How to Create a Forest

Heidi’s first Christmas.

The spirit of Christmas has always filled my heart with hope and love. Becoming a grandfather this year added more zest to my life than I could have ever imagined. I love that child. She fills my soul.

This year, I started a new holiday tradition... all to celebrate Heidi. Each year, our decorations will include a live Christmas tree. Once all the presents are unwrapped and the holidays are complete, I’ll plant each year’s Christmas tree around the ranch.

I look forward to Heidi and me walking around to see all of her trees. Maybe, we’ll even decorate a few each year with glittery jingles, homemade ornaments, and blinking lights. Then the two of us can sit together, celebrate another new year, and watch Heidi’s trees reach just a little closer to the stars than they did the year before.

I love helping Santa.

I hope the holidays fill your soul with love and happiness. Neither requires a fancy ribbon, and they are absolutely the greatest gift you will ever give or receive.

As a side note, since this was the first year of my new holiday tradition, I began this year by purchasing three trees. I couldn't help myself. They were all just too perfect. And technically, one is a rosemary bush tree... a large, beautiful, and fragrant rosemary bush Christmas tree. And c'mon... honestly, how could Heidi and I begin her forest with just one tree?

Merry Christmas, love, and goodness.

A Throwaway

Meet Chipper. He was a throwaway and labeled for euthanasia at the pound before a rescue group rushed in to save him. Someone shot him before the pound picked him up. He was a throwaway. He still had the bullet in his leg when he visited the rescue clinic. The vet surgically removed the bullet, nicknamed him Ammo, and also treated him for a tick-borne illness. He was a throwaway.

Chipper is Home

We met him on an incredibly hot summer afternoon. An hour later, he jumped in the truck and sat next to me. As we drove east, he watched the trees zoom by. Then he'd look at me with his big, excited eyes. He was a throwaway. He was a little nervous about his very first warm water and soapy suds bath. But he soon relaxed as the water ran down his back to his feet and the red clay soil stains on his paws disappeared. He was throwaway.

I named him after the dog my grandfather had when I was a toddler. He was the first dog I have any memory of. I adored my grandfather, and I loved his dog.

Afternoon Naps

Chipper now has his own food bowl and a comfy bed with a fleece blanket. He has four siblings that he runs and plays with for hours around acres of shade trees, singing birds, and mischief squirrels to chase with his gunshot wound limp. He was a throwaway. He enjoys taking naps in the sunshine, walking side by side with me to the studio, and he has a fondness for sweet potato French fries. This pup loves today more than yesterday, even though others kept saying he was just a throwaway.

Meet Chipper. He is finally home. #adoptdontshop #mansbestfriend #meetChipper

Fine Tuning A Creative Life

New day shines

Exploring and learning are the center of my constant personal creative path. I live there. As a lifelong music fan and collector, I've wanted to play guitar for more than four decades. Seems it's time.

With plenty of encouragement from a great friend over the past couple of years, I got the bug that I've been waiting for and finally committed to playing just over a year ago. His friendship has been so influential, with hours and hours of teaching me a wide range of guitar technical skills, sharing musical influences, and showing me how to maintain my instruments. There is still a mess load that I need to learn, but I'm now making sounds and much further along than I've ever been. I'm thrilled to have finally added this 6-string creative outlet to my artistic journey.

Takamine

Over the past day, I fully detailed several of my guitars. I even went as far as to challenge myself to break out the tools to make a few truss rod adjustments. My uncharted challenge worked like a charm. Measuring now at 3/32 on the 12th fret, the action is perfect on both guitars. I was so jazzed about my learning escapade. For you longtime players, this task probably seems like a minor feat. For me, though, it was a proud win and reminded me of the feeling that I had when I changed the motor oil in my very first car all by myself. Yeeeeessss!

Oh, and that car… it was a chocolate brown 1965 American Motors Rambler Classic with mini chrome tail fins and a 3-speed manual transmission on the column. It showed its 12-year share of dings and mileage, but yes, I detailed the heck out of that $300 ride every weekend. Every weekend.

I am such a goober for self-maintenance projects. Ask anyone who’s known me through the years, and they’ll tell you that I have been a detail-focused geek all my life, perhaps even a bit anal retentive about it. Okay, I proudly own that... but for now, it’s time for a bit of practice. Missed chord or not, get that tour bus ready. I dig this stuff.

Guild Champagne Sparkle