The Legend of Lefty Leroux
A Limerick Collection There once lived a lumberjack named Lefty Leroux Whose proper first name wasn’t Lefty but Lou One night Lou drained his flask Had a fight with his axe Rendering his right handed digits too few ********** One of the many exercises I’ve enjoyed throughout my career...
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Contour Lines
Far More Than Wrinkled Brown Lines on a Map As I put pen to paper it pains me to know that in today’s cell phone technology driven GPS “land navigation” environment, many folks are reading the title & thinking to themselves: “Contour lines? What’s this guy yammering about now?...
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Ghost Lake
Author’s Note: I penned the first drafts of this story as a poem in the summer of 1983, while working out of Lake Colden’s Interior Headquarters as a trail hand on the NYSDEC trail crew, during one the two summers I served as assistant to Lake Colden’s caretaker. I...
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An Adirondack Anniversary Tour
Fall Foliage, BBQ Chicken, Broken Bridges & an Ampersand SOS My wife Robin & I celebrated our 35th wedding anniverary in our traditional way, with a day trip to take in the fall foliage in and around my heart’s home of Saranac Lake. Due to life circumstances beyond our...
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Kaleidoscope Zen
An Anniversary Day Trip Celebration of September’s Early Fall Colors ********** As August’s Summer Sunset Slowly Fades September’s Sunrise Ascends Mountain Marsh Paintbrush Horizons Hint Fall’s First Bright Splashes of Red Morning Sun’s Misted Dewdrop Rays Glisten Falling Leaves Drift the Winds Mother Earth’s Arboreal Timepiece Autumn’s Onset Portends...
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Is There a Knife in Your Pocket?
Whether folks call them jackknives, penknives or pocketknives, there was a time not too far past when any Adirondack Outlaw worth his salt didn’t consider himself fully dressed in the morning without one. How many folks out there still carry a pocketknife? I grew up with a knife in...
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The Bear Minimum
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....
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Drone Hunter
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...
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MS in the Mountains
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...
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Coyotes Howl Wild
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...
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