This year is the 5th year of my 10-year freshwater mussel monitoring project. This is an effort to collect, identify, tag, measure, and photograph the diverse group of mussels (see photos above with 4 or 5 species in each tray) living in the Sangamon River in Illinois. While I call it “my” project, there … Continue reading “Mussel Monitoring Project, Year 5 – 8/16-17/2025”
The last roof update was on 9/16. I wish I could report that its done and bone dry. Unfortunately, that has not been the case. The roofer has been slow and unreliable. On 9/26, I went up on the roof with my solar vendor to review the status and get an idea of what and … Continue reading “Roof Update – 11/28/2025”
There have not been many updates on the house as the builder hasn’t done a ton. What I can show is that the roof minus the decorative tiles is up. I generally like the look of what has been done. There is a crazy amount of space for solar panels up there which is fantastic! … Continue reading “Small House Update – 9/16/2025”
The Sunset Race has been going on since December 2008 on the second Thursday of every month. This month, Danelle came out with me. We got to the boat ramp early and put on to check out some new cold springs right near the ramp. I got a bit excited and got out of the … Continue reading “Sunset Race – 8/14/2025”
The saying “no good deed goes unpunished” became very true for our family this year. This time specifically, Corvin came home to St. Louis to visit us. I was feeling generous and offered him money to fix the air conditioning in his car. Its been broke since we purchased it several years ago. This all … Continue reading “Car Swap – 8/10/2025”
Construction is painfully slow. The roofer has now taken 3 full months and is not finished…
I wanted to get out for a paddle on this lovely day. I’ve been thinking about different adventures. I’m inspired by friend Dan Strieker who does amazing micro adventures around St. Louis. He recently did this paddle. I was interested as I’ve gone over the Femme Osage on a Katy Trail bridge multiple times. I … Continue reading “Femme Osage Paddle – 8/3/2025”
The Boat: I’m reviewing my Northstar Landick 2 canoe. I purchased it new for $4,354 from my local dealer on 8/20/2024. Its approximately 20 feet long and 38 pounds. From the bottom, it appears as most canoes, if not a little wide. From the top, it appears to flare out just behind the paddler with … Continue reading “NorthStar Landick 2 Thoughts After A Year”
Corvin came home and was at the finish line of the MR340 this year. It was a lovely surprise getting to see him back in St. Louis. He was only here for a week. He definitely missed the cats! Its still up in the air if they missed him… Part of the reason he came … Continue reading “Corvin’s Home – 7/11/2025”
Today we left for my third MR340 river race. Don’t worry, I would never do this solo, I’ve enlisted Hogan and a second couple, Scott and Dot Merritt. If you have been following along, we’ve been doing races together this year preparing for the big race. We packed our trailer with all of our gear … Continue reading “2025 MR340 – 7/8/2025”