One of the guys in our neck of the woods used to have annual Christmas party the Saturday night before Christmas. The invite would show up in your mailbox, as well as on the bulletin board at the firehouse, by word of mouth at the general store and so on. There was no need to … Continue reading (B)Raising the Lowly Shank
A Man. A Ham. A Plan.
About a year ago, I had to take care of some family business in Virginia. On my way down, I stopped at a groovy little gas station-turned barbeque joint called “Shaffers” in Middletown, Virginia. In the bays where once stood lifts and tool boxes and oil drums were beds of mac and cheese, greens and … Continue reading A Man. A Ham. A Plan.
What Kind of Person Are You?
There are some things that are simply worth spending the time to make yourself. When Thanksgiving is over and the leftovers have been packed away and you’re left with a giant turkey carcass, you have to make stock. Soup eventually, of course. But first, stock. I like to make beef stock as well. And fish … Continue reading What Kind of Person Are You?
Never Question the Captain
(this post was previously published on Harvesting Nature) As I stepped out of the plane and down the stairs the warm air hit my face and I smiled. Hours earlier we’d left 38 degrees and rain. It’d been a long day of legs and layovers but that was behind us. Before us lay a path … Continue reading Never Question the Captain
Exonerating the Pot Roast
I don’t like the term “comfort food.” I think it’s condescending and drips with unnecessary, misplaced nostalgia. When I was in high school, I walked to school. It wasn’t uphill both ways. Sometimes there was snow, but the sidewalks were generally plowed. It didn’t build character. It didn’t "make me who I am." It was … Continue reading Exonerating the Pot Roast
Ambushed By Ten Minutes of Peace
It was 14 degrees when I stepped out the door this morning. Gray. Windy. But I went out anyway. I haven’t been having much luck this deer season. I’ve spent a lot of time seeing nothing and the few times I did see deer, I made rookie mistakes that blew my opportunities. It’s not been … Continue reading Ambushed By Ten Minutes of Peace
Fresh Local Produce All…Winter?
(This piece was originally published in The Van Wyck Gazette) Sounds of emptiness fill the spaces between shelves stocked with jars of jams and jellies and refrigerators chilling meats, cheeses and produce. Mechanical hums from around the room harmonized with faint background music. On one end a girl in her early twenties squats, loading gallons … Continue reading Fresh Local Produce All…Winter?
Give Me The Bird
It was the kind of phone call that makes you stop and wonder how you’d gotten to the point that the phone call could even happen in the first place. And yet, at the same time, the kind of call that eventually brought to light all of the answers to the questions about how you’d … Continue reading Give Me The Bird
The First Step is Admitting You Have a Problem
I might have a problem.
The Freeloading Goat 