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 … Read more

I put up four swarm traps this week in the hope of catching a swarm of wild bees. Of the four traps I put out – Walnut, Oak, Wisteria and Willow – which one do you think will catch the first swarm of bees? How to Catch a Swarm of Bees Last year, I built … Read more

This week, I had a great chat with Atlas Obscura co-founder Dylan Thuras about what it’s like to be stuck in the Doldrums. When I say the Doldrums, I don’t mean depression, a funk or a case of the mid-winter blues. I’m talking about the capital D Doldrums, the windless stretch of the Atlantic Ocean … Read more

My wife Julia recently became the first Trust Technique practitioner certified to work with horses on the East Coast. That’s a big deal and I’m so proud of Julia, especially since she’s already such an accomplished horsewoman. A Half a Century With Horses Julia and I grew up with horses, have traveled together with them … Read more

I’m excited to add a new feature to RiverEarth.com. It’s called Photo of the Day and features a semi-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 to the home page. I say a semi-random photo … Read more

It’s an exciting time for my new book Two Mules to Triumph. Word is getting out, buzz is picking up and seven podcasts have invited me onto their shows to talk about the book. There are big ones, like Atlas Obscura, Apple’s #1 Travel Podcast. Some are niche, like the Healthy Hoof, the go-to podcast … Read more

19 Million Mule Steps won the WINNIE for the Literary Nonfiction Adventure category Two pieces of exciting news. 1) My new photo book 19 Million Mule Steps was awarded a WINNIE award at the most recent EQUUS Film & Art Fest. 2) You can download a free copy. 19 Million Mule Step contains 103 pages … Read more

What’s the best kind of hoof boot for your horse or mule? My wife Julia and I rode from North Carolina to Virginia and back with three brands of hoof boots. This hoof boot review is what we learned after 32 days on the road. The 3 boots reviewed are Cavallo hoof boots, EasyBoot hoof … Read more

Allan Crawford on one of his horses, Rangi. Many years ago (2001) I was helping Allan Crawford muster cattle on the North Island of New Zealand. The cattle were scattered through a low range of mountains covered in tea tree scrub and crisscrossed by murky creeks. Allan and I split up to circle a mob … Read more

What’s it like to spend three years traveling from France to Spain with two dogs, two horses, a mule, a cat and a chicken? You should ask Adeline Hallot, because that’s exactly what she did. My wife Julia and I visited with Adeline this summer and got her story. This is Part 2 of the … Read more

I’d been riding my mule Cracker and leading my pack mule Brick across Wyoming for days, heading from North Carolina to Idaho, where my wife Julia’s brother Nick and his wife Carolyn live. Some days, I stuck to the gravel roads and went for hours without seeing any cars. Others, I led the mules through … Read more