May I die in the spring after one last winter’s storm The first flakes fell yesterday morning. My wife, son, and I were returning from our daily walk and discussing the upcoming storm. The walk was uneventful other than the anticipation we both felt about the imminent arrival of Winter Storm Jonas. Throughout our walk…
My family walks with me most mornings. As mentioned in my previous post, we have all grown quite fond of our family walks. But sometimes, if I have work to do out in the field or if the family has other obligations, I walk alone through the mountains behind our property. I enjoy the family…
…let me have a draught of undiluted morning air. Morning air! If men will not drink of this at the fountainhead of the day, why, then, we must even bottle up some and sell it in the shops, for the benefit of those who have lost their subscription ticket to morning time in this world.…
Any day that I get to use a chainsaw, I consider a good day. The sound of the two–cycle engine’s one–note concerto. The smell of fresh saw dust. The manly force of the chain’s teeth. These are a few of my favorite things. Most days my saw just sits idle in my garage, but on…
Much to my relief, autumn has arrived! The leaves are slowly turning from their late summer dark greens to various shades of red, yellow, orange, brown, and even purple. The temperature is growing cooler – cool enough for jeans and sweatshirts and campfires. And multiple types of nut–bearing trees are providing natural, delicious (and free)…
I did something I swore to myself that I wouldn’t do. I had to. I had no other choice. Per Stephen King’s (as well as most of my writing professors’) advice, I don’t read any of my writing until I finish a first draft. Whether I am working on a blog post, an essay, or…
Thirty–nine years ago, what we locals now call “the old way” was still just the way. The prehistoric New River Gorge dissected Fayette County, West Virginia, forcing travelers of Route 19 to traverse a narrow and winding mountain road if they wanted to cross the gorge. Not only were the bends and landslides on the…
Nearly every night since we arrived at our month–long stay at the cabin in the mountains, my family and I have listened intently to the sound of several owls, one of which sounds just beyond our dusk–to–dawn light’s illumination. “Who–who, who–whooooh. Who–who, who–whoooh.” Finally, after pulling into the driveway last night after a long…
My alarm rang at 6:29 this morning. At 7:30 I found the motivation to rise and greet the day. Misti and I stepped onto the cabin’s front porch and stared out into the Monongahela National Forest. We laid our mats onto the porch floor and began a stretching routine I adapted from the Army. The…
Earlier this year, my wife and I attended a meeting at the Appalachian Trail Conservancy. During one of the discussions, the speaker asked how many attendees had read “Bill Bryson’s Appalachian Trail book.” Nearly everyone in the crowd raised their hand… except us. Neither one of us had heard of Bill Bryson or his book…
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