I started this blog on August 21, 2012, with the release of my first book, Titan Encounter. Most of those posts are now in what I call the “Early Blog.” I’m gradually updating their format and bringing them into this new journal. Back then the sole purpose of the blog was to promote my books, but gradually that changed.
That’s how it started but, over the years, I’ve mused about other things that are important to me, such as my family, my farm, rural life, and occasionally about politics and country. However, I try to limit the politics in this journal. If you want to know more about my political leaning go to The Conservative Alternative.
Toilet paper is in short supply.
I write post-apocalyptic novels so, sure, I stock up on food and other supplies. But that’s not the only reason. On the farm where I live with my wife, there are times we can’t get to a store. I mean that literally. There have been floods and snowstorms that have kept us from traveling. Also, we occasionally lose power.
Read MoreEvery year we lose a few hens to illness, hawks, or raccoons and need replacements. In years past we had a rooster named Colonel and he took care of that for me. I slept right through Colonel’s predawn crowing, but it drove my wife to distraction. One day she told me that the rooster had disappeared. Yeah, sure, Colonel just decided to move. I think she had him killed.
Read MoreI put on a new chain on the saw, filled the gas and oil tanks, and went to tackle a large pile of logs and limbs in the backyard. My tendency to procrastinate had allowed the pile to grow all summer, but my son James had offered to help and this needed to be done.
Read MoreThere is a saying that people in the northwest don’t tan—they rust.
The coastal region of Washington is well known for ample precipitation. However, most of the rain falls in late autumn and winter. By the time the crops, garden, and orchard are really growing in the late spring and summer the rains have faded to a trickle. That means we irrigate and water.
Read MoreSpring is bee time on the farm.
We prefer driving to the delivery site in the farm truck. We can put the bee boxes on the truck bed and drive home, but because today was so inclement we took the car for the forty-minute drive. Have you ever driven with ten thousand bees in your car? Our bees were inside two boxes, but it was still an experience. Some always find a way out.
Read MoreWe had a week of cold and snow on the farm.
The weather made for some beautiful pictures, which you can see on the Facebook page, but it got very cold. On a mild day this week, my wife came in from outside and said, “There’s no activity in the apiary.”
This Thursday, August 11th, I’ll be on the Prepping for Tomorrow podcast with bestselling author Bobby Akart.
Bobby is a five-time Amazon Top 50 author of seven number one bestsellers in both fiction (Blackout Series and Boston Brahmin Series) and non-fiction (Prepping for Tomorrow Series) genres.
Read MoreIn a recent blogpost titled, Excited for Friends, I described how my friend Debby Lee contracted through her agent Tamela Hancock Murray of the Steve Laube Agency to write a 20,000 novella for a Barbour Publishing anthology. Barbour needed more writers for the project so Debby suggested our mutual friend Barbara Blakey…
Read MoreThe greening of the farm-inspired me.
As many of you know, I live on a small farm and spring is always a very special time. After a cold and wet (Pacific Northwest) winter, it is time to get outside and repair fences, gates, and the broken hen house door.
Read MoreThe honey harvest this year was very good.
We have only two hives on our small farm, but even so, the harvest takes nearly all day. After breakfast, we set up the equipment, including our honey extractor (basically an antique hand-crank centrifuge), stainless steel buckets, a couple of food-grade plastic pails, strainers, and assorted tools.
Read MoreThe editor of Backdoor Survival compares A Time to Endure to the bestseller Patriots.
It amazes me how often events in life come in pairs. A few days ago I discovered that New York Times best-selling author, and the editor of SurvivalBlog, James Wesley Rawles recommended my novel, Through Many Fires.
Read MoreJames Wesley Rawles recommends my book!
I regularly visit SurvivalBlog, but somehow I missed it. For many years SurvivalBlog was the top site among preppers. While the blog has fallen to fourth place in the rankings recently, the editor, James Wesley Rawles, remains the best-known writer in the prepping field. He is also the New York Times best-selling author of the Patriots Novels.
Read MoreBackdoor Survival is a top-ranked survival and preparedness website that I have visited many times. The editor, Gaye Levy, recently interviewed me and reviewed my latest book, A Time to Endure.
The site provides lifestyle tools, tips, and resources to guide readers through the economic, political, and environmental challenges we all face. Because of my own interest in survival and prepping, I was glad to be part of their recent book festival.
Read MoreSpring is a busy time for the beekeeper.
I only had one bee colony that survived the winter and I have been feeding them a sugar-water syrup for a few weeks. Thursday night my new colony of bees arrived.
Read MoreSpringtime brings extra chores for those living on a farm.
Normally, I keep two bee colonies, but only one survived the winter. On a warm day earlier this month, I opened the remaining hive to check on the colony. I try to find the queen…
Read MoreSpring is a busy time for bees and beekeepers.
For most of the country, this winter has been snowy and cold, but in western Washington state, the weather has been mild. As a beekeeper, this is both a blessing and a problem.
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