diff --git a/common/board_f.c b/common/board_f.c
index 1688e27071..216839febb 100644
--- a/common/board_f.c
+++ b/common/board_f.c
@@ -978,6 +978,8 @@ static const init_fnc_t init_sequence_f[] = {
 
 void board_init_f(ulong boot_flags)
 {
+	puts("board_init_f() called\n");
+
 	gd->flags = boot_flags;
 	gd->have_console = 0;
 
@@ -990,6 +992,7 @@ void board_init_f(ulong boot_flags)
 	/* NOTREACHED - jump_to_copy() does not return */
 	hang();
 #endif
+	puts("board_init_f() ends ok\n");
 }
 
 #if defined(CONFIG_X86) || defined(CONFIG_ARC)
diff --git a/common/board_r.c b/common/board_r.c
index d798c00a80..cb8119a603 100644
--- a/common/board_r.c
+++ b/common/board_r.c
@@ -786,6 +786,8 @@ static init_fnc_t init_sequence_r[] = {
 
 void board_init_r(gd_t *new_gd, ulong dest_addr)
 {
+	puts("board_init_r called\n");
+
 	/*
 	 * The pre-relocation drivers may be using memory that has now gone
 	 * away. Mark serial as unavailable - this will fall back to the debug
diff --git a/drivers/cpu/riscv_cpu.c b/drivers/cpu/riscv_cpu.c
index d6484d7f4b..64a507248d 100644
--- a/drivers/cpu/riscv_cpu.c
+++ b/drivers/cpu/riscv_cpu.c
@@ -92,10 +92,13 @@ static int riscv_cpu_get_count(const struct udevice *dev)
 
 static int riscv_cpu_bind(struct udevice *dev)
 {
+	puts("riscv_cpu_bind called()\n");
+
 	struct cpu_plat *plat = dev_get_parent_plat(dev);
 	struct driver *drv;
 	int ret;
 
+	puts("looking for timebase-frequency\n");
 	/* save the hart id */
 	plat->cpu_id = dev_read_addr(dev);
 	/* first examine the property in current cpu node */
@@ -105,6 +108,8 @@ static int riscv_cpu_bind(struct udevice *dev)
 		dev_read_u32(dev->parent, "timebase-frequency",
 			     &plat->timebase_freq);
 
+	printf("timebase-frequency=%lu\n", (unsigned long) plat->timebase_freq);
+
 	/*
 	 * Bind riscv-timer driver on boot hart.
 	 *
@@ -125,6 +130,8 @@ static int riscv_cpu_bind(struct udevice *dev)
 		device_bind_with_driver_data(dev, drv, "riscv_timer",
 					     plat->timebase_freq, ofnode_null(),
 					     NULL);
+	} else {
+		printf("ignoring cpu_id=%d\n", plat->cpu_id);
 	}
 
 	return 0;
diff --git a/lib/hang.c b/lib/hang.c
index 2735774f9a..84eff21ffc 100644
--- a/lib/hang.c
+++ b/lib/hang.c
@@ -22,6 +22,8 @@
  */
 void hang(void)
 {
+	puts("oh no, we are in hang()\n");
+
 #if !defined(CONFIG_SPL_BUILD) || \
 		(CONFIG_IS_ENABLED(LIBCOMMON_SUPPORT) && \
 		 CONFIG_IS_ENABLED(SERIAL))