There is a blight on my land, and it just killed my favorite chestnut tree. The so-called chestnut blight, introduced a century ago, wiped out 4 billion American chestnut trees and is still a potent exterminator of all the new trees sprouting from the old roots. I had great hope that our 30 [...]
I was hiking up the side of Tumbledown Mountain in western Maine last week when the trail disappeared and I lost my way. I was looking forward to the wonderful views from the rocky summit, but that was not to be. Similar to many companies embarking on a clear path to success, somewhere [...]
Bode Miller beat me. Yes, I actually raced against him at Cannon Mountain last weekend, and he was faster than me (as were about sixty 10-12 year-olds…) I must say that I thought I went pretty fast until I saw him go by in a blur. Besides being the best ski racer ever to hail [...]
I was drinking in a beautiful spring-like afternoon on Saturday when I heard the unmistakable honk of the Canadian geese. A few more honks and a moment later I saw the big birds flying overhead in their signature V formation. I was struck by this not only because it was the first indication [...]
I was cross country skiing last weekend, enjoying a crisp winter afternoon, when I came across a flock of birds picking over a carcass. Rather than gather seeds peacefully from the millions of pine cones in the forest, these creatures chose to battle each other for a few scraps of coyote (or whatever the [...]
A small dent. That’s all that resulted from whacking the wood with a 6 pound maul as hard as I could. Being nearly winter, I’m urgently trying to get all the wood split before the snows come. Most logs yield to the force, splitting into neat chunks ready for stacking. But [...]
Standing on the top of Mt. Watatic last weekend with a view in all directions, it became clear to me why Google Earth is so limited. With wind in my face I could not only see distant lakes and mountains, but I had a sense of what they were like. It is this [...]