I’m drawn inexorably to the woods and wild places. I always have been. Since I’m retired now I have plenty of time to get out and explore more often than I used to. So what does an old fart like me do with all this time ? I roam around the woods. The night before I head out, I look at my old USGS topographical maps and see if I can spot anomalies. Mostly old overgrown logging roads or seemingly dead trails seldom used. Today was such a day. I loaded up my Russian URAL motorc

It’s no secret that I spend more time in the woods lately than I used to. Why not ? I’m retired now, so why not make the best of it instead of sitting around the house and staring at the walls ? I’m into eating better food these days and I can’t afford restaurant prices — so I cook my own. Today’s recipe is an experiment. I don’t have an actual recipe for this, so I decided to just “wing it.” The prep time for this dish is about 30 minutes, and about 20 minutes on the grill.

I got up early this morning and packed up my springer Harley. I put the dog in her new box, then made a stop to gas up the Harley. Today we’re doing a “Mountains to the Sea” ride in Maine. We rolled from Sabattus to Rangley, to just north of Camden, then back to Sabattus. According to Map Quest this is a brief description…. “This 260-mile loop across central and western Maine takes you from the rolling lakes region to the western mountains and out to the midcoast. The entire

Obviously you have seen the pictures of Ryland, my service dog, riding in the pair of sidecar motorcycles that I have. We ride a 1998 Harley Electra Glide with a Champion Escort sidecar. She absolutely loves that thing. And — we have a 2007 Russian URAL with a sidecar and 2WD. We use it for winter riding in the snow. However, I have a 3rd motorcycle that has only two wheels. It started out as a 2002 Night Train, but it’s had a lot of modifications over the years. It’s been c

The Bemco oven is IT ! A must have for motorcycle adventures.

Training your dog for a sidecar.

Recently I had surgery on my foot to remove infected bones called osteomyelitis. Apparently when you get infection in the bone, it’s...

I’ve never had a service dog until now. I’ve had numerous other dogs over the years, but this is my first actual trained and registered dog. Ryland came to me from an organization in California called Guide Dogs of America . I’ll admit it…. I’m old, I’m opinionated and grouchy sometimes. I guess it’s the curse of being an aging Marine Corps artilleryman. Deaf as a post, and the older I get the less social I become. I saw those grizzled old veterans shuffling around town when

It was such a nice day, I decided to load up the sidecar Harley with me, the dog, and some chow. We rode over to a lake where I knew they had some picnic tables out — and it wouldn’t be crowded. This time I was going to get serious about the picnic. I broke out the bigger portable oven that’s wood fired. As per usual, the prep work was done at home beforehand so I could concentrate on the cooking and eating. The portable kitchen Anything that can be cooked or baked at home c

Today being a typical Sunday, I decided to load up the old Hawg Harley with the service dog and kayak. Ryland has only been with me a few...

What can I say about a really good dog ? Not much, except maybe my old girl wasn’t just a dog. None of my natural born children lived...

The training today was short and sweet. I don’t want to rush my new girl too much, and I always want to end the lesson on a positive...

I’ve had a service dog for a whopping 24 hours. Well maybe a little longer. She’s been here two days and one actual night. But she needs...

Because I’m rapidly approaching “geezerdom”, and aging like an antique…. I have a number of medical issues. Now I won’t go into an explanation of these, but suffice it to say that a few folks a lot smarter than me decided that I would benefit from a service dog. Yep, an actual trained registered service dog. Ryland the dog I just got her yesterday and this is my first time getting her out into the woods for a hike today in between rainstorms. We hiked a short distance and she

Charity event 1000 mile motorcycle ride around Maine with the Tender Loving Canines folk

Dog make surprisingly good kayaking partners.

I lost my black lab Mira this January. She was 18 years old, an old age for a lab, but 18 years wasn't nearly enough