Every year we wish summer away. About the time someone utters the phrase, “it’s time for these kids to go back to school,” there’s a buzz around the activities we enjoy in the fall. The prowess of the football team is estimated. We yearn for a cooler weather, brown-water, oysters, and the women folk pumpkin-spice-up … Continue reading
Category Archives: Good Life
Cocktail Hour: Neighborhood Speakeasy
This week I was invited to provide some content for my pal at Red Clay Soul. The task at hand became a lengthy and waggish piece on the holiday home bar- a list of sorts armed with a few recipes for “pink cocktails” that are sure to get Grandmom rosy and bright. To be clear … Continue reading
Go to Recipe: Ribeye Secession
Here’s the deal. About twenty years ago I was it the backyard with five dudes. Our wives were inside drinking wine. Pretty much on perimeter of a rug where they were comparing the attributes of all the kids they just brought into the world while hammering bottles of whatever the guy at Total Wine said … Continue reading
Barbecue is not a Verb
Barbecue is not a Verb. Around here, nothing says, “you aint from around here”, more than using the word Barbecue as a verb. This would be closely followed by referring to a grill as “The Barbecue”. Folks might let you get away with referring to an event as “A Barbecue”, maybe. Around here, the sacrosanct … Continue reading
Musing on Limes
I have an odd fixation on limes. I cannot narrow a memory to when this began. Perhaps the fetish was born from just the simple preference for lime’s more tart and exotic flavor over its sweeter and more common lemon cousin. Lime, then, was always my choice when presented as the candy or drink. Lime-aid … Continue reading
Twisting Feathers and Fur: A Fly Tying Primer
When I find something interesting, enjoyable, or necessary I sometimes become obsessed. I mine deeper and deeper for the most precious gems. I want to own the things I invest my time in, not rent them. I don’t want to be a tourist. Like every sport or hobby, fly fishing has a culture, a depth … Continue reading
Musing on The Optimist
I came to know David Coggins through Instagram. As a “brand” he wanders into my feed, from the AI, “something you might like”. He is suggested-liked-commented upon by “my people”. He’s a writer, a sharp and interesting fellow I observe in those little squares every other day or so. He is of folk and celebrity … Continue reading
Front of the Crate: Vinyl
There are far more qualified folks that could tell you about their records. Mine is not about building a valuable collection in a baseball collection sense. I’m a listener. The experience for me is about sitting down and enjoying a moment. The scene, the time to sit down, the warmth of music produced to be listened to the right way. I’ve thumbed the vintage shop crates for first releases of my favorite music, I’ve bought a bunch of new pressings, I’ve asked folks that I suspected have great music from the 60s, 70s, and 80s to let me find a kind home for the records in storage . . Continue reading
Field to Table: Single Pot Gumbo
Through these short days of a new year, we come in from the field. Our chapped hands wrap around whisky on the cold, darkest days of the year. The warmth of our hearth beckons us- as so does the comfort of winter food. Freezers are full of our quarry and the larder holds the last … Continue reading
Corona Pheasants: The Journal Entry
In the lines again with the cockeyed stares of those around. Gawking in pajamas as they ram into achilles and wondering how my eyes look so carefree. They push and the ticket clerks again clueless about how to check a firearm. Travelers shuffling baggage of selfish anticipation- and we all move through talking out over … Continue reading