2018-02-13 20:49
During our recent, very hard freeze–when Nature grudgingly granted us highs in the teens and single-digit lows for several weeks–the main waste line for our barn apartment froze… Read More
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Blog - Ron Tanner's Site For Readers And Writers Blog
ronaldtanner.com/blog
Ron Tanner, a writer in Charm City, blogs about city life in Baltimore and the trials and triumphs of renovating a 113-year-old former frat house.
2018-01-08 15:56
We’ve been hunkered down, waiting out the cold, but not hunkered down as much as our eight barn cats–they’re almost in hibernation mode, piled on top of each other in their… Read More
2017-12-06 04:00
Jill and I are restoring an historic farm. Towards that end, we’ve been looking for a few old sheds to fill out our array of outbuildings. By “old,” I mean a shed about 70… Read More
2017-10-28 16:53
Jill and I have just learned how to can fruits and vegetables. You know, you put lidded, Ball jars into a big pot of boiling water? It was intimidating at first but all you have to worry abo… Read More
2017-09-12 03:50
The craftsman who put the metal roof on our house is so good and so busy, we sat on his waiting list for a year when it came time to re-roof our barn. His work is worth the wait. He’s… Read More
2017-07-30 04:08
I wanted a cool summer but got a wet one instead. So wet that we lost our grapes to black rot and the weeds have rioted. I have so many projects to do, I don’t have time to keep up wit… Read More
2017-06-27 11:45
Let me say flat out that Jill and I know nearly nothing about gardening. Given that we’ve bought a farm and are now obliged to cultivate it, our ignorance should be cause for some conc… Read More
2017-04-29 02:35
Earlier this week, I was working on the third floor of our old farm house, while my plumber was working in the basement. He phoned me and said, “You might want to come down here.&rdquo&hell…Read More
2017-03-27 02:13
When it gets warm–even in the midst of winter–the ladybugs come out. I find them in the windows, crawling up to the sunlight. I didn’t know this but lady bugs hibernate, hu… Read More
2017-01-31 16:01
I say “bout” because dealing with kidney stones is like stepping into the ring with a brutal opponent. If you’ve ever been punched in the kidney (prohibited in boxing) you… Read More
2016-12-07 22:22
It’s deer-mating season. “This time of year, deer do strange things,” my neighbor told me. “A buck that’s been skittish and hard to track all year will suddenly… Read More
2016-08-09 17:28
I got back home this week after a two-month book tour to promote my novel, “Missile Paradise.” It was a DIY tour, meaning I traveled in my camper van, logging 9450 miles. Cleo, m… Read More
2016-07-11 16:51
I camped in a Walmart lot last night in Fort Worth, Texas. At Walmart Supercenters, which are open 24/7, there’s always a security officer patrolling the parking lot. That’s why… Read More
2016-07-03 14:56
I drove south through the San Joaquin Valley on my way out of California. The San Joaquin is America’s garden–more produce comes from this land than from any other. Never mind th… Read More
2016-06-21 21:41
The first thing you’ll notice about America’s far West (i.e., the west coast), is the space–ocean vistas, grand mountain ranges, roads that stretch on and on. The second th… Read More
2016-06-12 16:10
I’m on the road in my camper van to tour my novel, Missile Paradise. Cleo, my aged basset hound is with me. Deaf and mostly blind, she may be too old for a big road trip but I didn&rsq&hell…Read More
2016-06-02 15:06
Jill and I went to the Sheep and Wool Festival recently to look over the sheep we might get for our farm next year. We were surprised to find so many people there. Apparently, the Sheep and… Read More
2016-05-21 18:10
Our bees arrived this week. Two colonies of them from Georgia. Jill took a bee-keeping class recently and scored a huge load of bee-keeping equipment at an auction, so we were ready to go. T… Read More
2016-04-07 03:29
A couple weeks ago, Peaches — our sweet orange tabby — went missing. She was the friendliest of our barn carts, always nearby, always first to greet us, always curious and follow… Read More
2016-03-04 11:07
Shopping in Trader Joe’s yesterday, I left my cart to fetch some bananas. When I returned, my cart was gone. Had I somehow gotten confused? Maybe forgotten where I’d left it? I… Read More
2016-02-19 20:52
Last night, when I heard the 3-legged fox raise its banshee cry from the back of our property, I woke our big dog, then ran outside, the dog eagerly following. It’s still winter, still… Read More
2016-01-26 02:56
Walking out to fetch the tractor
It took me 7 hours to dig out with our tractor yesterday. Without the tractor, we wouldn’t have reached the street for a week or more. The good thing a… Read More
2016-01-11 21:22
Smoky
We didn’t exactly celebrate Christmas this year because we’re hunkered down with work on our farm. That meant no tree, no decorations. Jill didn’t even get her gifts… Read More
2015-12-11 16:08
Jill and I were making dinner last night when we were startled by screaming from our western field. Neither of us had heard anything like it. It was so high pitched and piercing, I was convi… Read More
2015-10-29 01:41
Here’s a schadenfreude buffet about our latest farm adventures:
1) We’ve been without water for five days so far. Our well pump broke on Saturday. The pump was only two months ol… Read More
2015-10-02 01:09
I startled Jill from sleep last night when my ice-cold elbow touched her back as I came to bed. Ice cold because I have to soak my elbows in ice water several times a day to keep the inflamm… Read More
2015-09-24 01:51
Everything we own in one place
It’s been a tough second week, I will not lie. Jill and I have been weeding, digging, raking, mowing and mowing. It’s one thing to let a farm go &l&hell…Read More
2015-09-10 13:11
Good Contrivance Farm, circa 1960
If a fortuneteller had waved a hand over her crystal ball–let’s say 10 years ago or even 3–and told me that I’d be living on a farm… Read More
2006-06-07 11:16
Our cat, Frankie, loves our bulldog, Sadie. I’m not sure when we noticed it but, soon after we brought Sadie home from the rescue shelter, Frankie strode up to her, put his head to her… Read More
2006-06-07 11:16
I was twenty when I first read the Tin Tin comic strip. I found it in a small shop that specialized in magazines and newspapers. These shops are rare nowadays, but back then most cities had… Read More
2006-06-07 11:16
A couple of months ago, we decided that a mouse was getting into Jill’s car in our garage. The mouse had shredded a plastic grocery bag — for nesting, we assumed — that was… Read More
2006-06-07 11:16
I was 10 when I saw the Beatles on the Ed Sullivan Show. Music wasn’t a part of my life yet. I was aware of it and, in fact, had enjoyed a few of the summer hits, like the Tornadoes&rs&hell…Read More
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