Photo of the Day
A random photo of my mules, friends, travels and the life my wife Julia and I live in the mountains of western North Carolina – posted every few days.
Photo of the Day – Mule Days at Leatherwood 2024
Mule Days at Leatherwood is this week, May 4 - 9. It's free, open to the public and might just amuse the hell out of you. Catch the parade and mule show this Saturday and Sunday. The address is: 512 Meadow Rd, Ferguson, NC 28624
Photo of the Day – Legging up Mules Brick and Cracker
My mules Brick, Cracker, and I plan to head out on a short mule ramble in a few weeks, so that means we're all getting in shape. In this photo, Brick (L) and Cracker are catching their breaths at the top of the mountain behind our house. This photo was taken during one of our recent training rides. Brick is carrying the riding saddle, and Cracker is wearing the pack saddle, which is loaded up with some of the gear… Continue reading
Photo of the Day – Swarm Scout Bee
One of the first scout bees to investigate the swarm boxes I set out to catch a swarm of wild bees. I gave each of the 4 swarm boxes I hung in trees a name. This is Wisteria. I hope the scout bee will guide the rest of the swarm to this bait hive some time this week.
Photo of the Day – Mule Wagon on the Beach
A few years ago, my friends Ronald Hudson and Kenny Tyndall and I drove our mules from Raeford, North Carolina, to Sunset Beach, on the coast. When we got there, we took the mules for a spin on the beach only to find out that equines weren't allowed on the beach. By then, it was too late, and we'd already driven our teams a few miles along the ocean. Law enforcement finally showed up and escorted us off, but only… Continue reading
Photo of the Day – Walking Through Wyoming With Mule Brick
Brick is one of the two mules I traveled with from North Carolina to Idaho. The other is Cracker (hidden behind Brick in this photo). Here, carrying our gear across a wide open plain outside Pinedale, Wyoming.
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Photo of the Day – Blue Bottles for Melinda Penkava-Smith
This weekend I officiated the memorial service for my dear friend Melinda Penkava. She was an NPR host for Talk of the Nation (among many other NPR gigs), an amazing gardner, and co-founder with her husband Keith Smith of TownDock.net. I had the incredible fortune of working with Melinda where she became my mentor on interviewing people and all things garlic. One of her many claims to fame was the Blue Bottle Garden, from which we borrowed a few bottles… Continue reading
Photo of the Day – Spring Has Arrived
Spring finally showed up in western North Carolina. Here, our rescue border collie Diggity is checking out a crocus under the chestnut tree out behind our cabin.
Photo of the Day – Pavement Ends
A few years back, mule Polly and I spent over a year traveling by wagon from Canada to Mexico. I filmed the voyage which became the award-winning docuemntary "The Lost Sea Expedition" (Rocky Mountain PBS / Amazon). We followed mostly back roads like this one that turned to grave on the other side of the sign. (Crow Flats, Texas)
For more on mule Polly’s voyage from Canada to Mexico, check out LostSeaExpedition.com and stream “The Lost Sea Expedition” on Amazon.
Photo of the Day – On Corner of South and Vandermere
My mule Polly and I recently visited Oriental, North Carolina, to be a part of the village's 150th birthday parade. Here mule Polly is taking a post-parade to fill up on clover alongside a village street.
Photo-of-the-Day-Mosaic
This is a mosaic of past and future Photos of the Day. I posted this to give you a sense of what these photos look like when viewed together as a group. The Photo of the Day started as an experiment to see what a bunch of pictures posted over time looked like when viewed as a whole. I'm not sure I see a pattern, but who cares? I'm having fun with it.
