When we sold the Vermont house in September we decided that we would downsize when we bought a house in Virginia. The girls were grown and it was just Karen and me…. We ended up buying a nice log home just outside of Culpeper, Virginia in November. Our attempt to “downsize” was, generally, an epic failure. We did reduce the total number of bedrooms and give up a basement. What little we lost in downsizing, we definitely gained in a view….
[The following post is brought to you by my good friend and first guest blogger, Tom Kenefick – winner of our first big year contest.] Who would have thought that a challenge from my favorite blogger would have sent me on an odyssey throughout Connecticut’s bird sanctuaries? When Kristopher contacted me in December of 2014 and asked if I wanted to join him in a mini Big Year, I – of course – said yes. What better way to see…
Now I know how Dr. Frankenstein felt. I thought I’d feature a picture of the winner of our first big year contest. Ok, this clearly isn’t Tom, but I’m pretty sure Tom has this shirt (the pink one) and this is clearly Tom’s look when he sees a life bird. The first big year is over and my old high school buddy Tom won. I admire his tenacity. He put in more time, more consistently than me. I was sure…
An owl says “hoo dat?” as he is caught in the mist net hanging in the dark. “Damn,” the owl thinks as he is put in the cloth sack. The owl doesn’t know what to think as he is placed upside down in a plastic jar to be weighed. At the end of the ordeal is freedom…and a cool new ID bracelet to show his friends and impress the ladies. I first heard about the Cape May, NJ owl banding…
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…