I’ve been sick the majority of 2026 thus far. It is very discouraging. I have been to work while sick and after the last chest cold, I got feeling better but still had a nagging cough. After 15 days of coughing, I took my stubborn self to urgent care. They did a chest x-ray to rule out pneumonia. No pneumonia, but bronchitis. They put me on an antibiotic. Well, Tuesday night I was having a coughing fit and felt a pop in my ribcage. This followed with intense burning pain. Been there, done that; cracked ribs/cartilage and torn rib muscles. That puts a damper on shooting the bow for a bit. Getting so I can move a bit, but need to be careful still. Decided I needed to do something, so I made a pair of moccasins for my daughter. Used buckskin and a pattern I got at Lure of the North. These just need some holes punched and some lacing and they will be complete. I will be making a pair for myself shortly that I would like to use for stalking with the stick bow. I will also make a pair for the little one.

Hey everyone, I’ve been slowly working through my collection of older prose-style & narrative poems—most centred around life in the outdoors and the ethical questions that naturally come with that. These pieces often explore the tension between taking and honouring, and the lessons learned from being close to wild places. Recently, I wrote a newer piece (earlier this year) that’s pretty personal—most of them are in their own way—but this one feels especially tied to my life and raising my young children in the hunting community. It speaks more directly to some of the issues we see in modern hunting culture: how quickly ethics can get lost when ego, tech, or detachment enter the picture. It’s something I’ve been thinking about a lot, and this poem tries to put some of that into words. I’ll share below—hoping you ethical predators out there enjoy it, and can maybe even relate in some way. 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐖𝐞 𝐋𝐞𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐁𝐞𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐝 —𝑨 𝑭𝒂𝒎𝒊𝒍𝒚’𝒔 𝑱𝒐𝒖𝒓𝒏𝒆𝒚 𝑻𝒐𝒘𝒂𝒓𝒅 𝑬𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒄𝒂𝒍 𝑯𝒖𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑭𝒂𝒎𝒊𝒍𝒚 𝑳𝒆𝒈𝒂𝒄𝒚 I see it now, too clearly to pretend otherwise. The way the world presses in—through screens, through stories, through voices that echo around my children louder than my own. It's not just the noise, it’s the boasting. The friends who come over in lifted trucks, caked in mud and pride, talking about kills like conquests, like trophies won from a battlefield. They slap backs and share photos—grins stretched wide beside bloodied animals; guns held high like flags of victory. And my boys listen. They lean in. I see the way their eyes spark—not with reverence, but with hunger. For the shot. For the kill. For the story they’ll get to tell after. They ask how soon they can shoot; how big the rack must be before it’s “worth it.” They talk about deer like targets, not lives. They talk about rifles and gear, not patience or thanks. They want it all now—the buck, the moment, the glory. And the friends feed it. They mean no harm, maybe. But they have forgotten something sacred. Or maybe they never knew it at all.

After seeing @Paul Jackson post about the knives he made, thought I would share a few I have made. I didn’t want to hijack his post. 1st three pics are a knife I finally made for myself. This drop point is 1095 steel with a deer antler handle made from a shed I found on property adjacent to our Camp. The next I made for our Bear hunting guide and his wife. The next two were made for friends and the last one I made for my aunt to give to my Uncle for Christmas. I make all my own sheaths and leather stamps.

Also here's some of the elk that's on my property in Kentucky there's so many different types of animals to hunt now that they finally got the cut through open in Pikeville Kentucky now black Bear Turkey Bobcats the list goes on I also have been making knives for over 25 years now here's a few that I sold last year before hunting season I'm really excited about being in this group also hunt jensain red root yellow root

So, after getting back into a trad bow recently, I bought a dz.2020 Autumn Orange shafts from 3 rivers. Got them tuned up @ 29.5” with a 125 gr head. They’re weighing in at 552-555 grs. My longbow is 57#@28 and I’ve learned that after my shoulder injury I’m only drawing to27”…cool story, I’m still pulling around 55#. I found 3-29.5” 2117 fall stalkers in my stash of mismatched arrows. So, for giggles, I threw a 125 gr glue on with a 100 gr adapter onto 1 of these and they flew amazing. These are weighing in at 637-641. I the pulled out some 30 1/4” carbon express pile driver 350’s and put the same 225 gr tips on them and they flew great . These weighed in the 559-560 gr range. Did I mention that I like heavy arrows! I forgot how much fun this can be and how far down the hole I can go. Decisions, decisions…and I’m just getting started!🤣