Category: Essays & Stories

An On-Site Saranac Lake Upper Locks Construction Project Update As I packed, planned and prepped for a weekend trip to Saranac Lake to undertake some personal agenda items and attend my best friend’s father’s funeral, the word on the street was that the NYSDEC’s tentative opening of Saranac Lake’s...

A Nostalgic Look at Some Bear Truths of Adirondack Economics As I sit here penning this story to page, the minimum wage here in New York State is $15.00 an hour. $15.00 an hour! To an old bear like me, that seems a king’s ransom. But there it is....

When high tech intruded, the hunter went old school. They suddenly began showing up on his trail cams in mid-May. Strange glowing images hovering low over his back fields at night. He did not know what to make of them. Folks all thought he was a bit overly paranoid...

“This Arbor Day Message is Ari Rae Approved” My spring arbor order arrived April 12th. With chilled early spring temps, April’s shower spigot flooding most everything, and full-on mud season going full force, my initial plan was to let things dry out a bit before planting. 30 white pine...

A Connectivity Experience Being One with the Moment As April 8th and eclipse day approached, I found within myself a growing urge to make plans that would somehow allow me to uniquely experience totality’s moment. For a brief while, it appeared our northern New York State Watertown hacienda would...

Safely navigating multiple sclerosis & disability’s challenges while living outdoors. Multiple Sclerosis. It’s not something I talk or write about much, but after the sudden onset of symptoms, including numbness in my lower legs and feet, headaches, nausea and vomiting, a series of medical exams, an excruciating battery of...

Could the fishing legends and stories be true? Was there really a time forgotten pocket of monster pike lurking Little Weller Pond’s waters? As far back as I can remember, since my days as a lad, whispered rumors and campfire stories have abounded. Legends of a remnant population of...

Nature’s Shadowed Truth Lurks Night skies bleed dark Crisp air grips cold Frost moon reigns high North winds whisper snow Forests stand silent sentry Guarding stories untold Predators prey blood Nature’s truth reconciled Death gnaws life’s bone Rockslide scarred mountains echo Coyotes howl wild ********** Time’s relentless cycle of...

My Granddaughter Ari Rae’s 1st Pre-Spring Waterfowl Report Tuesday, February 5th, 2024: I awoke from my afternoon nap as my granddaughter Ari Rae came in from her Paw Patrol walk with her Mama, Aunt Abba, & our family’s Sheltie herd out around our main duck pond. “Tell Grampa what...

A Young Adirondack Outlaw’s Recipe for Justice Mid-seventies Saranac Lake was a magical place. It was a great time to be an Adirondack kid growing up. Kids were allowed to be kids. Cell phones and the internet had not yet been invented. Today’s crowded high peaks lakes, mountains &...