Category Archives: outdoors
Trip to the Cliffs
I knew that two characters in Wolfie, my novel in progress, were going to have a heavy conversation while walking on a beach. I thought the beach was going to be Great Rock Bight. Imagine my surprise when they wound up … Continue reading
Shotgun Season
Deer Week has rolled around again. As noted last year in “Blaze Orange,” Deer Week is almost two weeks long — this year it runs from Monday, November 30, through Saturday, December 12 — and it’s not the only time … Continue reading
Lies, Damn Lies & Ice Disks
“There are three kinds of lies: lies, damn lies, and statistics” is a cliché. For the record, Mark Twain attributed it to Benjamin Disraeli, but the attribution is unverified and other plausible sources exist. Pity the poor statistics: they aren’t … Continue reading
Ice in August
We had a winter last winter, remember? As in previous winters, I decorated my little deck with ice disks and posted new ones on Facebook. When spring finally arrived, I didn’t have the heart to remind people of the winter just past … Continue reading
Rocky Mountain Low
For Travvy, the malamute I share my apartment with, breakfast and supper are the high points of the day. Supper usually comes around five o’clock, sometimes before and sometimes after our late afternoon walk. If I’m working at my laptop, … Continue reading
Two Downed Trees
The snow hung around long enough this winter that I almost forgot what my neighborhood looked like before the snow started falling. Gradually the snow melted. Gradually spring flowers bloomed and the grass turned green. Now the oaks are leafing … Continue reading
Ghost Trees Blooming
Every year I think I’ve missed the shadbush blooming and every year I’m wrong. Driving down State Road I glance repeatedly into the mostly oak woods that haven’t leafed out yet. When the fragile white flowers appear, they seem to … Continue reading
Spring Planting
From late January till early March the snow was so deep at Misty Meadows that on our morning walks Trav and I avoided the big meadow that is usually on our route. Since then we’ve been walking around it again, watching … Continue reading
Mill Pond Joe
Nelson Bryant grew up on Martha’s Vineyard, and from 1967 till 1998 he was the outdoors columnist for the New York Times. His tales of hunting, fishing, and general outdoor adventuring on the Vineyard and in many other places make … Continue reading
Snowy, Snowy
Around the middle of January the landscape looked pretty bleak. No leaves, bare ground, relentlessly gray skies. Where’s winter? some of us wondered. Complained, even. Some years we get through to the spring equinox still wondering when winter is going … Continue reading
From the Seasonally Occupied Territories . . . 