Ari Rae’s Magic Tree
To Ari Rae Marra The Apple of Grampa’s Eye ********** ********** This is Ari Rae Marra. She loves to visit her Grampa’s house. Ari Rae and her Grampa have their own special greeting. Fist bump, high five, gentle head butt. It’s how they tell each other “Hello” & “I...
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Remember The Alamo
An ADK Outlaw Bailout Pinned down & caged, running out of ammo as his quarry attempted an escape. Would reinforcements arrive in time? Two lifelong friends. One epic hunt. ********** Chuck & I first met in college. We each quickly realized we shared two things in common: We were...
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One Lone Hunter
One Lone Hunter Sat in silent surveillance Watching swamped woodland landscapes Until God’s sunset found him One Lone Hunter Quietly unloaded his rifle Climbed down from his tree stand And made his way home ********** Until Our Trails Cross Again: ADKO...
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Leaf Covered Trails
Celebrating Fall’s Season Musings, Memories, & a Hike Framed in a Poem I took a walk today Down a leaf covered trail Fall’s carpet of yesterdays October’s confetti hail I took a walk today Down a leaf covered trail Reminiscing crunched leaf memories In full fallen foliage detail I...
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Aerial Reconnaissance
The Anniversary Gift of a Lifetime: An Adirondack Flyover My wife Robin & I received a huge surprise this year from our children for our (Lord, PLEASE, hear my prayer! Help me get this number right!) 33rd wedding anniversary. They went in together and bought us an Adirondack plane...
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Pieberries
Sharing Late Summer’s Harvest, Berry Picking Memories, & Mom’s Pieberry Recipe ********** Rule #1: “If you want Mom to make pie, first you have to pick pieberries.” This is a rule that I learned early on as a lad. Some of my earliest childhood memories are of Mom &...
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Gutshot
When Life’s Struggle with Death Leaves a Blood Trail He lifted his nose to the breeze gently riding the first rising rays of the sun. Beneath October’s dank, musty fallen leaf blanket and balsam bough cover scent, the crisp north woods promise of snow filled his nostrils. Headed towards...
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Grail Quest
Sometimes The Holy Grails We Seek Are Right There All Along I suspect we each have our own individual grail quests. It’s a uniquely personal endeavor, filled with passion, hope, heartbreak and peril. Holy Grails themselves can evolve over time and take many forms. For me, one of my...
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Alone The Night
Reflections on Life From an Adirondack Lean-to Have you ever spent a night alone in the woods? I have. Whether bivouacked in a deer hunter’s mountainside tent, working long summer days as a trail hand from a remote high-peaks cabin, enjoying the cedar log solitude of my favorite lean-to,...
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Cedar Log Surgery
Lean-to Life in the Adirondack Outback Those Cedar Logs Standing Silent and Strong My Refuge, My Sanctuary My Soul’s Sacred Home I Feel Your Wounds Bleeding Anguished Tears Scar My Heart ********** I had planned on staying Sunday night, June 25th, after my brother Ray & I rendezvoused at...
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