Yurt raising

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Popped over to a yurt (ger) raising Tuesday. White Mountain Yurts were putting up a 24 footer not too far from work, so I did a quick lunchtime run.

The site is well back in the wood – maybe 800 feet from the pavement. There’s a trail leading back; you can get a pickup truck in, but I don’t think there’s going to be an eight car garage going up anytime soon (thumbs up).

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Lattice wall, cable (transfers the roof load to the walls and keeps the roof/wall interface compressed – traditionally done by a woven band), crown/roof wheel and in the lower photo the roof wheel filler.

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Lots of progress in the short time I was there.

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And a picture of the finished product (via White Mountain Yurts’ FB page).


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One possible plan I’m turning over in my mind for a few years down the road – big platform/deck with a bathhouse/kitchen/greenhouse hanging off one side and a yurt next to it as living space – maybe up (down) in Hancock or Washington counties (Maine).

Frogger’s BBQ 2010 edition

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It was last weekend and it was great. A few pictures:

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My BBQ flickrset is here and some other photos are here.

Also making an appearance was an ordnance-grade veggie – the ghost pepper.  Small pieces were eaten by brave souls, but I did not sample. I enjoy hot food, but any pepper that causes your eyes to start to tear from two feet away will have to wait (a long time). Apparently, once you get past the initial shock, you get a pretty good endorphin rush.

Giant Terror Birds Used Stabbing Beaks to Kill Prey

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Giant Terror Birds Used Stabbing Beaks to Kill Prey | Wired Science | Wired.com.

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“It would have used a repeated, rapid strike – a downward strike, using the neck muscles to drive that big spike on the beak into the prey and then pull back and rip,” explained Dr Wroe.

“It was really badly adapted for grabbing an object and shaking it.”

via BBC News – ‘Terror bird’ was prize fighter.

Update – an infographic on Terror Bird (d)evolution:

Via @microecos.

Beautiful custom bike!

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I saw a couple beautiful bicycles at the Portsmouth Farmer’s Market yesterday – sauntered over and struck up a conversation with their riders. Turned out one of the folks I was talking to was the guy who built the frames – Andrew Watson. His bike:

(embiggens maximally)

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The cephalopodelic head badge:

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And something that’s a must-have on my dream bike – the travel flask:

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Absolutely gorgeous craftsmanship.

July photographs

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Just unloaded the camera – here are some pix that may not have justified a post on their own, but taken together are a nice slice of life.

Blueberry picking with my partner in berrycrime at Sturgeon Cove:

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The cove is in the background (and yes, there are sturgeon in the main river – or at least there were 10 years ago).

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My Utricularia humboldtii bloomed! First time!

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Two styles of rabbit dogs. The kind that come from Kearsarge Mountain Teckels:

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And the kind that come from Popper’s Sausage Kitchen:

Rabbit hot dogs … are locally raised New Zealand White and are seasoned with sage, white pepper, garlic and ginger.

Damn good, too.

These are Their Stories

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These are Their Stories.

Each piece is an artist’s interpretation of a one-line episode summary from the DirecTV program guide (full list of titles artists could pick from). Like the series that inspired them, they are sometimes straightforward and sometimes offer a twist; sometimes they contain no easy answers, and sometimes they are just plain goofy.

A Man is Murdered with a Saw


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Radiation Kills a Tormented Scientist

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Death Links to Ultimate Fighting


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