iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Eric Phelps @ericphelps.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 3h

Adventures in Vietnam. Well… The day before my visa expired, the company I'm working with suddenly realized I'm going to leave. Their director is now ferrying me to Cambodia so I can leave and re-enter to get a new visa. As screwy as it sounds, I've done this […] [Original post on mastodon.social]

Another of the little differences in Vietnam: You back into the gas pumps.
Oh, and electric cars don't have to make fake noises at low speeds here.

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Eric Phelps @ericphelps.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 21h

And then, just like that, 60 seconds later it was all gray.

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Eric Phelps @ericphelps.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 22/10/2026

Caught my eye in Vietnam: * Did you know they make raincoats for motorbikes? They're everywhere here. Many styles, but they all cover you and the handlebars. * If you go to some restaurants, you can't buy regular tea. It's tourist tea. I ordered "Lipton Tea" […] [Original post on mastodon.social]

A motorbike in the rain. The Rider is wearing a special raincoat for motorbikes. This is one of the cheap ones that's clear plastic and doesn't look like a raincoat. It's basically a 6'x8' tarp with a head hole (and integral hood) in the middle. The rider is sitting on the back half and has the front half over the handlebars.

Looking at the bottom half of my glass of tea. It's full of different fruits and vegetables and has strips of what must be shoe leather -- because no amount of chewing does anything to them.

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Eric Phelps @ericphelps.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 22/10/2026

Adventures in Vietnam. Out of cash. The hotel confidently assured me a gold exchange would be better than a bank. Okay. "Grab" (like Uber) dropped me off at their favorite gold shop. Which politely told me they don't accept US Dollars. Go to a bank. Luckily […] [Original post on mastodon.social]

Vietcom Bank. Not very big physically, but they have an ATM that works with the American banking system.

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Eric Phelps @ericphelps.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 18/10/2026

Adventure in Vietnam. They're adding a second runway at Phu Cat airport (near An Nhon) and I'm in the middle of it all. Today I'll be at the ATC tower getting things set up, and next week I'll be out in the field testing all the sensors. And in case you're […] [Original post on mastodon.social]

A "MALSR" approach light (one of many) with the ATC tower in the background. Just visible is the red and white "glideslope" tower and barely visible is the smaller "AWOS" wind tower.

An AWOS wind tower. At the bottom is the control box, on the right is a temperature sensor, at the top are obstruction lights and an ultrasonic wind sensor, and jutting out at an angle is a UHF Yagi data radio antenna.

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Eric Phelps @ericphelps.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 13/10/2026

Caught my eye in #Vietnam: * We took a wrong turn and ended up in front of a school just as it let out. It looks like every kid had a motorbike and they caused the most amazing and densely packed traffic jam I've seen. * Train crossings have a guard house […] [Original post on mastodon.social]

Hundreds of schoolchildren crowd the road on motorbikes. They're so densely packed you can't walk between them.

A guard at a railroad crossing. A train is passing by on the tracks. The crossing barrier is made from red and white painted open frame tower sections.

A lone person bent over in a rice field. The town is visible at the far end of the field.

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Eric Phelps @ericphelps.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 12/10/2026

38.5 hours portal-to-portal for my trip to Vietnam. Only three hours of airplane sleep in the last 46 hours. I'm getting too old for this. But I made it. Time to crash, wake up tomorrow, and, well, I'll see what they need first: System commissioning or training.

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Eric Phelps @ericphelps.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 10/10/2026

My wife planted "cucamelons" (Melothria scabra). C'mon, admit it, with a name like that, you're expecting something in that general size range. And in that general taste range. No. Smaller than grapes and they taste like an unripe cucumber. I'd say nobody […] [Original post on mastodon.social]

Five of what look like green grapes in my hand. They have a very subtle watermelon pattern.

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Eric Phelps @ericphelps.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 27/09/2026

My wife's car can only open the garage door from one spot. Too far, no joy. Parked in front of the garage door, nada. I took the controller apart, saw how the "antenna" (just a piece of wire) was connected, then ordered what I needed to connect a real antenna […] [Original post on mastodon.social]

Omni antenna with an optional ground plane kit attached to a beam in my garage.

Garage door controller with a new "UHF" connector and cable coming out of the bottom.

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Eric Phelps @ericphelps.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 14/09/2026

2/2 Got to do some legit bushwhacking when I decided to go through wild country to pick up a different trail by the river. No river pictures for you, it's all just pretty blue water, people on kayaks, people walking and biking on the trail on the other side […] [Original post on mastodon.social]

A rocky part of one of the less popular trails.

