Michael Perry's Blog, page 392

The Logsplitter Shot

This photo proved to be pretty popular.  Nice one, Mills.

Rain, finally.  Not enough for the long term but plenty to give things a boost.

Gonna move the chickens to the new coop.  Then see what kind of a grade it will take without tipping over…

Also today, headed for the New Auburn Area Fire Department chicken barbecue.  Definitely a Top Five social event of the year.

Yer One of Us…

Sending this out to my friend Jay Moore at Moose Country radio, where the tagline is: "If you've ever [insert goofy jackpine knuckleheaded behavior here:] … yer one of us."

Background, Part 1: For the past three years I busted up all of our firewood (and sometimes not enough of it) with a simple splitting maul.  I like splitting wood.  Good for my body, good for my head.  However, we burn a bunch of it and I was getting behind.  I saw a hydraulic splitter on sale.  I made the move.

Background, ...

Chicken on Wheels

Once upon a time I wrote a book about (among other things) building a chicken coop:

Now we have a new project in the works…

The Three-Year-Old Votes with Her Feet

And what's got her going is Tab Benoit, "Somebody's Got To Go," off Power of the Pontchartrain.

"You play the piano*, Daddy, I'll dance!"

*Air piano.  Don't tell her.

Gatemouth in the Morning

Moved the chicken panels while the sun was still on the rise.  The neighbor is up too – a stratified skein of smoke hangs over the valley below (these days turn out warm but but the mornings benefit from a wood-fired boost).  At the keyboard now, with Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown's Back to Bogalusa on the CD machine.  Mister Brown is the "Gatemouth" in the subtitle of Off Main Street, as it includes a profile I wrote on the man.  I was due to interview him on September 14, 2001.  Got him on...

Cool Spring

The sun has been bright, the air cool.  The leaves are showing, but tentative.  Popple trees leading the way.  Sunday morning I was wishing the temperature would match the sun, then checked the calendar and re-calibrated my attitude accordingly.

Signing Line Solution

I once heard a very famous author (I believe it was Neil Gaiman) say that he dealt with a disorganized throng of signature-seekers by asking them to line up in order of IQ — lowest to the front, highest to the rear.  He said that settled things pretty quickly.

A Piece of Truck

Over there in Door County the Peninsula Pulse (yep, Wisconsin has a peninsula) has excerpted Truck for part of their Sustainability Issue.  It's the section about tossing busted washing machines out the back door.  You can read it here.

A related video here.

2010 Plymouth Reads

Headed for Plymouth, Minnesota, on Monday.

Made it to Michigan

Just finished speaking in the chapel at Calvin College.  Such a generous crowd.  I was a tad nervous, since I was speaking in a chapel about agnosticism.  But what a rich hour.  Blessed to be in there.  I so cherish spots of thoughtfulness amidst the turmoil, and this was one of'em.

Speaking of turmoil, there was the fact that the flight from Minneapolis to Grand Rapids was delayed while they put us on three different planes (yep, three) before they found one that they liked well enough to...