Wilderness Blues- Ramblings from the Great Land

  Prior to moving to Wasilla, I'd never had too many dealings with moose. When I was living at the farm many years ago, we were all outside on the beach doing a "family" project. That was where most of the people came out to do something that would benefit the whole camp, in this case chopping firewood. Of course, there were always those who had some reason or another not to be doing the lowly manual labor that the rest of us were required to do, but it's a moot point. While were were all out there sawing the logs  and chopping the rounds, one of the fellows named Wayne Bender suddenly stopped what he was doing and pointed across the mud flats to the wooded area. "A moose! A moose! " he declared. Sure enough, there was a moose, hightailing it on the edge of the flats, headed to the point. Moose don't live on Chichagof Island as a rule. They periodically would swim across from the mainland. They are really good swimmers apparently, because its at least fo...

One look at the ingredients in the two bowls, and most people will say something like, "surely you aren't going to eat that." Or, "choose one or the other." Not me though. Oh no, Brainiac looks at them and says, "Yum!"  It's not until about  half way through, when I've had a chance to think about the consequences of my actions, that I start to worry that I may have made a mistake.  For those that can't see what I've taken a picture of, one container has sauerkraut and pork and the other has ham and bean soup. Either one can produce enough gas to power a Ford 150 truck three miles down the road at sixty miles an hour. Combined, its like adding dynamite to nitro glycerin. Did that stop me though? Of course not. Do mad scientists every stop to think about the consequences? If they did, they might not be considered mad. While I was still spooning the soup up to my mouth I was wondering how bad it was going to be. Of course I didn't even...

  As a member of Fan Story, the writing web site,  I'm privy to all manner of delightful prose and poems. Because I didn't have anything that was anywhere nearly as informative as this waiting in the wings, I asked my friend Judi, who goes by the name Judiverse on Fan Story, if I could use her post for a blog. She generously said I could, so here is a rather interesting story of the origin of peanut butter, something that almost every home in America most likely has. I hope you enjoy this as much I do. Woah-oh, Peanut Butter! by  judiverse Please Note:  This is a follow-up to my article "Peanut Pioneer" about George Washington Carver and his contributions to peanut farming. My dad loved peanut butter.  He carried peanut butter and Ritz cracker sandwiches to work in his lunch pail every day and sang this little ditty about his favorite snack: A   peanut sat on a railroad track, His heart was all a-flutter. Around the bend came a choo-choo train, Woah oh, pea...

                  When I was young, I used to look at some of the guys with grey hair and big guts and be happy that I didn't look like that. Now that I'm one of those guys, I'm kind of trying not to get as fat as some of the other old guys I see around. Of course I' m not trying too hard. I still indulge in my cheese and crackers with Pace Picante Sauce. Tonight Jan made chicken burritos, which by their very nature require a dollop of sour cream and of course some Pace. We have some of our grand children over for supper, so we had to make dessert. I was planning on making some healthier blueberry muffins. While they may not be especially healthy, they're probably healthier than the brownies that we had instead. I had to go help the pastor with a job at the church, so the muffins were out. My granddaughter wanted to know if we could make them for breakfast, but I think I'll put my foot down and insist that we finish the brownies instead....

As most of you who follow this blog know, I don't do poetry as a general rule. However, since joining Fan Story, a writer's web site, I've read some really exceptional poems. This is one that I read the other day by a gal who writes some of the most wonderful poetry a person could read. Her name is Adonna Gipe and she has at least one book for sale on Amazon. The title is Songs Before Dawn. It's a good read for those who enjoy poetry, and even for those who may not enjoy it. She's a sweet gal and a wonderful writer. I hope you enjoy this offering that she gave me permission to share. Were Every Star a Poem ... by  MissMerri     If only I could tell you how much you mean to me. But I have only decades. I'll need eternity. Your wit and charm beguiled me. I thought, could this be love? But knew, with you, forever would not be long enough. If only I could tell you how rich you've made my days. You've filled my life with laughter and fun ten thousand ways. Yo...

  '" I don't like white people much." he said. He was looking straight at me.' This is a quote from a book that I'm reading titled- Neither Wolf Nor Dog, b y author Kent Nerburn. I haven't finished it yet. In fact I'm only about a third of the way through it, but before I forget where certain passages are or the content of a chapter, I wanted to share just a bit. The book is non-fiction and is a startling look inside the mind of a Lakota elder. Nerburn is a white man from Minnesota who had written a book about the natives of that state and it caught the attention of Dan, the Lakota elder who wanted to set the record straight about natives. He invites Nerburn to the reservation to put together a book that white people can understand. I spent over forty years living and working among the Tlingit Indians of Southeast Alaska. I thought I knew them. I worked alongside the elderly native ladies, sliming salmon in wet, cold conditions inside the dark cold sto...

 Jan and I made a trip to Great Clips this past Thursday to see about getting a haircut. I kind of wish that I had  a set of clippers so we could cut it at home, but Jan would be the one doing the cutting, and Lord knows what I might end up looking like. As it was, even though we had made an appointment, the anticipated wait time was over an hour. We happened to go right when the lunch hour had started. We cancelled and took our chances again on Saturday morning. It was still a little busy, but we only had to wait about fifteen minutes before we got in. The gal who cut my hair did a fine job, but after we paid, and I was in the car, Jan asked if she trimmed the hair out of my ears or eyebrows. Crap, I gave her a tip and everything, and she didn't do that. I couldn't very well go back in and ask her to finish the job. I just didn't think about it when I was in the chair. Usually they just do it. I had to go home and take care of the issue myself. I'm always a little nerv...