I looked at the clock. 3:23 AM. It was time to turn in, especially since I got up at 2:45 AM. The day before. Occasionally nature gangs up on us and we have interminably long days. There's just so much to do; first, we have the day-to-day, and then, the big jobs—and then, the …
A Heart of Husbandry
Dear Friends My legs were on fire from the chem burn. Even worse, my eyes stung and the tears that rolled out of them fogged my vision. I squinted, straining to see the end of the field, but couldn't quite make it out. The five-gallon bucket I was carrying was almost empty—I wondered how many …
Vermont Sheep and Stone Walls
Last Week: The bronze, red, and gold of fallen leaves carpeted the road before me, often obscuring the double yellow lines. Negotiating countless curves with my rented pickup through fog-shrouded spruce and fir forested gaps in the ancient spine of Vermont's Green Mountains, I made my way down …
The Beaver & the Wolf
Dear Friends I have a friend, Bruce, who is a beaverologist, and that means that his specialty is beavers. He was known as sort of the go-to beaver guru in the Intermountain West. People would call him about beaver troubles ("they're damming my culvert!" or "they're stealing all of my …
If Ancients Could Speak
"Timber!" I called the word out in case there was anyone within falling range, and it echoed through the understory of a blackened forest. It took one swing and smack from the back of my hickory handled brush axe, and the 3 pound steel head made purchase on the plastic wedge inserted in the …
Wild Orchids & Wild Country
"I think I found an orchid," I stated as I strode into the kitchen, back from a body-torturing 54 mile dirtbike ride across the high foothills of the Rockies. Don't misunderstand—I am much more of a horseback guy than a dirtbike guy, although for a 62 year old, I can give most 20 somethings a run …