Do you have a favorite place you have visited? Where is it?
“Houseplants gone wild”.
“Aromatic flowers… and TS-PN looking at each other every morning and saying…. good morning love… we’re in Hawaii”.
“Use the Lonely Planet guidebook”. It’s possible to get off the beaten tract.
“Biodiesel is a thing on the islands, with its sugar cane production”.
“Cats. Feral chickens”.
“Does it snow on the islands? Well yes… See that sugar refinery over there? And the ash it’s spitting out? See those white bits floating around and down? There. Snow… … … …” She was a fucking weird tour guide at that tawdry plantation.
“Spam wasubi…. burgers on rice w/ soy sauce… fresh tuna pokai… Those fucking insane donuts… liquid cane sugar as the preferred sweetener… coffee micro-plantations.” Hawaiians have their own way of making fast food.
“The archipelago sits on a boiling roiling fountain of lava”. Dudes, get your fucking geothermal power generation going for fucks’ sakes!
I enjoy this one state. It’s the United States, yes. And it can shrug off that description off with ease. It’s an island nation can be somewhat self-sufficient (assuming they don’t alienate their western neighbours). In rural Hawaii, there’s an “us versus THE TOURISTS” vibe and yep — 2 different prices! Locals pay $x.xx and foreigners-tourists pay $xx.xx + y. It’s unfair and that’s how the state-country likes it. Despite the economics, Hawaiians are savvy enough to welcome visitors — enough. Don’t rent SCUBA equipment in Hawaii (heavy use & lax attitude [worth bringing ones own kit]). I wouldn’t want to live there — me being on the North Bruce Peninsula with its closed highways and snowdrifts is plenty isolating. I’m enjoying enjoying the solitude.
headaches around the rock farm, thursday january 22, 2026.
The good developments: while TS cleared safe passages around the home’s perimeter, I cleared the driveway, entrance, mailbox access, and most of the parking spaces.
What went ass-over-teakettle:
- Unfortunately, a pool of icy slush… turned ice developed under all four wheels of our Toyota TACO SNOWKAT.
- I tired using a tow strap and a hand-lever winch to drag SNOWKAT’s butt out of the ruts.
- The trailer hitch anchor point (safety chain eyelets) weren’t strong enough and I bent it out of whack. I don’t have bail-out hardware installed on the back of the truck. No, trailer hitches do NOT count. Tacomas have a single bail-out hook at the front — it’s pointing the wrong way for us!
- We tried wedging scrap plywood under the wheels. No can do, and pu the scrap back in the Shelterlogic.
- The sand that I had put aside had frozen into 50-lb solid blocks of woe.
- We’ve called for a tow truck to pull it out of the ruts. CAA’s giving priority to souls stranded on highways, municipal roads, and away from people’s homes. That’s fair. If we can’t get a CAA-contractor, we’ll pay the premium and call a private recovery truck!
- TOMORROW MORNING = (i) use a truck jack to raise each wheel up; (ii) raise it high enough so that the tire clears the ice; (iii) put scrap plywood under wheel; (iv) lower wheel; and, (v) repeat for the other 3 wheels. (vi) Give ‘er, with bystanders AWAY FROM THE DANGER ZONES! Will it give us the traction we need to get out of the ruts? STAY TUNED…
Planned OSFM town trip: We have a Princess Auto in Owen Sound. Here’s what I’m going to buy: (a) bail out traction boards; (b) hardware that fits on the Tacoma’s frame for bail out = rear of the truck AND front of the truck {{{{I’ll check first about compatibility}}}; (c) additional non-kinetic tow straps; (d) sand-salt tote… thick plastic that can resist cracking… waterproof so it can be set up in the summer, not get water-logged, and then freezing into a block during the cold months; (e) more traffic reflectors to put on nearby trees; and (f) a proper truck I-beam farm jack.
PN needs a one-sy. A bunny suit. Snow pants. Insulated overalls that can repel sticky snow.
Good stuff: TS is prototyping some new pet treats in the kitchen. We need to keep an eye on the system’s energy supply. We have enough dinosaur bones (propane) to keep us going. Prototype treats to be tested out with fellow vendor’s beasts first.
Good stuff: My tweaking table in the study’s being assembled. What broken electronic trinkets shall I take apart???? Hmmm.
BCB&B, neemtree, bdb, and blog 