Off With Her Shoes
This weekend my wife Julia and I pulled the steel horse shoes on her pony Pie’s front feet. From here on out, she’ll go barefoot. For extra protection Pie might need on rocky trails or abrasive surfaces like asphalt, we’ll slap on a pair of hoof boots.
I am Heart Broken
Today protestors stormed the Capitol Building. I see images of bearded men waving flags and clubs and security forces with guns drawn. I am heartbroken.
I have walked to the four borders of my beloved United States with my mules, from Atlantic to Pacific Oceans and from Canada to Mexico. I was helped out by hundreds of people whose political views I agreed with and just as many that I did not.
Have a Good Last Day of 2020
I just wanted to wish you a good last day of 2020. I know it’s been a bumpy year but I wanted my last memory to be a good one. Looking out the cabin, this is what I saw. Let’s hope the coming year… Continue reading
Pie in the Cart
Just too nice a day to sit inside today so we hooked Pie to the cart and took her for a… Continue reading
Christmas Greetings
Merry Christmas from the homestead up the holler. “I’ll be Home For Christmas” is playing (the Bing Crosby version), the wood stove is glowing and Snookie is pondering another cookie. “I’ll be Home for Christmas” rings true this year, just not in original way it was meant (it was written from the point of view of a WWII soldier stationed abroad). With Covid numbers spiking, my wife Julia and I are hunkering down… Continue reading
Waiting for the Tumbleweed Connection
“Did you ever hear back from the tumbleweeds you launched?” I get that question a lot, especially from folks that have watched the “Lost Sea Expedition”, the Public TV series about my mule voyage across America (which you can stream here on Amazon).
Okay, let me set this up for you a bit.
The Lost Sea Expedition
The “Lost Sea Expedition”… Continue reading
A Year After Riding to Triumph: The Book is Coming
A year ago, I finished riding mules Brick and Cracker from North Carolina to Idaho. I’m now on Draft 2 of the book.
A year ago, the snow jammed between my saddle horn and zipper flew free as I climbed down from my saddle. The winter’s first snow fell cold and soggy but I’d… Continue reading
Pickle Raft Crushed, Rebuilt and Refloated
Crunch! Last winter a tree crushed our beloved Pickle Raft. This week, we rebuilt it. Here’s a quick (30-sec) video of how that went followed by some pics.
Introducing the Pickle Raft
A few years ago, my wife Julia and I assembled what looked like a patio on top of a bunch of plastic barrels and pushed it in to our pond.
We christened it the Pickle Raft and life was good.
The Three Dollar Ocean: Rebuilding a Katadyn Survivor 35 Desalinator
The email came from the Falkland Islands. “Do you have advice and information about watermakers?” It was from my friends, sailors Thies Matzen and and Kicki Ericson.
I met Thies and Kicki in Auckland, New Zealand in 2000 where I was rebuilding my sailboat Sea Bird. They were doing… Continue reading
Sunflower Sunday Morning
It’s been a good sunflower and peach year here in western North Carolina. Last week we were enjoying Taylorsville peaches from 20 miles away. This week, it’s Kings Mountain peaches from a wee bit farther afield.
I’m a big fan of saving good pits and seeds. Right now the fridge is full of baggies filled with the season’s best peaches. Others go on the windowsill until I put them in a paper… Continue reading