There are more ways to approach deer hunting than denominations of the church. That’s a fair comparison because to most deer hunters, their style and manner of hunting is religion. Some methods may be more productive. Some ways are deemed more sporting than others, leaving hunters looking down their noses at each other. Some folks … Continue reading
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
A hunting memoir written for The Sporting Gent and TSG Apparel about our annual quail hunt. https://www.thesportinggent.com/blogs/dispatches/front-porch-musings-one-quail-of-a-day Continue reading
This morning I am holed up in my office packing for a trip south to shoot birds. This little private office is my nest. It is a space that warehouses toys and tools, projects, and memories. Part office, part depository, my private quarters are a boot-room meets art studio with cocktail service to boot. The … Continue reading
When I was a young boy- let’s say second grade or so, I was a bit squeamish around some of the outdoor process. There was always a friend that could just go in the woods and come home with a frog in his hand or grabbed crawdads in the creek with little fear of a … Continue reading
XIII Carolina Blue Skies Mac – 1994 . . . As Mac came over a hill he could see Speck reaching into his trunk and unloading several boxes of clay targets. He was quietly singing. Mac pulled over and sat down on a cedar bench by his car, unobtrusive and listening. “So they’re going to bust … Continue reading
Just thinking about how special our yearly trip to South Dakota has become. Over a decade of hunting the same patch of family farm. Great hosts and great hunting. Every year is a whole bunch of the same pattern- a familiar gathering of friends and father-son pairs. Not much of a story to tell today … Continue reading
I woke up hard in the corner with my neck pressed up into the bed post and knees in my chest. I was dressed and embarrassed that I was asleep. I had dressed myself already in anticipation of leaving early. He spun the flashlight into the wall from the nightstand and swung me around to … Continue reading
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
A hunting journal entry and reflection by my father, R. Wm. Kelly, Jr. Dog ownership never was much of a consideration through my professional adult life. Sure we had a few when I was a kid and so many of my weekends were spent on local farms hunting and hanging out along side my father. … Continue reading
Big Haint Blue 