Hens in the Woods

In the late fall grasses just behind the Jack o’ Lantern and against a dead tree, there was a gargantuan brown mushroom mass that simply looked like a pile of oak leaves.

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MY BOOKS

The four books of the Woodrise series will appear over the next three years. “Winter,” the first of the series will be available by December, 2023. For now, here’s a link to my first book, The Dying Fish.

Off the Beaten Track

People complain of over-crowding on the hiking trails of the east but that’s only because they’ve sought out crowded times and places.

Embrace The Wild – Keep The Change

At the tail end of a long day’s wade, we crossed a crude barrier splattered with a handful of “Posted” signs barring trespassing in the reaches we’d just finished fishing.

A Better Way Forward

In 1994, environmentalism stood at a crossroads. The movement as a whole could fit itself to the American model of free enterprise, property rights and individualism or it could become a favorite tool of big money interests and shameless politicians who had no use for the American way.

Maturing with mushrooms

Through it all though, I’ve become much less fearful of these fruits of the forest floor (or decaying logs, or trees…) That’s what knowledge is good for – conquering fear and inspiring more curiosity.

deep woods

It was still dark but I knew this was morning. I felt like I’d slept my deepest sleep since… well, since last time I’d slept on the ground.

COLUMBINE CREEK

Just after passing though, he did something radical and unexpected: he left the trail to walk along the stream bank in the snow, peering down at the water as he made his way up. Funny how rare it is to find someone willing to get off the trail, explore and look around.

Muskies eleven

Muskellunge (musky) were never really gone from western Pennsylvania but they’re surely experiencing a renaissance, if we can associate the word “renaissance” with a brutal, outsized predator of almost all else that swims.

flaco the free bird

“Still, each day spent outside his familiar surroundings puts Flaco at risk, and not just because, having lived his whole life in captivity, he is not used to finding food on his own. If he did make a meal of, say, a rat, it could well be hazardous to his health,” the writer informed us.