Shenandoah Frozen Over = Canadian Tech Up
February 7, 2026
fire, nature farm, frozen river, shenandoah, shenandoah river, wood stove Leave a comment
A rare event. That’s what happens when it hits 4 degrees in Virginia. And no, we did not let Maybe venture out.
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Never fear! We can engage the Canadian tech.
2026 is the Year of the Robot
February 7, 2026
film, fire blade runner, metropolis, movies, new years day, wood stove Leave a comment
Or maybe the Android. Something anyway. Bladerunner first (as always) and Metropolis second.
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Silvester (NYE in Germany)
January 17, 2026
fire, party claudia, germany, lorsch, markus, NYE, romey, silvester Leave a comment
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BOOM
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The “mayor” gets wild.
Meat in Germany
January 16, 2026
cooking, fire chicken, germany, lorsch, markus, meat, pastrami, porterhouse, ribeye, sing to the chicken, waygu 2 Comments
It may have started in a pretend ski lift when they sprayed some soap bubbles in the air.
Or maybe it was this brown fried thing.
But whatever it was, caused massive piles of meat.
We had to cook it low and slow.
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And boy was it worth the effort.
Pastrami is a kind of meat.
Porterhouse is a kind of meat.
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Ribeye is a kind of meat.
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Waygu is a kind of meat
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We did not want to leave anyone of any creature out. So here is a chicken.
Which required some minor surgery after a butter incident.
Actual real snow!
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You yell at beef, but you sing to chicken.
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Happy new year to all.
Chilly Nights at Home with Two Fires
December 23, 2025
fire bar, dogs, fire, home, romey Leave a comment
When it gets really cod, we light the wood stove.
First Snow of Winter
December 23, 2025
animals, dogs, farm, fire, nature dogs, snow Leave a comment
The dogs have the right idea
Move that wood
November 10, 2025
farm, fire farm, fire, red shed, wood Leave a comment
The reason we don’t burn fires in the kitchen unless it is under 40 is because it takes so much work to move the wood around. First you saw it up. Then you move the bog logs. Then you season it. Then you split it. Then you stack it. Then it moves from the res she to the porch. Finally it ends up in the kitchen on fire.
There are several cords in the red shed in a double stack up to the ceiling. Time for winter.
Fall prep for winter (swingset down)
November 10, 2025
farm, fire, garden garden, solstice fire, tree frog, treehouse, treehouse removal Leave a comment
The beautiful Fall weather had us prepping for winter on the little pretend farm.
Garden weeding and tilling
Solstice fire re-core (we cancelled the summer solstice fire this year and are going to light up in the winter…but a winter core needed to be inserted so the fire burns hotter and longer).
Finally, the ancient and somewhat dangerous swing set was deleted.
This tree frog was supervising.
Winter Solstice 2024: Let the Community Convene
December 20, 2024
fire, party bonfire, party, solstice, solstice fire, solstice party, solstice party 2024, winter 9 Comments
It was a good one this year. Cold and crisp with a full moon. More than 100 people stuck their noses in. It seems we all need some community time. And somebody has to turn the sun.
As we age, the end time of the winter solstice party seems to be approaching the start time (4:15pm to see the lighting). We were inside by 11pm. Thanks to all who came!
Turn sun turn!
Of course there is just a smidge of prep for a fire like this. We had some help from Romey’s yard in Berkeley Spings this year.
But eventually the day of the party arrives and it is time to make the eggnog and light the burn barrels.
We always light the fire shortly after dark. This year there were LOTS of people on hand for the lighting.
The only problem with a big iteration of the solstice party is not enough time to catch up with everybody.
We had some fun with the full moon.
And the we settled in to enjoy eachothers’ company. But not before a close call! Oh my…
The Cigital alums were out in force…
Once again, the dogs did it best.
And the party at the bar? Well, that ended by 4am.