A perfectly normal dirt trail through a woodland. Yes and vines are green because I'm very close to the river here.

A "brook", they tell me is anything small enough you can go over it in one step. So this is a brook at the bottom of a ravine. And yes, I stepped over it!

When I came back into civilization, I found this trinket exchange at a trailhead. I love living here.

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Eric Phelps @ericphelps.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 14/09/2026

1/2 I carried boxes of books up and down stairs yesterday, so by any reasonable measure, my knee is ready for a hike. Wife took me out for breakfast (she drives, I pay) and afterwards left me to find my way home. Into the woods I go! Always fun seeing how […] [Original post on mastodon.social]

Four turkeys out for a stroll in the woods. They act like apex predators and aren't afraid of anything. I walked right past them and they slowly moved out of the way.

Trail through woodlands with yellow flowers on the side of the trail. Flowers. In September.

Moss and lichen growing on a fallen tree. I had to duck under it, so I was looking right at it.

In the spring, this is all green ferns. But now the path is surrounded by red leaves of the dead ferns.

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Eric Phelps @ericphelps.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 08/09/2026

My wife talked me into going on a 1-mile walk with her yesterday. It's a new trail that just opened up near where her Garden Club meets. When I suggested she might suggest the trail to the other women in the club, I got a quick "no". Apparently hiking isn't a Garden Club thing. 🤷

Looking along a tree-lined dirt trail. The trees are mostly bare or have red leaves, but a few on the downhill side still have green leaves. The sun is backlighting the leaves, accentuating their color.

Some kind of fungus growing out of a tree. It looks like four fluffy omelettes glued to the side of the tree.

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Eric Phelps @ericphelps.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 06/09/2026

"Open - bam"! That's what it looked like to me. Wife took me out to breakfast this morning and this sign was above the restaurant door. The choice of fonts, the lower case "AM" – c'mon, doesn't it look a bit like "bam" to you?

Open sign above a restaurant door that says "OPEN - 6am", but the 6am looks like "bam".

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Eric Phelps @ericphelps.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 31/08/2026

Rather than ruining my knee hiking each weekend, then trying to recover during the week, I decided to take a bike ride along the river. I covered twice the distance in half the time and the constant breeze kept me a lot cooler. Look… I can climb stairs […] [Original post on mastodon.social]

A few swans at an inlet on the river. A pedestrian bridge is in the background.

Two stand-up paddleboarders paddling away from the camera in a quiet inlet off the river.

A view of the river from the bike trail. Green plants in the foreground and across the river.

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Eric Phelps @ericphelps.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 19/08/2026

Okay, this is too cool: If you have an Android phone and you need to supply wired Ethernet to a device, you can connect a cheap (less than $10) Ethernet adapter to your phone and plug it right into the device. Turn on "Ethernet Tethering" and if the device is […] [Original post on mastodon.social]

Android settings screenshot showing "Ethernet tethering" turned on.

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Eric Phelps @ericphelps.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 16/08/2026

Well, I survived. A bit over 10 miles (16km) at 91⁰F (33⁰C), so much cooler than last week! But on this hike I switched from lightweight sneakers to heavy boots. OMG can I feel it! By 8 miles my legs felt like lead. I should do this more often 🙄. Ran out of […] [Original post on mastodon.social]

Dirt path through a woodland. A nice mix of dark green, light green, and a few reds.

Two stand up paddle boarders heading downstream toward a small island in the river.

Trees and bushes frame a view of the river. There are a few kayaks barely visible in the river.

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Eric Phelps @ericphelps.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 15/08/2026

Well, crap. Wife said she had to drive to her mom's house and offered to drop me off for a hike back. I grabbed my backpack, refilled the water bag, and hopped in the car. Always packed and ready! Except not really. No hiking poles and no hiking umbrella […] [Original post on mastodon.social]

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Eric Phelps @ericphelps.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 09/08/2026

10 mile hike, peak temperature 101⁰F (38.5⁰C). So many mini-adventures, but I'll tell you one: Water was about half gone, so I decided to go into a ravine where there was a seasonal creek. Very slippery dry grass, so I rappelled down about 20 meters to a […] [Original post on mastodon.social]

Dirt trail surrounded by dry grass and green trees

Dirt trail surrounded by dry grass, leaves, and trees with orange leaves

Dirt trail on the side of a hill. It's mostly dry grass, but there are a few oaks.

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Eric Phelps @ericphelps.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 02/08/2026

Repairing microspikes. They break fairly often because I use them on dry ground. I use a slightly smaller diameter of stainless wire because the full-size stuff is almost impossible to work with. After seeing this, my wife says I'm no longer allowed to […] [Original post on mastodon.social]

The microspike repair kit (useful for more than just microspikes): Multitool, zip ties, keyrings, and a loop of stainless wire.

