GM! Fire burning in front of me. It's 20 out there. They predicted snow. I haven't checked if we got any yet. I'm off to the mail trail in 40 minutes. The first of five days. They'll be dark to dark heavy holiday mail days. I'm expecting that atleast. Hayden (16 yrs. old) and I worked on snowblowers at my neighbor's last evening. He has a clean, heated, shop; wide variety of tools, and the willingness and generosity to share his expertise with us. I enjoyed it. Son and I struggled and swore (mostly me!) together and got the job done. Our blower was having problems shifting. When we pulled the bottom plate off to expose the clutch and gears it was packed full of hay, chicken feathers, and anything else our resident mice could make a nest of. Once we disposed of it and lubed up friction points it shifted smoothly again. That's it for now. Off to the mail trail. Morning Fire 59 12.9.25

On the U.S. incorporating Bitcoin into its financial strategy a friend writes: "On one hand, it signals safety to individuals to invest. On the other hand, do we really want the US government involved?" My response: " I see it this way. It doesn't matter what I want. Because Bitcoin is for everyone, even your worst enemy. No entity can control it. That's the beauty of it." Am I on the right track here? #asknostr

GM from Springbrook, Wisconsin. It's minus one out there. But warm where I'm at. :-) Morning Fire 58 12.8.25

Dear Nostrites, To be clear, to tally a Good Morning I have to start my post out with GM? Because I've done a lot of Good Morning Posts, but none with GM in them.

"All paths lie together in the hand of god like a web endlessly woven, and yours and mine are no greater or less than the beetle's or the squirrel's or the sparrow's. All are held together." ~ Daniel Quinn (Photo of coyote tracks taken on the Bean Brook on 12.7.25)

Somebody posted this. How do you find this out? With a paid subscription perhaps? #asknostr

Good morning 🔥 It's - 1 out there at sunrise. The sky was clear with stars when I was out earlier. I took a walk on the Bean Brook yesterday afternoon. It wasn't long. Enough to get some photos of coyote tracks and Jack pine trees. While I was down on my knees I heard the water flowing under the ice. Everything still and frozen above while water and whatever else keeps moving underneath. A few days prior, before the nightly below zero temperatures hit, the Bean Brook caused me to pause again. I was dumping compost buckets. Looked down at the moving water to see ice chunks floating down the middle of it. The edges were already frozen creating ice shelves. The Bean has been causing me to pause a bit more lately. I'll be going along on the mail route, and while crossing over it see beauty. So I stop, turn around, and take a photo. There's so much that goes on around it. Years back I remember watching otters play in it. It was winter. And I would come across their slides on the bank. I never seen them do it. But I can imagine they were having a blast doing it. It's Monday. My day off from the mail trail. It's back to it tomorrow. I look forward to it. It's a job and it gives me purpose. It's not terribly hard work and I like the people I work with. Would I rather be doing something else with my time at times? Of course. I've mentioned that a time or two.Working half the hours for the same amount of pay might be nice. But that's fantasy land stuff. Before tomorrow, though, I am looking forward to working outside putting up firewood for the morning fires and helping out Hayden with his Christmas projects. What did Mark Manson say? Here, I wrote down in my notebook: "The only way to feel better about yourself is to do things worth feeling good about." I hope you have a great day! Morning Fire 58 12.8.25

Do I help my community and country by running a Bitcoin node? #asknostr

Good morning. It's 7:30 AM. I'm in front of Morning Fire 57. My first day off of two from the mail trail. It was a long 5 days of delivery. Dark to dark every day. If it wasn't snowing it was frigidly cold. The tips of my fingers are starting to crack from it. It happens every year. I think it's the mixture of cold and road salt splashed up on the mailboxes. I got out of bed at 5 AM and stepped outside. It was 5 below zero. I was only wearing boxers. I didn't want to waste the time putting on a jacket, hat, and such. Plus I take cold showers, so I have a different relationship with the cold now. The snow sparkled. There were some stars in the sky. And a newly waning moon was high in the southwestern sky. Still. Crisp. Cold. We're two weeks away from the Solstice today. I brought up how we lie to ourselves yesterday. While working out I heard a great quote on a podcast I was listening to. "We let go of our lies one finger at a time " It's a process, an ongoing one. That's what I've noticed. Well, anyway. I am looking forward to spending time in the house today. I hope you have a great Sunday! 12.7.25

Bitcoin won't be adopted like the iPhone because it's cool. It will be adopted like gunpowder: if you don't own it, you'll be its victim. —Saifedean Ammous

From the mail trail: Snow still sticks to trees in Springbrook, WI. 12.6.26