Trouble In Paradise — Dealing With Pests And Problems
Every place has pests and problems to deal with, its own Trouble In Paradise. Wisconsin mosquitos and cold, Arizona’s oppressive heat and poisonous bugs and snakes, Washington state’s rain and mold and rain and dampness, Georgia’s bugs and heat and humidity and CHIGGERS! As part of the #LightTheWorldNow #BuildHisKingdom project, I was thinking about the […]
Living Creatures: Wildlife At Hickory Hill Haus
I’ve recently seen several unusual living creatures in and around my place (aka: Hickory Hill Haus). I thought I would start cataloguing the wildlife and, maybe, if I get the chance, take photographs of the different wildlife here. Broadhead Skink (Eumeces [Plestiodon] laticeps): At least I think that’s what these are. I saw a large […]
Get ‘Er Done: Vashon Island Treehouses Starts Growing
A New Project: Vashon Island Treehouses My brother Gene Kuhns Jr. has always been a “doer”. With his wife Jan by his side (and often, slightly in front of him), they get more done in a week than many folks get done in a year. That’s why I’m excited and anxious to watch the progress […]
When You Think You’re On Nature’s Treasure Heap, And Then Aren’t Certain Anymore
You might think you’re on Nature’s treasure heap. You might be weeping for the beauty of it all. You might want to share it with the entire world. Certainly, you want to share it with family and friends, the people who matter the most to you. Why? Because you think, hope, wish and pray they’ll […]
If You Look For Mushrooms, Will They Appear?
It’s a dream to find edible wild food, but you have to really look for mushrooms. Gene and Jan are interested in putting up tree houses on their acreage on Vashon Island, WA, and running a bed and breakfast. They also enjoy foraging for wild food (and creating their own, where possible). Dreaming of oyster […]
Identifying Plants In Our Yard
Identifying plants — especially native ones — can be a somewhat difficult process, especially if you’ve moved (as I have) to a bio-zone different from where you’ve lived before. I was talking about this issue with my brother Gene, out in Washington State. He’s gotten very good at identifying native plants on Vashon Island, where […]
My Thoreau-ly Walden-esque Experiment: Is This Lifestyle Sustainable?
Is Nature’s Guys nature-focused lifestyle sustainable? It is a question I’ve asked myself a lot, perhaps no more than yesterday when, with an allergy-induced fever, I worked myself into a sweat clearing away privet bushes, planting an elderberry plant and a yellow squash by the creek, cleaned out the ditch of old, disgarded tires; and […]
If I Knew Birds Songs Better: What Is It? Video
Yesterday, May 5, 2018, was a Big Day in birding, and it left me wishing I knew bird songs better. First, what’s a “Big Day”? If you’ve seen the Jack Black / Steve Martin movie “The Big Year”, it’s kind of like that. www.eBird.org organized a world-wide “Big Day”, where birders all over the world […]
Stinky Well Water: That Sulfur Smell Could Be a Blessing
By Marnie Kuhns When Dave purchased my old house that I designed and had built back in 1998, he couldn’t tie into my sister’s water line and decided to put in a well. I was quite excited about this idea because my sister’s water line breaks frequently and is very expensive to repair. A well […]
Life And Death — It Happens. Sadly.
Today, in a single, natural life and death moment, I rediscovered the phrase “To Kill A Mockingbird.” It’s spring. Birds aren’t known for paying attention when they’re in love. So it was, evidently, with the mockingbird that jumped into the path of my ragtop today. I didn’t even hear a thunk, but looking in my […]