Bubbling in the Shade When I bought this house on the hilltop it was January of 2012. I saw it on Christmas morning, 2011 from astride my motorcycle (only from the bottom of the driveway since I was sheepish of interrupting the seller’s holiday), went to contract on December 28th, finally had my sister the architect do a walk-through with a phone video camera and closed on the sale on January 30th, my 58th birthday.…
The Eagle Has Landed Birds are a big part of our life here on the hilltop. We have had a whole quail episode up here on Quail View Drive and the quail were quickly adopted by Kim via large bags of quail food from the local feed store. We were aware that bunnies and squirrels also like the quail food, but we figured that so long as the diners list did not expand to rats,…
Becalmed In a seafaring sense, being becalmed is a bad thing. Remaining motionless due to a lack of wind is something every sailor dreads since it leaves him at the mercy of the currents and tides with no ability to set his course and make progress. In retirement the objective (at least for me) is to adjust to a state of being becalmed and liking it. Even if we are not working at all, we…
Wildfire on the 15 Right now I am sitting on my renewed deck enjoying a sunny and clear, but coolish Sunday morning. To the Northwest I look between the canyons and can see a sliver of the Rt. 15 and Old Rt. 395. Across the 15 is a ridge line of hills just a few hundred feet lower than our hill. The ridge line is called the Merrimacport Mountains, which seems a bit more grand…
The Goodbye Gang Goodbyes have been the subject of many stories, movies, plays and songs, and probably even operas (if I actually knew anything about opera), for many years. All of life is about meeting and leaving, along with all the complexity of life that goes on in between. Meetings and goodbyes come in lots of different varieties. First you’re alone and then you are with someone. That’s the essence of a meet. I always…
The Ranch Life Today was our last day at Red River Ranch. We will all roll out of here literally heading off to all the compass points some time tomorrow morning. Some may leave before breakfast if they are trying to get home in one day. That would be Mark & Jeanne, who are heading due south 557 miles to Phoenix. That’s a long day on a bike, but at least it’s a Harley dresser.…
Burning Up the Burr Trail Yesterday, riding buddy Steve had a head of steam to do the Burr Trail from Boulder down to Bullfrog Landing on Lake Powell. Actually, Bullfrog Landing USED to be on Lake Powell and now its on some small broadening of the Colorado River in Glen Canyon that used to be Lake Powell. Lake Powell was formed in 1972 by the Federal government deciding that they needed to dam the Colorado…
Open Range As you all know, I chose to call my blog The Old Lone Ranger when I launched it in 2019. The reference is not so hard to figure out. Most men of my age probably watched a lot of TV cowboys, and few titillated us more than The Lone Ranger. There was both an air of mystery about him and a strong sense of righteousness. He was open-minded enough to have a Native…
The Gang’s Almost All Here This is our first real gathering since COVID. Twenty-three of us on a motorcycle ride in Southern Utah have come together for five nights in a classic Western Lodge set on a lazy river with Cottonwood trees and a large pasture in front with a small herd of American Bison. This lodge has fifteen rooms, a large three-story Great Room and a good-sized dining room with an old model railroad…
A Trip Through the Cathedral Zion. It is a word and a concept all at once. As a word it can mean Cathedral or Temple, but then again, also desert or river. Like the term Ithaca to the Greeks of Homer, Zion can mean the holy City of David to the Israelites. To me, Zion will always be the holiest of places where God, as I know him, shows himself in the canyons of Southern…