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Eric Phelps @ericphelps.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 02/08/2026

I'm back! After the last two weeks of being destroyed by the heat in only 4 miles, today I did 12 miles with a sustained peak of 102⁰F (39⁰C). Things have apparently changed from last year because my water consumption has doubled and my speed… Well, that's […] [Original post on mastodon.social]

Dirt trail through a field of what I think is "Queen Anne's Lace" or "Wild Carrot"

Closeup of a figure 8 set up to rappel down a slope (and I'm rappelling). The rope looks crazy thin, but it's UHMWPE "Dyneema" rope and I stay under 10% of the rating for rappelling and under 20% if I fall. And I never go down a slope I can't climb back up just in case everything goes sideways.

Dirt trail through dry grass. There's a creek off to the right you can't see, but you can see all the green foliage that lets you know there's water!

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Eric Phelps @ericphelps.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 27/07/2026

Too darned hot! I planned an 8.5 mile hike, but by 4 miles I was completely wasted. Then I looked where I was and found I was two miles from anywhere I could bail out. So it was a 6 mile walk. You'll never know your limit if you don't try. www.relive.com/view/vr63znXZy8O #hiking

The original historical Folsom Dam that most of the locals didn't know about. It's on prison land, and you can only see it from a trail on the other side of the river.
A turkey buzzard flies overhead. Majestic in flight, but one of creation's ugliest creatures on the ground.

The stump of a broken fallen oak tree. It looks mmm, like a sandworm coming out of the ground. There's a few small leaves coming out, but I don't think this tree is going to recover.

One of many rocky parts of the trail. Two steps forward, scan for snakes, two steps forward scan for snakes, two steps…

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Eric Phelps @ericphelps.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 26/07/2026

My wife said "My rack is too big" and… I swear, I should get an award for keeping my mouth shut and letting her explain. From what I gather, this is some kind of expensive addiction where people feel compelled to accumulate dozens of different variations on […] [Original post on mastodon.social]

Mahjong game equipment laid out on a table. The rack that holds the tiles is, according to my wife, about 2 inches too wide.

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Eric Phelps @ericphelps.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 20/07/2026

Had plans for a longer hike, but the temperature just killed me! Started out at 91F and climbed to 100 (33-38C) and double our normal humidity. Made it 5 miles (8km) before I called it quits. @TimKStanton was spot on about the knee: At 1.5 miles my knee quit […] [Original post on mastodon.social]

Woodland with cobble. There's no path, but there's a way forward.

View of the American River from a side path that led down to the river. A tree is leaned over, forming an arch that frames the river view.

Wild dense scrub. 15 years ago there was a path through it, but it's completely overgrown now. My knee let me know today wasn't the day to try bushwhacking. I got about 50 yards in, then backtracked out.

A perfectly ordinary little creek in a woodland. If you believe though, well then, it's a magical bringer of life and beauty.

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Eric Phelps @ericphelps.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 19/07/2026

I wanted sooo much to go for a hike today, but was woken up at 5AM to fix a weather system on the other side of the world. And then my wife reminded me my month of working on sprinklers wasn't done yet. But I managed to get a small 4 mile walk in. A walk […] [Original post on mastodon.social]

A curving wooden bridge through a woodland

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Eric Phelps @ericphelps.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 17/07/2026

One of my airports (KLOT in Illinois) said they had some weather a few days ago and asked if I could pull their logs to see what the maximum wind speed was. They sent this nice picture as reference. Holy crap! That is *not* what you want to see at an airport!

A monster storm cloud right over the top of an airport

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Eric Phelps @ericphelps.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 10/07/2026

Bored in the airplane. How fast are we flying? Well, looking out the window, I'm guessing I'm about 12 feet from the flap actuator. And if I sight along it to a point on the ground, then move my head to keep that point lined up with the tip of the actuator, I […] [Original post on mastodon.social]

A cloud forming on the wing during climb-out in Chicago.

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Eric Phelps @ericphelps.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 05/07/2026

In Montreal Canada for a week of work training Senegalese airport weather observers on their new weather system. The picture is flying over the Great Salt Lake in Utah. I checked, and yes, you can see that color line on the satellite maps. I just thought it […] [Original post on mastodon.social]

Picture of an airplane wing over the northern part of the Great Salt Lake in Utah USA. On the right is the land, on the left is the lake. The near part of the lake is red, the far part is blue.

