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

A strange natural phenomenon occurs in summer when it’s hot out in the backwoods. Trees like oak and popular trees release a gas naturally called isoprene. This gas combines with humidity in the air and oxidizes. This forms a natural barrier to heat and sunlight to produce a type of ozone at the ground level to protect the plants from excessive sunlight that might interfere with photosynthesis. Maine is mostly comprised of coniferous trees and is generally cooler, so we don’t

Summer is here, along with warmer nights. One of the things to learn about woods lore is that you can actually tell the temperature in the backwoods by paying attention to the insects and a couple of amphibians that live out there. The first to pay attention to is the cicada. These insects live underground as a lymph, but emerge to become adults about every 13 to 17 years. These insects “sing” at daytime temperatures starting at 72 - 75*F. They drop off at 95*F and above.

Every since I retired earlier this year from the gun shop, I have been really getting into making my own bushcrafting and outdoors gear. Late last Fall I attended my first basket weaving class. I wanted to learn how to make a pack basket to use with my pack frame I made from red oak. I was pretty happy to find that Miss Jessica Steele (of Wood Thrush Wilderness LLC) was offering yet another class that I could attend. This one would be harvesting an ash tree and peeling the ba

It’s been a pretty long winter here in Maine so far. It’s late February and the weather guesser is saying that we’re in for another snowstorm by this weekend. Now the big deal here in Maine are “Bean Boots” made and sold by LL Bean. They’re nice… with leather uppers and rubberized lower parts of the boot. They’re great for the cold slushy muck of northern winter. But they are kind of pricey. And part of the problem with rubberized boots is that they trap moisture against your

Weaving an Algonquin style back pack to carry my gear in the backwoods.

With deer season coming up soon, take a look my load out for a week spent in the hunting woods.

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

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

I’m an avid backpacker and hiker. I know a lot of Marines who basically decide once they get out of the Corps, they don’t ever want to see another pack for the rest of their lives. Years of road marches over ridiculous distances take their toll on your knee joints, ankles, and feet. The average infantry load is about 120 pounds. This breaks down your shoulders and causes back problems too. For some of us — we tend to walk naturally on the balls of our feet. I used to get fuss