey/grilled the oyster shrooms with a sort of ‘Asian’...

I've grown shiitake kits purchased from Cascadia Mushrooms.

113327

I wanted to start some Wine Caps this year. I see that Cascadia is sold out of them.

There are a couple dead cottonwood...

He's a real nowhere man ...

Wildflower pics from a walkabout today.

The Arrowleaf balsamroot sunflowers are withering, but good to see snow holding in the high country.

113150


Bitterroot blossoms are making a good...

I’m seeing the ‘problem’ as a paradox of time, with both arguments being correct.

Looked at as a singular event/game sample, the odds at the second choice – to switch, or not – are 50-50....

Thanks for the reminder. Good luck getting your hay put up.

Bale accumulator/grapples are wonderful things.

L.W., how much per ton are small squares of grass hay going for out there in The Land of Milk and Honey? Looks like it's going to be at least $300/T...

That's a lot of garlic. You baching it?

I love tzatziki.

It's Lupin season here too in the Northern Rockies.

Pic from yesterday on a walkabout:

112612

Cool and wet spring weather here this year, with some good late-season snows in the mountains....

112530


112531

112532


112533

I agree. There's something primeval about their calls. They are believed to be the oldest living bird species.

Sandhill Crane:

112387

112388


They are large birds, approximately 3-4ft. tall, 6ft. wingspan. The adults have gray plumage with white cheek patches and a red crown of unfeathered skin....

I snapped this shot of a male Western Bluebird just a few days ago while out on a walk.

112305

We have Mountain Bluebirds as well.

Herself picked up a Gerstner chest a few years ago. She uses it for some of her sewing stuff. It's not nearly as nice as that one though. Score.

112124

112125

That's a great shot. Fergus, the domesticated dog.

Is that a Blacktail fawn?

Colin, did you see the other video on that channel: Single Wall and Crown Knot – Finishing a Back Splice? As he mentions, the same can be done with an eye splice -- putting the stopper at the end of...

Maybe like this one in 3-strand? YouTube link: Double Wall and Crown Knot Finishing an Eye Splice

Interesting splice, never seen it before. What's the application?

I have a cutting board that I made from a scrap of sugar pine over thirty years ago. It started out as 8/4 but is closer to 4/4 now from resurfacing it occasionally. No finish.

Jim, what’s your plan for the bottom seal?

If/when I get around to building exterior doors for my place I’m thinking of using automatic door bottom (ADB) seals and flush thresholds. Nice to be...

Rick, I don’t know who manufactured the vise. Taiwanese I believe. Similar/same vises are sold by a number of retailers. Search “universal vise”. The one I have was purchased from StewMac. It's a...

I made a Boy’s axe handle (straight) from an offcut of an old hewn hickory barn beam.

110012


It’s not ideal grain for an axe handle but it was nice to work with.

110014

From the information sheet I got with my first Shingrix shot:

"This vaccine [RZV, Shingrix] is also recommended for people who have already gotten another type of shingles vaccine, the live virus...

Thanks for the reminder. I just scheduled an appointment for my second vaccine.

I made a foot activated stop for my saw. It's just a board hung on a hinge in front of the start/stop switch and extends almost to the floor. Small block on the back pushes the stop button when you...

108409

My commiserations to both of you, Paul and Katherine.

Recently, Herself went over the handlebars of her bicycle and broke her wrist; open (compound) fracture, dominant hand. Two surgeries so far,...

Masterful work!

Thanks for sharing. Good to see you posting again.

No flies though.

^ Montana.

Clenpiq is the low volume colonoscopy prep. I don't remember why, but for some reason it is not covered by my (any?) insurance. Cost $50 but worth it I thought.

zat miner's lettuce there in the lower left? I love that stuff.

Some years ago, in Thames, New Zealand, my stepfather took me into a veterans club for a beer and to meet some of his golf buddies, err, mates. With the thin ozone down there, and me not having much...

More fragile too. But all the other benefits of them are more than worth it for our purposes. We send them out for sharpening.

We've only used the 'standard geometry' type which makes the 'top...

With a clean bit, i.e. no chips in it, and plenty of lube, the slugs will usually drop right out. They can also be set up with a retractable pilot that can locate center of hole and eject the slug.

Not sure about "repeated super accuracy", but here's what we use for drilling steel "sandwiched" in wood:

105530

We have them made up from annular cutter bits (as on the left) welded to rod of...

On the right, Gray Wolf Peak, Mission Mountains Montana this morning.

104946

Unfortunately the new ruling doesn’t affect the state management of wolves in the Northern Rockies.

Meanwhile in Montana, the new wolf hunting and trapping laws and regulations allow for snaring,...

Great story Paul.

NE Regatta Braid does have a nice feel in hand. I use it in ½” for equine lead ropes. I tried 5/8”, which is really nice in hand, but found it a bit bulky for tying hitches, and eye splices are a...

Yeah, the DNA results are interesting, but not too surprising. We sampled the two pups that we thought were the most different, thinking maybe there had been more than one father involved, but their...

Nothing pure about these pups either Jay.

They all went to their new homes having been wormed, vaxxed, and fixed. Those are the adoption conditions with the rescue organization.


Mom-dog...

A wild elk today.

104093

The last of the pups went off to their new homes yesterday. Nine and a half weeks old.

104018


They were the last two born but were the first to do a lot of things, especially 'Fin', the last...

Last winter we had a few rare periods of some really good ice conditions at a local lake. Herself loves to skate and was able to get out and enjoy it. I haven’t skated since I was a kid but seeing...

I think that's a pretty good assessment.

Her sister is very similar in traits and behavior.

103364

Pups were eight weeks old yesterday. We had adopters in line for all six of them, but one adopter had to back out. One pup went to her new home this afternoon, three more go in a couple days, and the...