jeff's blog
jeff's blog
Jeff Delp
My blog is a little bit of everything -- random thoughts, adventures, and encouragement ;)
Latest Posts
Western Diamondback Rattlesnake - Lower Salt River, Arizona When I moved to Arizona (in 1997), I read an interview with an emergency room doctor about rattlesnake bites. He referred to them as “testosterone poisoning” – most bites occur...
If you have perused any of my previous writing, it may be evident to you that I am a list maker. I recently wrote a post about using caution with “life lists,” but that doesn’t stop me from making them. I was recently clearing out...
East Clear Creek, Arizona - a place of peace and quiet Peace and quiet. Rare commodities. Perhaps, a bit like peanut butter and jelly (sorry if you are allergic, or not a fan). It is possible to have one without the other, but they are...
Every day I carry a little creature with me. It sits near my right ear, perhaps perched on the intertragal notch (that little divot at the bottom of the external ear), where it has easy access to my brain via the ear canal. Throughout...
The Purveyor of Wisdom I spend a lot of time with my nephews, and in doing so I am the frequent beneficiary of wisdom (and laughter). The four-year old is especially verbose and has given me a number of lines that I mutter to myself as I...
Lone Tree, Oklahoma - iPhone 12 Pro I have always dreamed of being a writer and photographer for National Geographic, or maybe Arizona Highways. I am captivated by the imagery in both publications. Good photographs tell a story, making...
My brother’s backyard has a small strip of dirt that is a hotbed of tectonic and geothermal activity. It is prone to severe weather events (dust storms), explosions, mudslides and the occasional meteor strike. Earthquakes, geyser and...
How, I wonder, do you form a whole life? What I mean is, how do you knit your individual bits and pieces into a coherent person? For years I worked in public education (14 as a junior high school principal). That became a central part of...
I use Goodreads to track the books I want to read. Right now, I have 265 on my list. This list grows substantially faster than I am able to read. The good news is that I will never run out of reading material. The bad news: I am never...
There is an episode of the popular comedy series, The Office, where Ryan (the intern) sets up a “blog” for Creed Bratton (the eccentric quality assurance manager at Dunder Mifflin, Scranton). Creed, the guy who sprouted mung beans in his...
Does anyone else over-complicate things? I'm not sure what it is, but I've always been fascinated by "systems." They may be my most significant time suck. For instance, maybe, if I come up with the perfect system for getting things done,...
And into the forest I go, to lose my mind and find my soul. - Unknown (commonly misattributed to John Muir) I've often given thought to wandering off into the forest to live a solitary life. I'm addicted to shows like Life Below Zero and...
My impression of today was that it was difficult. Nothing was inherently terrible. I just felt off. Little challenges and frustrations that wore me down over the course of the day. By about noon, I was ready to throw in the towel. I was...
Simple is so refreshing. But why is it so challenging? I would be perfectly content wearing Birkenstock sandals, shorts, and a soft t-shirt for the rest of my life (keep in mind that I live in Arizona). But, I have a closet full of...
The past two weekends I've gone camping. To escape the heat. It's March in Arizona, and we have already hit triple digits. These record high temperatures are a new low for us. Yikes. In Phoenix, apparently we now only get two seasons:...