Buddhism & Stoicism
Buddhism and stoicism seem to both lead to the same place. The realization that you can rise above your thoughts.
Crisp October Air
October brings crisp and clear skies on a late morning walk yesterday. It is the right sort of day to look up and not ruminate on your own problems.
The Greenhouse Fan Project
During the summer, the greenhouse can reach temperatures of over 130 degrees. It has a temperature sensitive armature to open the upper window, but I needed more.
I purchased an 8” temperature …
The Compost Bin Project
Though we use a composting service for our kitchen waste, there were many missed opportunities for yard waste. I had found a few designs online which all effectively contain a pile made on the soil. …
The AC Cover Project
Added a cover for the AC unit to both shade it and not have to see it from the backyard. I made the panels all removable with four screws and even added some handles to make moving easier for …
The Kitchen Drawer Organizer Project
There is a shallow drawer under the stovetop on the kitchen island. We had tried to find some organizers for the drawer, but could never get the right size. I decided to custom build some dividers …
The Greenhouse Electrical Project
After the Greenhouse Services Project, I wanted to add a plug inside of the greenhouse itself to support a future fan in the summer and a heater in the winter.
The extension cord feeds into the …
Yard Squirrel
What an athlete!
Spider Webs
Spiders are always hard at work, but sometimes the morning dew really highlights their work.
The Backyard Grading Project
One problem with my backyard was a rather large patch of grass that did not grow so well. This was mainly due to it having been flagstone prior to being seeded with new grass. The problem is there …
The Greenhouse Organizer Project
Several tools have accumulated in the greenhouse, so I decided to add a few boards for organizing them. On the right are larger tension holders for shovels and rakes. On the left are hooks to hold …
Smoker Upgrade
Made what seems like a minor upgrade to my smoker. Adding handles is helpful but the real game changer has been this notch to allow the temperature gauges through. This makes it much easier to setup …
The Concrete over Chipmunks Project
I have had several years of problems with chipmunks burrowing under the concrete. I generally have no problems with chipmunks, but I’ve asked them not to burrow next to the foundation. They did …
The Bird Tree Project
We had a hawthorn tree that was near the patio and had not been doing well over the past several years. The tree also had a knack for oozing all over our stuff. This summer it had attracted a huge …
The Double the Garden Project Part 2
Getting the garden plots assembled and filled with dirt was only half of the work. The remaining work was to build some garden fencing, lay out some steps throughout the garden to make it easy to …
Managing Up by Melody Wilding
This was a quick read I picked up because I felt I might be weak in this area. I like the way the book is divided up into conversations based on purpose. It is a nice reference and I can see myself …
The Side Yard Project
We had some landscape redo done on the front half of the house and with it new plants were installed on the side of the house. Unfortunately, the rabbits ate them all down within a week. We needed to …
Tinkers by Paul Harding
Though a small book, Tinkers feels weighted with language. The story is well done, but I consider this a very gloomy book given the health issues one of the characters has and how it affects his …
Be Ready When the Luck Happens by Ina Garten
I adore Ina, as most do. She’s the sort of person you want to hang out, tell stories, cook together, and just be around. Though I am not much of an audio book person, we took a long trip to the Upper …
The Greenhouse Services Project
With six gardens in service, it’s a lot of time to unfurl the hose from the garage through the gate and water the gardens a few times a week. Additionally, the greenhouse could really use electricity …