Author Archives: Gary Sanderson

A South Deerfield, Mass., native, Gary was the longtime sports editor at the Greenfield Recorder, a daily newspaper in Greenfield, Mass., where he retired in June 2018, having worked parts of five decades over 39 years. A senior-active, nearly 40-year member of the New England Outdoor Writers Association and the Outdoor Writers Association of America, his Thursday column "On The Trail" ran for nearly 40 years, ostensibly focusing on fish and wildlife, conservation and issues pertaining to them in the Connecticut Valley, where his roots reach deep into its oldest burial grounds. He and wife Joanne live in a historic Greenfield Meadows tavern today known as Old Tavern Farm, which has a rich history dating back to the mid-18th century. The home, which became a National-Register-of-Historic-Places building on his watch, served as a small, seasonal bed and breakfast from 1999-2015. Gary's other interests include history, anthropology, archaeology, literature, genealogy, Americana, country auctions, and early-American architecture and landscapes, as well as hunting, fishing and especially reading. His primary focus is the Pioneer Valley, its people, places and critters.

Drydock Blues

I’m starting to feel guilty. The dogs know. I can sense it, see it in their step, their demeanor. Hunting season is here. They know. Problem is I’m getting off to a late start because I procrastinated on a few key matters down the stretch. Here’s the checklist: 1. Purchase hunting license (done); 2. Purchase […]

New Sheriff In Town?

More than half my cordwood’s in the shed, the Full Hunters Moon is building to a brilliant climax and green stocking trucks are rolling for Saturday’s opening day of pheasant season. Yes, the bird-hunting season is upon us and here I sit in a familiar seat, still procrastinating about purchasing my hunting license online. Imagine […]

More Paleo Patter

Does anyone else have problems getting their head around small encampments of Paleo-Indian hunters spearing to death migrating caribou funneled through a tight ravine at the base of Sugarloaf some 12,350 years ago? Yes, mind boggling indeed, yet quite real. I suppose what makes it all so unfathomable is the sad fact that the typical […]

Unearthing Issues

I’ve found that most things happen for a reason. Take, for instance, Wednesday morning’s incoming mail. Having heard the white USPS jeep pass a half-hour earlier while reading, I pulled my truck up alongside the mailbox to retrieve the mail on my way out of the yard to run the dogs. The first item to […]

Seeing Is Believing

Tiny red rose hips are aflame and alluring as cornfields brown and swamps glow their familiar purple/yellow hue with the autumnal equinox and Harvest Moon behind us, the waning half-moon reduced to a faint, ghostly mid-morning spy in the clear blue western sky. You may have noticed my absence the past two weeks. I was […]

Candid Camera

The sky was gray, swallows skimming the hayfield, flying low, their glee palpable — swooping, darting, looping, but mainly hugging the surface, devouring insects in midair. The lively activity had Chub-Chub all revved up, sprinting, bouncing, cutting left and right like a gifted NFL receiver adding to his yards-after-catch in the open field. What a […]

Omen Bruin?

Does a bear spit in the woods? You betcha! Sunken Meadow, too. As usual, I would have walked right past the large, tidy pile along the edge of a thin swamp Monday morning had it not been for the grande dame herself, Springer Spaniel Lily, 9, who on her daily ramble around the plot smelled […]

Stinkbait Cider

Fruit season is upon us along with the Full Sturgeon Moon, said to be a blue moon despite being the only full moon we’ll see this month. Why? Well, occasionally we have an extra, fourth moon during a three-month season and it and the one that follows are considered blue. That’s the situation this summer. […]

Summer Breeze

The chimney sweep’s come and gone, a half-moon shines, the marsh is turning purple and fall is in the air. Ah, what a difference a day makes. Just another miracle of the life we take for granted, a life governed by nature and wicked, greedy, cookie-cutter men pulling diabolical strings. But why dwell on the […]

Airy Distractions

Whew! What a week, what a day and, finally, here I sit at my favorite perch, one distraction after another keeping me away Monday and Tuesday. Still, the Spartan walnut chair softened by a thick red cushion is comfy, and life is good. The tall clock just struck noon as I walked from the shower […]

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