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Eric Phelps @ericphelps.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 26/06/2026

Baby birds! My wife has a decorative lantern on the front porch, and some little wren decided it was a good place for a nest. We have lots of "gorilla hair" mulch in the front yard, so nesting material was abundant. When the chicks first hatched, they were so […] [Original post on mastodon.social]

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Eric Phelps @ericphelps.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 13/06/2026

Some days I get off work and realize the most work I did all day was making breakfast. Some day someone's going to realize what's happening. Likely when I'm training my replacement. -- "That's all you do?" -- "Shush. We've got a good thing going on here. Don't pooch it. People call you with […]

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Eric Phelps @ericphelps.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 08/06/2026

I took my friend Gary Geddes on a hike to one of my favorite areas a couple weeks ago. He just sent me these two pictures. He managed to convert mundane into magical. garygeddes.pixels.com

A short "stairway to nowhere" that's overgrown. The light stands in from the side and makes you believe the stairs lead to somewhere amazing.

A lizard on a rock seems to look towards distant poppies.

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Eric Phelps @ericphelps.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 31/05/2026

Picked out a nice 6 mile hike (which was 7 miles, I suck at estimating). Very happy my knee held up. I think I know the secret now: If you walk on a paved trail, you swing your foot and come down on your heel. That sends a shock up your leg. But when you're […] [Original post on mastodon.social]

Orange poppies and a purple flower alongside a dirt trail

A dirt trail with large rocks in the way. Horses have carved deep ruts in the trail, it's about two feet below grade here.

Dirt trail through a woodland. The sun leaves a speckled pattern on the ground.

Dirt trail through the woods. The light is really making the leaves "pop" with color.

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Eric Phelps @ericphelps.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 24/05/2026

I know our local bald eagles relocated after their tree fell over, but I didn't know where they were. Yesterday I got a glimpse of the eagles, so today I was on a mission. Turned out to be really easy. With just a basic idea of the location, I was able to […] [Original post on mastodon.social]

A field of weeds, but they're putting on a nice show.

"Robin Pond" and a tall tree on the far side. You can't see the eagle nest because it's behind branches, but the nest is in that tree.

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Eric Phelps @ericphelps.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 24/05/2026

Bored at a garden club party. How fast is that airplane flying? If it's 6 miles high at 45 degrees it's about 8.5 miles away. Three fingers together at arm's length is a 10:1 ratio. So the fingers cover about 0.85 miles. Ah, but the plane is flying at 45 […] [Original post on mastodon.social]

Looking out over the river from the back yard of someone who makes a lot more money than me. But I spotted a pair of bald eagles in a tree about a half mile away, so I know where I'll hike next!

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Eric Phelps @ericphelps.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 17/05/2026

I picked out a nice spot to take a friend for a 3-mile hike. My test hike today showed it was more like 4.5 miles. We'll see how he feels about the longer distance. If it's too far, we'll just park on the other side of the river and only do the north/east […] [Original post on mastodon.social]

A field of orange poppies with a few spots of purple vetch

It started as a dirt trail, but it turned into a creek.

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Eric Phelps @ericphelps.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 09/05/2026

Feeling pretty conservative about my knee, so went hiking with a buddy who recently had hip replacement surgery. Just 3 miles, which suits us both perfectly. And both of us feel more comfortable not being solo. Por ahora. #hiking

Overlooking the river through the trees.

Vetch purple and white flowers alongside a dirt trail.

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Eric Phelps @ericphelps.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 05/05/2026

One of the programmers at work has been building a rubber band ball for a while. It's remarkably heavy. I think it's going to reach a point very soon where the bands we scavenge from the incoming mail aren't going to fit. Even my celery contributions will have problems. They grow up so fast.

A rubber band ball about 6 inches in diameter

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Eric Phelps @ericphelps.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 03/05/2026

After ending up on crutches for a week after my last two hikes, I took a much more limited 6 mile (~10km) walk today. The knee did fine and it felt SO GOOD to be outside. You know how it is to turn a corner and find yourself in a field of flowers? To walk […] [Original post on mastodon.social]

Closeup of ground cover. Red clover with other small yellow and purple flowers.

A field of yellow poppies and some purple flower I'm pretty sure is a noxious weed.

A false choice. It looks like two paths through the grass. Both turned out to be dead ends requiring significant bushwhacking.

A pretty path next to a side channel of the river.

