The woods around the farm were large.  I had been to every part of the 100 acres at least once including a log of land around the farm.  Some places a lot more. However, at the bottom of the hill, there was a swamp and that swamp had a lot of brier bushes and I didn't own boots that were good for that. The only time I went to that area was during ( Read more... )

Coon hunting was a the favorite pastime of my father.  For a young kid that mostly translates into being in the woods in the middle of the night with with no idea how long you will be there or what you are doing next.  It was still fun but it was strange and draining.

One of the last times I was in the woods with my father we were in a section of ( Read more... )

Just down the road there was a junk yard.  Run by an old man living in a trailer tucked under the hill at the bottom of piles of equipment. We were not allowed to talk to this man. He had a reputation of not being good with children that people didn't want to get into. I believe he manly dealt with his other two neighbors, a diesel mechanic, and a ( Read more... )

My friend Scott and I used to find some adventure to get in every day, but in order for us to go out this time Scott had a lot of yard work to do.  Me being particularly good at yard work and needing Scoot with me to see the girls down the road decided I would lend a hand.  Together we made short work of most of it but the last part was trimming ( Read more... )

A bit over a deccade ago I found myself in Kansas close to the Missouri line visiting some old friends.    My wife was off on a shopping trip with the old friends, which if you have ever been halfway up the state in Kansas you know means driving a few hours away, and I took the time to go geocaching.

In case geocaching is a new thing to you, it can ( Read more... )

  The old farmhouse house I grew up on was well over 150 years old when I was living in it. The community around it was just as old but had not weathered as well as the farm.  It was not uncommon to walk in the woods and discover the remains of a home.  An old storage silo or some other sign that a place you had to hike 20 min to get to and there ( Read more... )

Back in college a couple friends and I went in on an apartment in the poor section of town near the college because it was cheap cheap cheap and being near the college and paying bargain basement prices is very nice for people paying for college themselves.  So I ended up living in Akron Ohio in the area most people don't go ( Read more... )

   I judge distance in the country by how many hills are between me and where I need to go.  The Sworb farm was funny in that depending which way you went changed the number of hills.  It was one hill by woods but the closest road was two hills away.   The farm was kind of isolated for a long time.  Though there are a few more houses in the area ( Read more... )

  In the winter in Ohio is can get pretty cold. Often times it's fun to compare your daily temperature with Alaska. This week that is exactly what we were doing and beating them. The snow had blown in the start of the storm and frozen to a fine mist by the imidate cold that followed. From that point, it was 0 degrees or less with a harsh wind ( Read more... )

I was thinking, man am I sleepy. I need some caffeine. I just can't stand coffee without cream though. But why should I not get cream. Maybe coffee should be made with cream. What if we make it so milk comes with caffeine. Not be adding it but by changing the way it's made ( Read more... )