Noting Steve’s recent post on his New Year’s coursing run, our wonderfully ferocious friend Teddy Moritz sent this picture and note about her lurcher, Kell. Her suggested caption, “Meanwhile, back East, a lurcher without many coursing opportunities uses his time in the woods well.“ Teddy writes: “This is Kell, named by a friend for the …
Author: Matt Mullenix
Felony Harassment
You may recall the Missouri teen who committed suicide after receiving hurtful messages through a popular social networking site. Another neighborhood teen, possibly with the knowledge and aid of her mother and a friend, posted the cruel personal messages under a false identity. A federal inquiry is underway to see if those who created the …
Rina’s New Bag
After nearly two seasons serving as a stand-in for a spaniel, my whippet decided last Sunday she wants to be a Jack Russel terrier. Patrick, eat your heart out. Why this didn’t happen earlier is a mystery to me. She runs across our native cotton rats (Sigmodon hispidus) often while flushing birds and snaps at …
Surrender Ye Swords
Last month my friend Buddy completed his master’s degree in art history, presenting a thesis on sword making and the weapon’s eventual supplanting by firearms. As these things happen now, a morning radio announcer from Ireland found Buddy’s thesis online and asked him to comment on the recent banning of samurai swords by the UK. …
Hunting Cranes
A link at Home Range sent me to the blog of writer and NPR commentator Julie Zikefoose, who recently posted on the topic of Sandhill cranes and her consternation at the thought of hunting them. Zikefoose’s good writing piqued Henry Chappell’s interest some time ago when she admitted sometimes not releasing the house sparrows she …
Ex Nihilo, X-Factor
Pluvialis continues to spellbind in reports on her goshawk adventures. If you haven’t been following along, you’re missing the show. A recent update included a remarkable observation about the kind of out-of-body experience common to many who love the countryside but live in the city. I hope Pluvi won’t mind a lengthy borrowing. Thinking of …
Updike on Dinosaurs
Novelist John Updike writes a good, short piece in the latest National Geographic on some of the “new” (and weirder) dinosaurs recently discovered. I mention this because topic and author tug at several lines of interest running through this blog, and because I’m fascinated by literary journalism, whatever you call it, the journalism written by …
Thanksgiving in Texas
My annual hunting trip to the Texas Panhandle is the highlight of my season. It splits the hawking year neatly in two: the building-up period, through late summer and fall, and the slide downward from winter into spring and the summer molt. Often the weather on the high plain reflects this split. Last week, we …
American on Horseback
If you hear of this fellow riding into your town, I hope you’ll tip your hat and feed his horse. From the story by AP’s Carl Manning: “When rancher Bill Inman decided to show there’s more to America than the gloom-and-doom on the nightly news, he hopped on his horse and started riding. “And riding, …
Thoughts on Taking The Dog
I’ve written a couple emails to friends explaining why, for Pete’s sake, I’m not taking Rina to Texas. My answers are many and are all over the map, which suggests to me that none of them are exactly what I mean to say. The bottom line is that I am afraid for her safety on …