It’s hard to believe that another year has come and gone. Time seems to fly by faster and faster the older I get. I told a friend that at my age I can’t afford to kill time because time is killing me. I have to make the most of every day.

Once again, Cheryl and I celebrated — or rather slept through — the transition to the New Year out at our off-grid cabin. With a waning moon, the stars were definitely big and bright deep in the heart of Texas. And the nights were cold out in the Chihuahuan Desert where the creosote offers little protection from the north winds.

We headed to the cabin after spending a couple of days with my 95 year-old Dad down in South Texas. Still in great health and with a mind as sharp as ever, Dad is my hero and inspiration. He is an eternal optimist and has remained curious about the world — although he is now resigned to exploring new places by way of his favorite travel shows.

We were excited to meet the Perry family, friends from church, staying at our guest cabin. This was their first visit to Big Bend National Park and they had some fun days planned for their girls. We had the opportunity to share a pleasant night around the campfire before they headed back to Katy.

As always, we had a list of projects, a truck full of materials, and only a few days to make a little more progress on our off-grid paradise. So, we wasted no time.

The first thing on my list was to start on the outdoor cooking area under the solar porch at our guest cabin. The plan is to build half walls clad in corrugated tin to serve as a wind block. I built a cooking counter out of recycled lumber and coated it with spare urethane. I will complete the half-walls on our next visit and then lay pavers to cut down on the dust.

I recently created a shadow box to display my Cub Scout knot board. I made this knot display on March 27, 1967 when I was a member of Pack 60 in McAllen. I recently found it in a box of stuff up in the attic and thought it would be a fun addition to the guest cabin.

I also replenished our firewood supply at the cabin. A couple of weeks ago, my friends Mike and Jeff invited me to join them at Jeff’s father-in-law’s ranch in Navasota where a big, old pecan tree had crashed to the ground and was destined for the burn pile. The three of us spent a morning cutting and gathering firewood for the cabin.

Cheryl tried something new on our little Blackstone grill. Since we don’t have an oven at the cabin, she used the grill as a makeshift oven and baked some really delicious cookies — lots and lots of cookies. We were so encouraged by the success of this experiment that Cheryl will try her hand at making pizza on the Blackstone on our next visit. I am absolutely ready for that!

The rest of our time was spent catching up on a lot of general maintenance items. I installed new light fixtures and added shelves to our (former solar equipment) closet in the main cabin. I also serviced our propane heaters, mouse-proofed our outdoor toilet and shower area, and completed a few others miscellaneous things on the list. Always something on the list.

The weather was amazing. Pleasant days, amazing sunsets, really dark and cold nights, and the soothing and therapeutic silence of the desert. This is a gift — a wonderful gift from God. We are excited about the the year ahead and the opportunity to spend many more days in the embrace of the Chihuahuan Desert and vast Big Bend skies.