A few weeks ago, we received our federal tax return, and with the First Time Homebuyer tax credit, we got quite a hefty sum. The bulk of that money is going right back into the property with a few home improvement projects. But we took a small chunk and set it aside to complete the entertainment system. So I went ahead and bought a receiver and a set of speakers. What a difference it makes. I’m not new to the 5.1 surround scene. In college, I had a shelf stereo system that was actually an all-in-one theater system: a 3…
Winter has made a comeback here on the Palouse. After several weeks of warm weather into the 50’s, the temperatures have cooled down, but the precipitation remains. The snow began Monday night, giving us only an inch or two, not much to worry about. But the snow continued throughout Tuesday dropping another two inches on Moscow. However, for every inch of snow that Moscow gets, Deary gets 2-3 times that, and so we had about 6 inches on our driveway when I got home Tuesday night. I got to use our new snow blower for the first time to clear…
Out of nowhere, our dog population has increased four fold. Here’s the back story. Several weeks ago, I came home to find two extra dogs at the house. They were two German Shepherds, a male and a female, that Erin had decided to watch for a friend while she got on her feet and found a place to live with her dogs. Four big dogs in our tiny house is a bit much, and it didn’t help that the two we were watching were very active. Lana, the female, is a very nervous dog, especially around men, and she…
When life prevents you from going out and adventuring, you make your own adventures at home. My latest adventure is making sourdough. Now, I could go out and obtain or buy a starter from a local bakery, but what’s the fun of that? It’s so easy to start my own from scratch, and now I have one that I can truly call my own. My guide for making the starter and baking my first batch of bread comes from King Arthur Flour’s Sourdough Baking Guide. This all started about 3 weeks ago. I had some whole wheat flour sitting around…
A garden update from the last post: I’m happy to announce that the lettuce that the chickens ate down to the soil is growing back quite nicely and will be ready for consumption within a few days. And now on to the main post: Elk River hosts an annual Independence Day celebration they call “Fireworks in the Mountains,” but they don’t necessarily hold it on the 4th of July, but on the weekend before or after if the 4th happens to be mid-week. The event attracts a lot of people and the general store stays open late to sell its…
We got alerts that a solar flare could cause an aurora that would be visible into the middle states. So, last night, I checked the sky and luckily it was clear to the north. I saw a faint glow on the horizon and set up the camera. Sure enough, there was an aurora. The excitement didn’t last too long. I wanted to view this one from Steptoe Butte, one of the best places around for viewing auroral activity. So, we got in the car and started driving west. Unfortunately, the sky was overcast over much of the Palouse, and by…