Where the Hell is Quill Gordon?

A Somewhat Disjointed and Not Quite Complete Accounting of My Whereabouts for the Past Few Weeks

The transition from snowbound no-man’s land to lively, functioning, family fishing camp took place quickly this year at Fish in a Barrel Pond. It did not happen in the blink of an eye, or even overnight, but it happened fast, the rapid progress seeming even more so because of the tremendous amounts of ice and snow remaining at the beginning of the month. Small patches of ice remain, tucked up against the north sides of buildings, and snow can still be found in some shady, deep-wood recesses, but no other vestiges of winter are seen. Continue reading

Categories: +The Neverwas Nonesuch Angling Society, Fly Fishing, Rural Life, Vermont | Tags: , , , | 12 Comments

A Fox, Some Snow Fleas and a Close Shave

It is snowing again here at Fish in a Barrel Pond. No, wait a second, it has turned to rain. Nope, now it is sleeting. We are caught in the middle of a battle between seasons and the incumbent seems to be holding its ground against the usurper. But winter can not stay forever and signs of its demise are beginning to appear. Continue reading

Categories: Humor, nature, Rural Life, Vermont | Tags: , , , , , , , , | 12 Comments

Quill Gordon Got a New Job!

There’s not much time for this because I must get busy packing for a really big move! Old Quill’s got a new job as a claims processor for a major insurance company based in Newark, New Jersey, and it begins next week.

I will be living in a large 250-unit apartment complex between a major highway and an industrial railyard so no more snow shovels for this kid! Someone else can shovel snow and if anything ever breaks I’m sure the building superintendent will be happy to get right on it, pronto. And if the number of police cars outside the building is any indication, it must be a safe place.

I will have my own cubicle in a climate-controlled environment and I will get to wear a tie every day! They tell me I’ll get used to the humming of the fluorescent lights but I’m just happy I won’t need sunscreen and bug dope any more. My new boss has suggested I get a watch because I won’t be able to tell time by looking at the position of the sun any more. He’s a very helpful guy and I’m looking forward to working with him and the other 75 people in his department.

No more trudging through ice and snow. No more blackflies and mosquitoes. No more glaring sun or sudden cloudbursts to send me scrambling for shelter. No more boats and summer cottages full of guys always asking me to smoke their cigars, drink their booze and eat their food. No more sitting on the porch of the lodge, wondering what to do for the rest of the day and especially no more pesky stars shining in my windows at night to distract me from sleep. 

It’s going to be great! I’ll let you all know when I get there. 

This brief bit of frivolity has been brought to you by Two Guys and a Truck. For all your construction and deconstruction needs, call Two Guys and a Truck, serving the Upper Skunk Hollow area for more than twenty years. Doing it right because we’re doing it twice. And remember, we do dump runs, too. Satisfaction guaranteed or double your junk back! We may not be good but we’re slow.

Everyone at Two Guys and a Truck would like to wish you a safe and happy April Fool’s Day.

 

Categories: Humor, Rural Life, Vermont | Tags: , , , , | 6 Comments

Le Sigh

March 28, 2008 – The view from my office window.

Categories: +Uncategorized | 4 Comments

Not How it Sounds

Snow and ice continue to accumulate here at Fish in a Barrel Pond even though the calendar says it is spring. In an effort to forcibly evict the remnants of winter from the property I fired up the tractor and began clearing the roads to some of the cottages this weekend. The results of my efforts were not impressive. Digging through the frozen layers and heavy drifts proved to be too much for my little compact tractor to handle and I had to carefully nurse it back to the barn with at least one rupture in the hydraulics hemorrhaging fluid. I give you the following to read while I am in the barn turning wrenches instead of out here playing in cyberspace:  Continue reading

Categories: Humor, Rural Life, Vermont | Tags: , , , , , | 3 Comments

The Conflagration at Green Damselfly Cove

This story has been taken down, dusted off, and given a good thrashing. There are just too many links scattered among these pages to go through, cleaning them all up, and I certainly don’t want to delete this title and have you run into one of those 404 Not Found notices.

As a result of the thrashing it received, The Conflagration at Green Damselfly Cove is now available in e-book form for both Kindle and Nook devices.

Quill Gordon’s Story Time

Tales of the Outdoors for Anglers and Others

One Story, One Dollar

The Conflagration at Green Damselfly Cove for Kindle (Amazon)

The Conflagration at Green Damselfly Cove for Nook (Barnes & Noble)

Quill Gordon

Categories: +The Neverwas Nonesuch Angling Society, Fly Fishing, Humor, Rural Life, Vermont | Tags: , , , , , , | 6 Comments

March 15, 2008 – It’s a Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood

One of winter’s last gasps.

 

 

 

 It’s beautiful …

 

as long as you don’t have to go anywhere.

Categories: nature, Rural Life, Vermont | Tags: , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Driven to Distraction

Last Sunday marked the end of the meteorological winter, the coldest (on average) 91 days of the year. Winter’s back may be broken but it’s still kicking up a fuss, dropping more freezing rain and another 10 inches of snow on the south flank of Nonesuch Mountain but, unlike a mad dog or a downed ewe that can be helped no longer, I can’t shoot it in the head and just get it over with. Continue reading

Categories: Humor, Rural Life, Vermont | Tags: , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Tagged, Indeed.

I finally figured out what the “incoming links” section of my blog stat page was for when I recently clicked on one of the links that appeared there. Seems my friend WANDA has picked me to participate in a little game of tag. I am one of five people she tagged so you can see how quickly we can spread the misery when each of them tags five people and they tag five people and so on and so on … Continue reading

Categories: +Uncategorized | 12 Comments

Solar Powered Roof Rake

Thoroughly exhausted from a day of raking roofs, I slogged through deep, heavy snow for 45 minutes to reach the last of the roofs to rake. After a short rest to catch my breath and have a smoke, I put the pieces of my roof rake together and got to work, only to find that the blade skittered and bounced harmlessly off the thick layer of ice that had developed on top of the thick layer of snow. I lunged and swung and pulled and yanked until I was left with little more than a strip of bent, twisted aluminum on the end of a stick, and after that I sat down and cursed. Continue reading

Categories: Humor, Rural Life, Vermont | Tags: , , , , , , , | 9 Comments

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