@NickG I believe that squirrels meet the scientific requirements for inclusion in the order Rodentia, but science only goes so far if you are a cat, and Basil, our Chief Rodent Control Officer, made the decision to include them in that order (i.e. on the dinner menu) some time ago. Not, of course, that that does anything for the birds, because he put them on the menu from Day One.

@NickG Does not need to pull much, as any little bit helps. Moderate speed and stamina are good traits. But then what do I know, I am only a dog....

Neptune Declaration on Seafarer Wellbeing I have an interest in "boats". This bit about the Neptune Declaration caught my eye: Covid-19 has impacted the daily lives and wellbeing of seafarers in unprecedented ways, causing a humanitarian crisis at sea. Hundreds of thousands of seafarers have been stranded working aboard ships beyond the expiry of their contracts. As the frontline workers of the maritime industry carrying 90% of global trade, seafarers play a vital role in ensuring the global flow of goods that the world depends on. Recognizing that they have a shared responsibility to resolve the crew change crisis, more than 300 companies and organizations have signed the Neptune Declaration on Seafarer Wellbeing and Crew Change. The Neptune Declaration urges the implementation of four main actions to address the crisis: Recognize seafarers as key workers and give them priority access to Covid-19 vaccines Establish and implement gold standard health protocols based on existing best practice Increase collaboration between ship operators and charterers to facilitate crew changes Ensure air connectivity between key maritime hubs for seafarers Full Neptune Declaration on Seafarer Wellbeing and Crew Change text. Having spent some months at sea this resonated. Covid has horked up our land lubber' lives but imagine if that 10-12 week contract morhped into a year w/o shore leave? Yikes!! Crazy, I'd be!

@zBrown The rockin’ chair is a reality for me, it is the only furniture that doesn’t cause back pain from my worn out vertebrae. I have never heard that version of Richard singing Rockin’ Chair. You can tell the vast quantities of Grand Marnier he consumed had taken its toll. That version was recorded 2 years prior to his death in 1986. He was consuming 8-9 bottles day before the Last Waltz (1976). I know we posted a lot of music on ST and a lot waseasily forgotten if it wasn’t something that stuck in yer crawl, but both the Band’s & Tom Waits’ Rockin’ Chair were two I repeatedly posted. I never tire of either artists, so here is another repeat: The Band ≈ Get Up Jake https://youtu.be/IDgu6iE4od0

Time for more good food. It was Mari's turn to cook today, and she came up with a great dinner. Cauliflower soup with Asian pear relish and seared tuna with a garlic/shallot/caper/cilantro sauce. All made from scratch. Simple and delicious.

Going back to wolves (that is wolves, not coyotes or foxes), here's a story to shrivel your scrotum... It isn't mine. It came from my late friend Wayne Merry (who some of you may remember as Fossil Climber on ST), and it wasn't really his either, but it's a story he passed on to me several years ago. A friend of his was out for an easy day of skiing on Atlin Lake -- just a flat tour out across the lake, around an island, and back home... Until, as he was skiing around the far end of the island, a pack of twelve wolves came out of the island's trees and straight for him. Can you imagine that? Just you and twelve starving wolves in the middle of the sub-arctic winter? But they just trucked on by, paying him no attention. So, no problem, other than to change his underwear once he reached home.

Single digits f yesterday with gale force winds. Nasty. had to put the battery in my mouth to get this shot comming out of the cave... Too cold for Isa to climb so I had to revert to winter hiking...

@Alfalfa Thank ye', thank ye'. Appreciated. Forking this discussion off from the Duputren's Foundation plug...errrmm.... "Announcement". Seventeen days post op. Long rows to hoe on the rehab yet. Maybe I'll post up some pics. Maybe not. Have a groovy day, eh?

@NickG said in LIVING IN "INTERESTING TIMES!": I just hope that someday soon it all calms down enough that we can feel safe road tripping.. Of course Isa had to go a get a Dawg this weekend so life will dramatically change for us as far as freedom is concerned.... tl;dr inclined?? How to Be Your Dog's Best Friend (Monks of New Skete Method) Full book at Good Reads: How to Be Your Dog's Best Friend: A Training Manual for Dog Owners A copy of the 1st edition was sent home by the breeder of my first Siberian Husky. Good stuff. Don't believe the hater reviews from the anti-discipline crowd. Just use those techniques with restraint and clear objective in end results. When used correctly, such instances should be few and far in between. Toby recommended.