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Eric Phelps @ericphelps.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 12/04/2026

8 mile walk in the rain because it's going to be worse tomorrow. I have an umbrella and a rain jacket, I didn't walk in any puddles, and I didn't slip in any mud, so it's all good. Relive movie is for a photographer friend of mine who visited the trail 2 […] [Original post on mastodon.social]

Poppies and other flowers in a grassy field

Some black and red caterpillar thing eating a leaf

Some kind of purple, red and white flower

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Eric Phelps @ericphelps.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 07/04/2026

[Snake, but it's being mellow] My knee is making an *incredible* recovery, but I'm giving it an easy day. Took the bike out for a quick 21 mile ride on a PERFECT day. Snakes are out more this year than in the last ten years, but so far they're all pretty mellow.

Biker riding on a bike trail. The trail has the river on the left and a cliff rising on the right.

Inflatable kayaks and paddle boards going through narrow channels in the river

Rattlesnake crossing the bike path. I dodged around it. It just kept doing the snake thing, crossing the path.

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Eric Phelps @ericphelps.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 30/03/2026

03:20. The Great Horned Owl in the woods behind my house just woke up. Quiet enough to sleep through, but loud enough to let me know I'm not the only one awake. Comforting.

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Eric Phelps @ericphelps.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 29/03/2026

[Snake mention, no picture] Because I hike on less-popular trails, I always wear my snake gaiters. But since I started wearing them about 5 years ago (?) I haven't seen a snake. Until yesterday. I walked right up to one laid out across the trail. Speckled light coming through the trees made it […]

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Eric Phelps @ericphelps.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 29/03/2026

Well, it was a bit longer than I thought. What with the knee problem, I thought I might be able to do 6 miles. So I picked out a nice route and "thumbed" it on the map. Looks fine. By mile six I realized I'd made a big mistake about the length. But then I […] [Original post on mastodon.social]

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Eric Phelps @ericphelps.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 15/03/2026

What's funny is that none of these flower types are growing in the legitimate flower bed. Just these two in the entire yard. Every Spring we get a few surprises. My wife keeps a relatively organized garden, but she always takes care not to disturb the volunteers. #flowers

A red cyclamen with two green ivy-looking leaves growing between stones in a stacked stone wall

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Eric Phelps @ericphelps.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 14/03/2026

Well, I took a couple friends out to one of my favorite areas. 4.5 miles for them, 6 miles for me. Unfortunately that's about the limit with my knee. Looks like no long hikes this year 😞. Loaned one of them an extra pair of snake gaiters and crampons. He was […] [Original post on mastodon.social]

Huge flat rock on the shore of the river. In case you didn't know, you DO NOT walk on rocks with crampons.

Two men walking down a dirt trail in a woodland.

A dirt trail on the side of a hill in the woods. The sun is shining through the trees, casting long shadows and backlighting the grass in a way that makes it almost glow.

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Eric Phelps @ericphelps.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 09/03/2026

I *almost* went for a hike today, but I decided I'd give my knee one more week. Instead, I took the e-bike out for a 24-mile ride just to give the knee a light workout. Now I want to get out there and hike! Maybe next week I'll try for my normal 10-15 miles […] [Original post on mastodon.social]

A patch of poppies with the river and a bridge in the background.

Looking down a cliff at the river. A bike path is off to the right. The sky is an unreal blue and the grass is bright green. It was such a gorgeous day!

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Eric Phelps @ericphelps.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 08/03/2026

@hikingdude Yes, and snow gaiters (if you wear them) tend to be smooth so there's not much to snag crampons. Now I'm wondering if I need to wear snow gaiters over my snake gaiters just to remove all the potential snagging hazards. This makes three times now I've fallen, and two of them involved […]

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Eric Phelps @ericphelps.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 01/03/2026

Well, my knee isn't better, but it's "better enough". I decided on a short 3 mile hike. The plan was to take a buddy from work and his new girlfriend. But he cancelled, so I went alone. Missed my "exit" from the trail and had to come back by city streets […] [Original post on mastodon.social]

Small black bug hiding in the center of a purple flower

A couple holding hands, walking down a trail

A dirt trail on the side of a hill in a sparse woodland

A small plant growing in the crook of a tree

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Eric Phelps @ericphelps.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 28/02/2026

@ben Can't find the details right now, but I'm pretty sure you can just use a super cheap web server and place one "well known" file on it that lets you use e.g., mastodon.social to do the heavy lifting while the rest of the world sees your werd.social address. It's a bit embarrassing that I […]

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Eric Phelps @ericphelps.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 23/02/2026

@katyswain There's gotta be a WTAF award out there you can submit this to.

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Eric Phelps @ericphelps.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 22/02/2026

@chris108 That's how it starts! Pretty soon you'll be looking along the side of the path everywhere you go to see if there's a new rabbit trail you can explore.

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