Sailing Back to Horses
I have not always traveled by mule. When I was thirty, I decided that sailing around the world would be more interesting than sticking with my office job. I bought an old boat named Sea Bird and notified my employer that I was going sailing. I had just enough money saved to get going but not enough to make the whole trip without working along the way. I went anyway.
Hoof Boots in the Snow
This week we had our first snow of the season. It wasn’t a blizzard. We only got about five inches of snow. Still, it was fun taking Cracker and Pie for a spin in the white stuff. If you’ve ever wondered how hoof boots work in the snow, I think you’ll find this post interesting.
About Hoof Boots and Me
None of my wife Julia’s or my horses or mules wear steel shoes.… Continue reading
Snow on the Pillows
This morning, Julia and I woke up with snow on our pillows. We sleep with our bedroom window open, year-round, and during the night, the season’s first snowstorm blew in. The boundary between the indoors and the outdoors is thin and that’s the way we like it.
Julia went out to feed the critters before coffee this morning. I took some photos you might enjoy. Yes, we’ll get to the coffee. Enjoy!
“Trash to Triumph” Book Update
A little over two years ago, I finished riding mules Brick and Cracker from North Carolina to Idaho. I am currently working on the third draft of the book. The title of the book is “Trash to Triumph”.
Writing the first draft… Continue reading
In Praise of Salamander Water Part Two: Keeping the Cistern on the Hill
Last week I told you how my wife Julia went to turn on the tap in the kitchen and we didn’t have water. I thought it might have been a salamander plugging up the works. It turned out our cistern was about to topple off the hill.
On Becoming Harriet Bighorn
My wife Julia and I are thinking about our next trip. My way of getting ready for a trip is just leaving. Julia makes lists. One of the things on her list of things to do before heading out is, “Teach Pie and Magneto to pack and remain calm even when the pack saddle flips under their bellies or they see a bull elk or a mountain lion.”
In Praise of Salamander Water: Part 1: The Dry Tap
“There’s no water in the kitchen sink,” my wife Julia told me recently and I knew it was one of two things. Our water comes from a spring behind our cabin. Either a salamander or a crayfish had gotten stuck in the plumbing or the cistern that gathered the spring water was empty.
It’s my birfday and i’m sittin’ in the holler ponderin’ my next move.
Mule Mushroomimg: Hunting “Aeyer Schweumli” from the Saddle
My mom used to point them out to us as kids. We’d be walking through the forest in western North Carolina and she’d point down at an orange mushroom and say, “Lueg. As Aeyer Schweumli”. “Lueg” means “look” in Swiss German, her native language. Aeyer Schweumli is what she used to call chanterelles. *
My brother Christian recalls a… Continue reading
Pony Sunday: How to Exercise Three Mules at Once
Recently, my wife Julia and I exercised our small herd of three mules and one pony all at once. I thought you might enjoy a few photos of how we did it.
Usually, when you think of saddle riding, you think of a person sitting in the saddle riding… Continue reading