Test Driving Our Kelly Kettle

| September 13, 2011

There’s a saying I heard about 30 years ago uttered by a seasoned hunting guide who was describing the way inexperienced “woodsmen” build camp fires – “White man build big fire, sit far away. Indian build small fire, sit up close.” He was talking about inefficient use of resources, and today I want to sing […]

Messing About in Boats

| July 30, 2011

“Believe me, my young friend, there is nothing — absolute nothing — half so much worth doing as simply messing about in boats. Simply messing… about in boats — or with boats. In or out of ’em, it doesn’t matter. Nothing seems really to matter, that’s the charm of it. Whether you get away, or […]

Mawhfawkin’ Cardinell

| July 24, 2011

Photographer and blogger Sean “Mawhfawkin’” Cardinell is a great find, presently living and drinking only bottled beer in our neck of the woods. Like all good men, he’s rough hewn and cocky, and that only works if you’ve got the talent to back it up. He’s not even 20 yet so he’s crafting himself as […]

All For One, and One For All!

| July 21, 2011

Recently Mrs. LFM and I rewatched the 1993 version of The Three Musketeers. While we love the story, the fact that, even this year, Hollywood is making yet another version has been causing me to finger the keen edge of my own blade with corrective measures in mind. A sporadic, though not uncommon, event. Ah […]

Canada D’eh, LFM Style!

| July 2, 2011

As you all know, yesterday was spent in Kejimkujik National Park. The expedition included Mrs. LFM, me, Robbie our Australian Paddle Dog, and Peter “Bear Bait” Thomson in his capacity as photographer (voyageur AND voyeur), drinking companion, and source of endless amusement in spite of himself. His shovelling … I mean paddling … style has […]

Canada – Little Known Facts

| June 30, 2011

I have no small number of non-Canadian friends and I never tire of educating them about customs in my country. Tomorrow is Canada Day and I will be far too busy doing that most Canadian of things – canoeing with my Mate – to write anything here, so on this Canada Day Eve I am […]

Musings of an Apprentice Mower

| June 16, 2011

“A goodly man the mower is, With sinews tough as twisted rods, A form of manly grace is his, A head as trenchant as a god’s “A man of thought; the harvest o’er, Its heats and triumphs left behind, He rests, and gives himself once more To pleasures of the heart and mind.” ~ from […]

The Hero

| May 19, 2011

This morning with our coffee, Mrs. LFM and I snuggled in bed and finished watching the last half of the season finale of the excellent police drama series Blue Bloods. At the end, Tom Selleck, in the character of New York City Police Commissioner Frank Reagan, recites a quote from Raymond Chandler at the graveside […]

To the Point

| May 16, 2011

“If your anger goes forth, withhold your sword; If your sword goes forth, withhold your anger.” ~ Swordsman’s axiom ~ “Better to do a little well, than a great deal badly.” ~ Socrates ~ In my studies of the Blade Arts I once encountered a Swordsman of the old school. A fencer of international status, […]

The Large Fierce Mammal’s Kick Ass Pork Barbecue Sauce

| May 9, 2011

My mother used to do an oven baked version of  “barbecued spare ribs” with a sauce I fell in love with. Introducing it to Mrs. LFM was one of the reasons she fell in love with me, and over the years we’ve  perfected it to where it’s now our signature barbecue sauce whenever pork meets […]