@Alfalfa My sentiments, too. There is zero question that he was one of the best climbers of his time. Then he did something that upset pretty much the whole alpine climbing world. And when he was called out for it, he doubled down. Can -- or even should -- you and I judge him? I think the best judgement came when Hayden and Jason freed that entire route, chopped the bolts, but chose to leave the compressor. Nuff said.

Its going to be a tough road ahead but it feels like at least now we have a chance.

Oh - that picture was in the wash behind a campspot I had. It was 20 feet deep in some spots, and though chossy in a lot of spots, definitely a bit of highball potential. There are a lot of Rick formations in that area too, but I don't think you can get close without "some effort." No car-bumper belaying there....

I never knew Dave, & it appears my life is poorer for that. From his bio link: "the pure form, the warrior climber, the hermit genius of algorithmic life, the twinkle eyed master of rock. A separate reality, indeed."

@Tobia Love that foto of the Pioneer I think I have seen you twice now You got some hands there son

I can empathize with the trials and tribulations of providing/managing a community space. It's a gas!! Woot!! Kudos that they appear to be taking the high road, preserving content, etc.

Found it. the perfect chainsaw pack for the perfect trail work saw. 30 something yr old dana designs in the back of Isa's closet. Brand new 40cc echo. super light, reasonably priced and enough umph to get it done.

sunset on the lake.

Darn: To finish up a horrid year, I missed an EBay Buy It Now! auction for one of those rare plastic Chouinard key-biners. I noticed it after it sold for $19.95 & contacted the seller to see if he had more. He did not.

Old Forester 86 Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whisky @Clark Well, I'd never sampled this one but was recently gifted a bottle. Decent, fer' sure, fer' sure but I must be spoiled by their Statesman and 1920 Prohibition offerings. Worth the extra dollars to me. My $0.02 On a related note... I'd never noticed before that Old Forester breaks with tradition and uses the Whisky, sans "E", spelling. Which would otherwise be taken to mean it was Scotch or Canadian. Hmm.... Must be a story there.... And on yet another related note... The astute may have noticed that Clyde Mays has labeled their whiskey "Bourbon" even though it's produced in Alabama. I'd always been told that such were fightin' words for Kentuckians. Jack Daniels, for example, is labeled "Tennessee Sour Mash Whiskey". The take home being that Bourbon can be make anywhere, but only labeled Bourbon if from Kentucky. I was not all that educated about the subject but was guessing the surging popularity of Bourbon post 2008 great depression's inflationary effect on the price of single malt scotch has everyone wanting to get into the game. And I guess they have no problem "breaking the rules" and calling their products bourbon. Got to leverage that marketing buzz, after all. Inquiring minds are curious. Fast forward to modern times so I hit the 'Net. Schnay, schnay, schnay, I say! Seems it's only the rule for folks from Kentucky. The Beverage Alcohol Manual pontificates thusly in Chapter 4: "Whisky produced in the U.S. at not exceeding 80 percent alcohol by volume (160 proof) from a fermented mash of not less than 51 percent corn and stored at not more than 62.5 percent alcohol by volume (125 proof) in charred new oak containers." No mention of being limited to Kentucky. Note that the BAM also uses the "Whisky" spelling when talking about all whiskies. Ignorance or?? In any case, since this stuff goes way, way back and Old Forester was (I think) the only distillery allowed to produce during prohibition era, that compliance with gov'mint regulations may explain their use of the Whisky spelling. So, geronimo! There ya' go! Big medicine!

@Heyzeus I didn't get the impression he spends much time there since it got taken over by hate politics. His email address can be found in the blogger link above. If he replies, which he did to mine promptly, his cell number is in his signature. Chewed the fat for a good hour recently and have tentative plans to visit next time we're in WA. Like more than a few dirtbags from back in the day, he's put off by what climbing has become modern times and taken up new modes of enjoying the great outdoors: Ski skating, which he opined involves a lot of "wiggling your butt" and a great cardio and core workout. Seems to be doing well - but also values his privacy so I won't go on too much more here. Edit: Or is is skate skiing? Never been a skier. I know. Sad. OTOH, both my knees are still doing pretty well as well....