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Category: Randomly afield

Keeping New Year’s Resolutions . . . Hiking, Birding, and Photography

Keeping New Year’s Resolutions . . . Hiking, Birding, and Photography

      Back in January 2013, before my work life went crazy, I wrote about New Year’s resolutions for the Mountain Gazette. I outline some suggested resolutions that I thought would make the sporting world a better place and sportsmen better people – if that is possible.  Among the resolutions I suggested was “Take up a new and complimentary ‘hobby’; something to get you out in the woods during the off season. Take up photography, bird watching, hiking, canoeing…

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Whose woods these are I think I know.

Whose woods these are I think I know.

His house is in the village though; He will not see me stopping here; To watch his woods fill up with snow.  (Stopping by Woods on a Snow Evening, by Robert Frost) “Whose woods these are I think I know” is a fitting title to my first blog entry since July 2013. It is the feeling I get when I’m driving home from the Burlington airport; driving up our road, looking through the trees, across the meadow to our house. For more…

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Jericho Wildlife

Jericho Wildlife

…or wild wife. I’m back in Vermont for a few days from Babylon on the Potomac, as Fr. Rick refers to DC. Back home, time to check my Bushnell® HD Trophy Cam game camera to see what exotic wildlife it captured. The rarely seen Vermont wife The camera took 22 photos since the second week of July. Twelve of the photos are of some nut dog named Cabot racing through the woods after, most likely, squirrels. Squirrels were the stars in…

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“Every dog must have his day”

“Every dog must have his day”

(as published in the Mountain Gazette, July 18, 2013, p. 1) (Quote by Jonathan Swift) Every once and a while a story comes along that just warms your heart. You see the good in the world and forget, at least for a time, all that is so troublesome. I heard such a story the other day from my wife, which led me to call the people involved, and to put “pen to paper” as it is. Back in mid-June, Priscilla Emerling…

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Beer Tie Night in Arlington

Beer Tie Night in Arlington

Simon Peter said to them, “I am going fishing.” They said to him, “We will go with you.” They went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing.  John 21:3 The fact is that sometime you go fishing and you catch nothing.  It happened to Peter and his friends and it happens to us as well.  So what is a guy, or gal, to do if Jesus doesn’t come and help you out?  Well, if it is…

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Black Flies and Trout Fishing

Black Flies and Trout Fishing

(as published in the Mountain Gazette, June 20, 2013, p. 10) Like baseball and football, fly fishing has its own season. The forest browns turn into green. The days grow longer. Your senses know the trout will soon be rising for the fly. An annual May fishing trip only adds to this normal level of seasonal anticipation. Snowmelt in May on the West Branch of the Ausable Once again, my dad, brother, and cousin met at the end of May…

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Old man vs. Stony Man

Old man vs. Stony Man

Last weekend I decided to take a drive out to Shenandoah National Park to do some hiking.  My goal was to hike to the summit of Stony Man mountain, then continue hiking along the Appalachian Trail (“AT”).  I saw a beautiful photo taken from Stony Man in Backpacker magazine and was hoping to get a picture or two using my iPhone. The signs are right “Watch for Deer” I won’t bore you with stories of DC-area traffic…coming and going, but…

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A Quick Spring, Family Fishing, Hiking, and Bullwinkle (the moose) Permits

A Quick Spring, Family Fishing, Hiking, and Bullwinkle (the moose) Permits

(as published in the Mountain Gazette, June 6, 2013) I saw spring come to Jericho all in a couple of minutes. While my statement is true, it was with the help of my Bushnell Game Camera. This past Monday I retrieved the memory card from my game camera. There were only about 500 photos on the card, but I was able to see the trees leaf out and the ferns come up right before my eyes. It was pretty neat to…

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Fly Tying at a Bar. Can it get better?

Fly Tying at a Bar. Can it get better?

Greetings from Babylon on the Potomac.  I’ve promised myself to blog more frequently when I get a table to sit at.  For now, I’ll be an infrequent breakfast-bar-sitting-on-an-uncomfortable-chair blogger. I took time in my busy schedule the other day to walk into the local Orvis store.  The good news is, it is only about two blocks away.  The bad news is, it is only about two blocks away.  When I walked in they had several tables set up in the middle…

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New flatwear and the trillium hike with a few friends on the Appalachian Trail

New flatwear and the trillium hike with a few friends on the Appalachian Trail

Gathering at the trail head I’ve been working in DC for over a month now and have made significant progress in integrating myself into a new firm, finding and renting an apartment, and buying essentials to furnish the apartment.  Yes, a 42 inch TV is essential – especially as one ages, the eyes fail….  While it is true that setting up a new place is absolutely thrilling, sometimes picking out new flatware in 18/10 stainless on Amazon.com just isn’t enough….

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